If your organisation is still getting to grips with smartphone apps it may be in for a shock – an even newer class of app is bearing down, one which promises to cut multi-platform development hassles and hurdle compatibility issues. Say hello to the HTML5 mobile web app.
HTML5 is the newest specification of the software code that web pages are created in. It adds rich functionality to browsers – so it’s goodbye annoying plug-ins, hello natively streaming audio/video and more. This new specification turns the browser into a rich runtime environment, meaning web apps running within a browser can effectively match the functionality of, and even replace, native mobile apps.
“It’s an inevitable trend,” says Nick Dillon, analyst at Ovum. “We’re going to see much more stuff moving to web apps, and away from the native mobile apps which we’ve had of late. It’s a natural evolution.
Whenever a company has a major shakeup (like a change of ownership), it tends to set off a chain reaction throughout operations, affecting everything from marketing to sales, to development, and yes, even testing.
Case in point: Palm, which was recently acquired by tech giant HP, will continue to make the Palm Pre and other devices we all know and love. That much has stayed the same. But as we’ve seen from the new webOS2.0, that’s about the only thing that hasn’t changed.
Evidence can be found at PreCentral.net, which as the latest specs from the new mobile operating system. There’s plenty of new features that developers and testers should familiarize themselves with – so let’s start from the beginning.
Palm’s multitasking ‘card’ metaphor is getting a refresh with Stacks
Universal Search is getting majorly beefed up with ‘Quick Actions,’ will be opened to developers, and rebranded as Just Type
Apps can have custom Touchstone at-a-glance views with Exhibition
Synergy is opening up to developers
HTML5 and Javascript support is much improved
Hybrid PDK/SDK apps will be fully supported
Stacks
A new multi-tasking feature known as “Stacks” will enable users to quickly sort through applications in use. Interestingly, developers will not have to worry about about enabling the functionality themselves. Rather, the operating system will automatically sort them based on prior activities. So expect this feature to consume a greater amount of testing’s time, as opposed to that of developers.
It’s been diagnosed as slow, outdated and unintuitive. We’re talking of course about Blackberry’s various mobile operating systems. But according to wirelessground.com, OS 6 could be just what the doctor ordered. Analyzing the results of an Engadget HTML 5 test of OS 6 against Apple’s Safari mobile, the writer expects Blackberry to make a full recovery:
It has been a very long time in coming, but the BlackBerry might just be getting the best mobile web browser ever designed. Engadget has run an HTML5 test on BlackBerry OS 6’s redesigned web browser and the results are astonishing. Research In Motion (RIM) got it right and OS 6 scored a 208 out of 300. Not impressed? Consider that the iPhone 4 only managed a 185 and HTC’s Incredible squeaked by with a 151. RIM has been working hard on fixing up its dated browsing software for quite a while now and it appears if the work has finally paid off.
Crackberry addicts (and mobile testers) will have to wait until later this year to test the OS on their own. Until then, we’ll keep seeking second opinions.
The recent launch of the iPad was all the proof InfoWorld’s Galen Gruman (and about a thousand other bloggers) needed to declare that Apple is out to kill Flash once and for all. Replacing the “resource-sucking” plugin, as many assume, will likely be the evolving HTML 5 browser standard – “likely” and “assume” being the key words.
Here’s the thing: everyone seems to sense that Flash is on its way out, but no one can really explain how or when it will get there. Will Flash retire without fanfare? Will it do its best IE6 impression and spend the rest of mobile eternity wandering the streets looking for fresh brains (i.e. annoying the heck out of developers)? Most important of all, will testers still be required to keep Flash in their repertoire?
The answer depends on who you ask. Stanton Champion says yes, in his recent 5 Reasons Flash is Here To Stay piece. Steve Jobs and Apple’s marketing team would argue just the opposite, which brings me back to Gruman’s original article. Writing about Apple’s plan to eliminate Flash going forward, he writes:
From Silicon.com:
Whenever a company has a major shakeup (like a change of ownership), it tends to set off a chain reaction throughout operations, affecting everything from marketing to sales, to development, and yes, even testing.
It’s been diagnosed as slow, outdated and unintuitive. We’re talking of course about Blackberry’s various mobile operating systems. But according to 
