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Comment by axod | Hacker News Reader

The iPhone has the best browser available for a smartphone... and if you have a browser you can do pretty much anything.

What is the lure going to be for people to stop moving to webapps, and suddenly embrace an open platform and installable apps?

The web, through a browser, is the best open platform IMHO

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What is the lure going to be for people to stop moving to webapps, and suddenly embrace an open platform and installable apps?

The fact that internet connectivity on a desktop vs. on your mobile device is different by an order of magnitude. When you get ubiquitous and fast internet on the mobile device (not some bizarre spotty coverage), then things will change. Maybe Europe is ahead in regards to that, but in the US, I don't see that happening very soon.

Edit: oh, and also the processor speeds. So, basically I will bet on webapps for mobile after 3-4 years. Until then, at least, installable apps will work better.

Another Edit: perhaps, when something like Google Gears is everywhere, it might change. But offline support - both for code and data - is kind of essential.

Europe is way way ahead so perhaps that is where the difference lies.

I don't know about processor speed, I can see some intensive 3d special effect games needing native, but for puzzle games, or most 'apps' javascript in a browser is pretty much there.

"Another Edit: perhaps, when something like Google Gears is everywhere, it might change. But offline support - both for code and data - is kind of essential."

HTML 5 includes a storage API, including a SQL database. Apparently the iPhone already has it, and any browser based on WebKit (Nokia, Android?) will likely have it in the not too distant future.

The popularity of native apps on the iPhone itself is a pretty strong argument as to why. Phones have all sorts of features that can't be accessed by browsers. GPS, Camera, Bluetooth, who knows what else in 5 years.

Lots of stuff benefits from integration with the OS.

well given android also uses webkit, even with the option of installable apps, this will only help web apps if it takes off - as the lowest cost way to target a mobile app for both android and iphone is a webkit compatible web app.

I must add that the S60 (Mostly Nokia's Symbian devices) are using webkit as well

I think the blackberry will be shortly as well.

Is that just a hunch? I'd be excited to see WebKit on the BlackBerry as well, but I haven't heard anything about it.

I was told by someone who should know, although I have been too lazy to check up (its probably publicly available).

It makes sense, webkit is getting so much work for mobile from google and apple and others, why not.

Don't forget the tabs, zoom, text entry, scrolling etc that makes Safari on the iphone so easy. As long as android has all that, it could be good :)

They'd be nuts to not just copy it. iPhone's zooming is pretty awesome.

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