Workshop on PhoneGap and HTML5 at Aitrich

What does the proliferation of different mobile and tablet platforms and devices mean for developers entering the industry ? Are they offering opportunities or more problems ?

Whatever it is for developers, the companies find it more challenging to be reached to all their customers regardless of the mobile platforms they choose. They are always in the lookout for a way of developing single app and run it anywhere as if they are native to the host platform. Many technologies are springing up following this idea and PhoneGap is a real promise.
PhoneGap is an HTML5 app platform that allows you to author native applications with web technologies and get access to APIs and app stores. PhoneGap leverages web technologies developers already know best... HTML and JavaScript. Without having to deep dive into the complexities of native platforms, which makes mastering the mobile development tougher, PhoneGap allows the developers to leverage their web skills into mobile app development easily.

PhoneGap currently supports the following platforms..

PhoneGap developers are increasingly in demand and getting paid handsomely, competing to iPhone and Android developers. The trends say that companies will eventually prefer PhoneGap developers over native mobile developers as the platform is getting matured in every release, and now it is under the safe umbrella of Adobe Systems Inc.
Being a relatively new technology, there is not enough training providers for PhoneGap. Aitrich Technologies, the pioneers of cross-platform mobile development company located at the South Indian state of Kerala, recently conducted an introductory workshop on PhoneGap and related technologies including HTML 5, as part of promoting awareness on Cross-platform Mobile App Development. Their training division provides inhouse as well as corporate training for major web and mobile technologies including PhoneGap. AppsGala, representing their Mobile Development Division showcasing their works and skillset in the area.

Students from number of colleges across Kerala and Tamil Nadu gathered at Aitrich Technologies office at Thrissur with the hope and eagerness to learn about the latest of the latest technology in Mobile Application Development. And the workshop did not disappoint them.

The Aitrich Mobile Web team shared their wealth of experience in this specialized technology area to the audience, guided them through a tour on Mobile Development, different mobile and tablet platforms, HTML 5, the new super star in the Mobile Web, and finally the art of building cross-platform applications using PhoneGap, in a very simple and easy-to-understand manner.

The program got kicked off at 10:30 with the introduction by Anish Narayanan Kutty followed up by Ullas Mohan providing the audience an idea about Mobile development and the years leading to the current trend in application development.






The next session was about HTML5 and how it is redefining the way we design our websites and applications. The session handled by Shafi was a crowd favourite as it gave an insight into the designing aspects with number of games shown as examples. They were also given a lot of information about the designing aspects and how HTML5 is ready to conquer the world with its light weight tools and easy to use tags.






The final session was handled by the Mobile Web team leader Shafi, who gave the audience an idea about PhoneGap and how it works. The fact that PhoneGap allows you to “Build Once and Deploy Many times” was a clincher. The students were really motivated to learn more about PhoneGap and through the interactive sessions it was evident that the students were serious with PhoneGap as a career. Mobile Web is definitely a thing for the future. With the ever growing density of smartphones across the globe the next hottest job market is definitely mobile application development and mobile website development.

Cross-platform mobile develeopment is definitely the way forward. Aitrich Technologies, being the pioneers in PhoneGap application development and PhoneGap training in India is showing the way forward to the young IT aspirants.

Aitrich provides customised training packages on mobile and web technologies including PhoneGap, in house and onsite locations. The students are often placed or acquired on completion of the program. As part of the Aitrich Professional Network[APN], the graduates are exposed to various career development opportunities including project experience, apps-development opportunities, contract and permanent employment opportunities. Aitrich Trained Professionals had always been in demand, as a result of the high quality of training and exposure provided at their development environment.

Visit Aitrich Corporate Web site - http://www.aitrich.com

AppsGala - Celebration of Apps

Connect via Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/AitrichTechnologies

HTML5 blossoms @aitrich

 

About HTML5:-
 It is the fifth revision of the HTML standard, created in 1990 and standardized as HTML4 as of 1997 and as of September 2011 is still under development. Its core aims have been to improve the language with support for the latest multimedia while keeping it easily readable by humans and consistently understood by computers and devices (Web browsers, parsers , etc.). HTML 5 is device independent with respect to a mobile and a personal computer. 
HTML 5 is a great combination of HTML, CSS and JavaScript which is a dream combination for any software and mobile developer. It is extremely user friendly, a result of being customer friendly. 
We at aitrich Technologies understand the scope and opportunities available with the use and knowledge of HTML5. The updations which are being done on a daily basis and which is to be completed by 2022 provides a challenge of huge proportions. aitrich as an organizations fueled by the young guns are taking up this challenge and so far we have come out with flying colors as the poster may suggest. Our soon to be published aitrich mobile application had an heavy influence of HTML5, an application which has being appreciated by one and all. Our junior team comprising of Shafi PS, Jinas and Manaf who where ably led by Ullas and Shafi had a great learning experience on the project. 
Shafi PS quotes " As students we were initially overwhelmed by the challenge, our seniors maintained a great positive team atmosphere, enabling us to learn from our challenges and completing our project in time. HTML5 provides a challenging experience completed by an urge to learn, a fun and creative tool allowing us great future opportunities" 
Manaf adds " HTML5 is a challenge which we overcame through learning the basics and other relevant aspects of HTML5, CSS3, jQuery, jQuery mobile and applying the stuff we learned into practice. Overall a great learning experience"

InfoQ: SlideShare migrates from Flash to HTML5

Posted by Alex Blewitt on Sep 27, 2011

Today, Slideshare, the popular on-line presentation hosting site, completed its transition to using HTML5 instead of Flash for its eponymous slide sharing utlity.

Previously, browsers had to have Adobe Flash installed in order to view presentations on their site. However, with the advance of HTML5, and an increasing amount of traffic from (mobile) browsers without Flash support, the transition to HTML5 meant that SlideShare could be ahead of the competitors in terms of the delivery of components for other browsers.

Not only that, but the slides load 30% faster ...

Read more at - InfoQ: SlideShare migrates from Flash to HTML5

Mobile Web Vs Native Mobile App Vs Hybrid

Source: Global Intellgence Alliance[visit]

 

What is the best choice between a mobile web application and a native mobile app, say, iphone app, android app, win mobile app... when planning a new mobile application ?

Or is a hybrid solution the right choice ? 

What are the concerns and considerations ?

Which platform (mobile web/ a native app/ hybrid) is more suitable for my business needs ?

What are the future directions ? Guidelines... ?

Both mobile web as well as native apps have their own merits and demerits. I found myself curious to see what the industry think about it, surfing through different community resources. An interesting debate is going on around this topic in the community.

Developers consider various factors before choosing the right platform for their new app. It was interesting to see what various camps think and advocate about.

• There are few factors that make this debate really interesting
• Mobile development is at its very early stage.
• Its is growing and changing very fast, you cannot predict what is going to be there two years ahead from now.
• Lots of new players and concepts are coming in.

Here is a brief compilation of the findings from my few hours of surfing and reading on the topic. Most of them are extracts from online resources, for the purpose of the readers to read and make their assumptions.


Native or Web Application ? [Global Intelligence Alliance]How Best to Deliver Content and Services to Your Audiences over the Mobile Phone.

The choice overa web or native (i.e. device specific) application holds important implications on, or is dictated by, a number of launch considerations for any mobile publisher or service provider:

• User Experience design
• Billing
• Reach
• ROI
• Go-to-market
• Discoverability
• User analytics

Despite conventional beliefs, by 2013 the majority of native device attributes are set to reach mobile/HTML5 web applications (as estimated below) while enabling user experiences that rival those of native applications:

Web apps offer an architectural advantage when targeting a cross-device launch, where significantly less platform migration is required as compared to native applications enabling substantial savings in porting and QA costs.

 Read more here >>

Web vs. Native Mobile App? Forrester Says Do Both

What is the future of the mobile Internet? Are native applications going to be the dominant form of digital interaction? Will new and developing browser technologies like HTML5 make the mobile Web preferable to apps? Developers, engineers, product strategists and brands large and small want to know what the future will look like in order to make spending decisions.

 Read more here >>

Insights on Web vs Native Mobile App: Forrester Says Do Both

"More than half of European (and 60% of US) consumers who download apps at least monthly also access the Internet via their mobile phones at least daily. In short, heavy app users are also heavy mobile Web users," Forrester said.

While this list of pros and cons, technical and business merits of each serve as a useful starting point for determining a sound app strategy for business apps, at the end, for product strategist, the question will be: what is your objective?

 Read more here >>

Native App vs. Web App: Which Is Better for Mobile Commerce? [Mashable]

One of the resounding themes for mobile software developers in 2011 is the debate between building a native app or building a mobile web app. While some developers are looking at ways to build hybrid solutions, this is a topic that continues to become more complex.
This is especially true for mobile commerce sites, where the conversion rates between browsers and purchasers can vary dramatically based on the platform and the method of presentation.
David Eads, the vice president of product marketing at Kony Solutions recently wrote an article for Mobile Commerce assessing the mobile channels brands need to support.

 Read more here >>

Designing for Mobile: Mobile Web Vs Native Apps [Sachendra Yadav]

There’s a big debate out there on this topic but there’s no silver bullet. Mobile web and native apps offer different benefits and serve different audiences. You need to look at what experience your app needs to deliver? What you are trying to achieve? What is your business model? What is your budget? Who is your target? etc; weigh the pros and cons of both the mediums and decide what works best for you.

 Read more here >>

A few thoughts on mobile web vs. rich app [Tech Republic] 

Takeaway: One of the very first questions we face when we begin planning to build an application is whether to do mobile web or rich app development.

As a mobile developer, I get asked my opinion on mobile web vs. rich app development quite often, and understandably so. For most mobile developers, this is one of the very first questions we face when we begin planning to build an application. And to be honest, there’s really no “correct” answer to the question. If I absolutely had to break it down to a couple distinct criteria, the decision would likely be based on the following:

• OS/Hardware-specific feature requirements
• Development budget
• Development timeline
• Target audience

 Read more here >>

An excellent slide on this topic..
Native vs Mobile Web vs Hybrid Apps for Mobile Development

The years ahead seems to be very exciting with lots of new trends and players in this field. Only those who constantly adapt to change is going to survive, as change is the only constant that can be seen in the Mobile technology spectrum.

This wide variety of technology choices is in fact giving many opportunities for the developer community. Developers can specialize on natvie platforms of either of the big camps or become a generalist by focusing on mobile web. However the challenge is to keep themselves up to date with the frequently changing trends, features and versions.

Either you enjoy this challenge by upgrading yourself constantly, or let yourself go out-dated. Choice is yours!

Aitrich Welcomes Thrissur Pooram

Launching Mobile Courses @ Aitrich Training