From the 2010 Internet Usability Conference, how to best determine whether to use the Web or build your own app for mobile devices.

1. Mobile Apps Versus
Mobile Web
Joe Hass
July 26 2010

2. When In Doubt,
Build For The Web

4. “We don’t need
a mobile site.
We just need
an app.”

5. “We don’t need
train tracks.
We just need
a train.”

7. State Of Mobile

8. US Cell Phone Users
300
276M
262M
243M
225 219M
194M
169M
148M
150 135M
75
0
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
http://files.ctia.org/pdf/CTIA_Survey_Midyear_2009_Graphics.pdf

9. Smart (OS) Phones
2008 Q4 2009 Q4
23%
31%
69%
77%
http://www.npd.com/press/releases/press_100317.html

10. What people are doing
with their phones
Take a picture 76%
Send/receive text messages 72%
Play a game 34%
Send/receive e-mail 34%
Access the Internet 38%
Play music 33%
Send/receive instant messages 30%
Record a video 34%
0 20 40 60 80
Apr 09 May 10
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Mobile-Access-2010/Part-2.aspx?r=1

11. Smart Phone OSes, 2010 Q1
36%
15%
21% 28%
http://www.npd.com/press/releases/press_100510.html

12. Smart Phone OSes, 2010 Q1
36%
15%
21% 28%
RIM Android iPhone Other
http://www.npd.com/press/releases/press_100510.html

13. Mobile Web Browsers
Opera 26%
iPhone 20%
Nokia 17%
BlackBerry 12%
iPod Touch 10%
Android 5%
NetFront 3%
Sony PSP 1%
Other 5%
0 10 20 30
http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_browser-ww-monthly-200907-201006-bar

14. Three Phases To
The Internet

15. Three Phases To
The Internet

16. Three Phases To
The Internet

17. Three Phases To
The Internet

19. Desktop
1984 1994 2000
“Internet”

20. Desktop
1984 1994 2000
“Internet”
Mobile
1998 2002 2007
“Internet”

21. Desktop
1984 1994 2000
“Internet”
Mobile
1998 2002 2007
“Internet”
Mobile
2002 2008
Apps

22. Mobile Web

23. How Our Desktops Change...

24. How Our Phones Change...

25. What’s Out There
http://www.taptu.com/metrics/

26. What’s Out There
5K
4K
3K
2K
1K
0K
Nokia Blackberry Android iPhone Touchscreen Sites
http://www.taptu.com/metrics/

27. What’s Out There
5K
4K
3K
2.5K
2K
1K
0K
Nokia Blackberry Android iPhone Touchscreen Sites
http://www.taptu.com/metrics/

28. What’s Out There
5K
4K
4K
3K
2.5K
2K
1K
0K
Nokia Blackberry Android iPhone Touchscreen Sites
http://www.taptu.com/metrics/

29. What’s Out There
50K
40K
30K
20K
10K
4K
2.5K
0K
Nokia Blackberry Android iPhone Touchscreen Sites
http://www.taptu.com/metrics/

30. What’s Out There
50K
40K
36K
30K
20K
10K
4K
2.5K
0K
Nokia Blackberry Android iPhone Touchscreen Sites
http://www.taptu.com/metrics/

31. What’s Out There
500K
400K
300K
200K
100K
36K
2.5K 4K
0K
Nokia Blackberry Android iPhone Touchscreen Sites
http://www.taptu.com/metrics/

32. What’s Out There
500K
400K
300K
200K 185K
100K
36K
2.5K 4K
0K
Nokia Blackberry Android iPhone Touchscreen Sites
http://www.taptu.com/metrics/

33. What’s Out There
500K
440.1K
400K
300K
200K 185K
100K
36K
2.5K 4K
0K
Nokia Blackberry Android iPhone Touchscreen Sites
http://www.taptu.com/metrics/

34. Google Voice versus Apple
• June 2009: Google submits “Google Voice” as an
iPhone app.
• July 2009: Apple rejects app, saying “The app
replaces certain iPhone functions and features.”
• January 2010: Google rolls out Google Voice via
Web app
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/01/hands-on-with-google-voices-improved-web-app-for-iphone.ars

35. “Grandpappy, tell us about
the Mobile HTML 5 War
Of 2010.”

36. “Grandpappy, tell us about
the Mobile HTML 5 War
Of 2010.”
(Steve Jobs wishes we would go back to
arguing about that)

37. “If developers need to rewrite their
Flash websites, why not use modern
technologies like HTML5, CSS and
JavaScript?”
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/

38. Mobile HTML5: The future is here coming soon in
the distance going to need to pack a lunch.
iPhone Safari
Full Compatability
Google Android 2.2
Opera Mini
http://gigaom.com/2010/06/19/app-creep-and-the-case-for-the-mobile-browser/

39. Your Mobile Strategy

40. Mobile Users Are
Different, Even If They’re
The Same Person

41. • Location
• Needs
• Connections
• Speeds
• Software
• Display Size
• Urgency

43. How Comfortable Is...
• Your user base?
• Your development team?
• Your heart?

44. Let’s Go Build
Whatever We’re Going
To Build

45. How you develop doesn’t change
• User Needs and Objectives
• Functional Specs and Content Requirements
• Interaction Design and Information Architecture
• Information Design
• Visual Design
• Development
• Quality Assurance
• Publish/Submit
http://www.jjg.net/elements/

46. Apple’s Tale Of The Tape
iPhone App Safari Browser
Location/GPS Y Y
Camera Y N
Accelerometer/Gyroscope Y Portrait/Landscape
Audio/Video Y Y
Offline Usage Y HTML5 Caching
Push Notifications Y N
Set-Up Fee $99 $0
Billing iTunes Not iTunes
Approval Process Y N
http://mashable.com/2010/06/10/why-you-may-not-need-a-mobile-app/

47. Apple’s Tale Of The Tape
iPhone App Safari Browser
Location/GPS Y Y
Camera Y N
Accelerometer/Gyroscope Y Portrait/Landscape
Audio/Video Y Y
Offline Usage Y HTML5 Caching
Push Notifications Y N
Set-Up Fee $99 $0
Billing iTunes Not iTunes
Approval Process Y N
http://mashable.com/2010/06/10/why-you-may-not-need-a-mobile-app/

48. Points To Consider

49. How often will the information need
to be updated?

50. Will the user needs to be connected
to the Web to use it?

51. Will the user connected to the Web
outside your “world”?

52. How fast do you want to launch it?
“After 8 days ... I get a notice that my app
had been rejected. The reason? I had called
it ‘FindIt for iPad’ on the title screen, and
this is a copyrighted term. … What
required 8 days to figure out that ‘iPad’ was
prominently placed on the main page?”
http://eclectictechie.blogspot.com/2010/06/review-process-for-ipad-apps-yikes.html

53. Is there a phone-specific task?

54. Does the interaction require
something other than HTML?

55. Is there a money-making portion of
it?

56. How Do You Want People To Find
Out About It?
• Apple: Web apps for iPhone
• Weather Underground mobile link
• Weather Bug info link (dead)
• ZDNet: review of iPhone weather apps
• albinoblacksheep.com/weather
• Yahoo! mobile weather link
• AccuWeather.com iPhone link
• The Apple Blog: top 10 iPhone weather apps

57. When In Doubt,
Build For The Web

58. Congratulations On
Your New App/Site!
“Thread (Fio)”, Cildo Meireles. Museum of Modern Art, New York

59. How can you share this information
with the rest of the world?
• Organic
• Sniff redirect
• Integrate with other media
• Paid
• Search
• Rich/text ads
• Partnership
Molly Garris, Leo Burnett

61. slideshare.net/hassgocubs
Joe Hass
hassgocubs@gmail.com
@hassgocubs