The ongoing battle between Apple vs. Adobe was almost eclipsed this past week by the painful and relatively limitless saga of ‘Gizphonegate’ (which – in case you live anywhere besides the Planet Earth – you will know of the hackneyed stories of an unfortunate Apple Baseband Developer, a few pints of German lager, and a rather unscrupulous news organisation ‘outing’ Steve Jobs’ next baby, the iPhone 4G).
Lost in the shuffle (well, besides the iPhone prototype itself) was the subtle courting of Adobe by Google’s Android Team – leaking a series of touchy feely messages and comments about how ‘benevolent’ Flash is for the Web, and even the Smartphone space in particular. With Apple again refusing Flash support on even its latest iPad device, the old adage “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” appears to be the new mantra over at Google.
So it’s not surprising to hear in today’s press that the next iteration of Google’s Android OS (2.2, codenamed Froyo) will include pervasive Flash support (both in the browser as well as throughout the native application system). Hooray – Flash lovers rejoice!
Andy Rubin, Google Android’s VP of Engineering stated in yesterday’s New York Times that Android’s Open OS “means not being militant about the things consumer are actually enjoying” – a direct swipe at Steve Jobs apparent disgust with the Adobe platform.
All this is fine and good – and the ‘Pact of Steel’ developing between Adobe and Google is no surprise as Apple has basically chased the two into a technology love nest. But this ‘battle for Flash’ assumes the average consumer (and Mobile Web user) actually cares whether their videos or applications are developed in Flash, HTML5, Objective C, Cobalt, or whatever.
They don’t.
They want to play videos, run apps, and click on cool icons on their desktop. Period.
Those of us who dislike Flash for its tendency to gobble up any and all system memory while playing a 20 second clip are in the minority. As are those who claim HTML5 is cleaner, better, leaner and even greener.
The number of major Web sites re-engineering their videos to work on the iPad (CNN, ESPN, BBC, YouTube, etc.) shows that content is about the end user and their favourite devices – not the OS and it’s ability to feel open or closed. To 99.8% of Mobile users, open vs. closed, Flash vs HTML5, Froyo vs iPhone 4.0 is a complete non-issue. They want good content, functional apps, a clean and usable interface, and a flashy handset to play with while in queue for a pint. Simple.
So while we watch the Apple vs Adobe, Apple vs Google, Adobe/Google vs Apple war continue with a kind of “VHS vs Beta” nostalgia – it is important to remember that in the end, to almost everyone who actually matters – all this Flash stuff simply doesn’t matter.
Many of the initial work-sessions I have spent with new clients the last few months have begun with a clear focus on iPhone, Android, or Blackberry Apps. Well…mostly iPhone Apps. Since April 3rd, however, that has shifted dramatically to the iPad. Well…mostly ‘playing’ with the iPad itself.
Joking aside, check out the compelling little graph below from Flurry.com showing the dramatic shift in iPad project ‘starts’ in the past 60 days – cutting into to Android App development and even iPhone:
Not all that surprising considering paid iPad Apps are garnering an average of $6.99/download (with many a much as $25 or even $50). So iPad is becoming a compelling candidate for the ‘ol emerging channel strategy no doubt. But what most people forget about, or perhaps choose to forget about (especially if they were around in WAP or even xHTML days) is the Mobile Web site – or ‘The Forgotten Framework’ as I like to call it.
With the Android platform facing the kind of fragmentation usually reserved for the likes of Nokia or Samsung (the next time you’re in a Carphone Warehouse count how many firmware versions of Android are available on *new* handsets not to mention the numerous ‘strains’ being crippled and re-designed by Operators and Handset Manufacturers), and Blackberry App World just being Blackberry App World (badly designed, poor download quality, patchy firmware coverage) – it’s definitely time to rethink the simple beauty and ubiquity of the Mobile Browser.
Sure HTML5 is still ‘in the works’, and people may need a little coaching on how to point their browsers to your site, but with over 10 million users – in the UK alone – accessing the Mobile Web every week (and spending up to 6.3 hours on their Mobile browsers to boot), how much longer will “build me an iPhone App” be a viable Mobile Strategy?
In case you thought it was necessary to build an app for iPhone, another for Android (+ up to 4 more to cover all versions), several for Blackberry (including a touchscreen ‘Storm’ version), a couple hundred Java and Symbian versions to cover Nokia, Sony Ericsson and the rest…then check out a recent browser-share report put together by iCrossing (you may need to click to enlarge it to its full glory):
As the above map illustrates, the iPhone/iPod Touch dominates, but that “Other” category (alongside Blackberry and Nokia) definitely hold their own - especially in the crucial developing countries. With a properly designed Mobile Web site (HTML5-ready to provide an app-like experience to the top tier Smartphones), capable of achieving broad reach coverage to thousands of handsets without the need of multiple firmware versions (ahem – Blackberry, Android), ongoing build updates and support and App Store maintenance, mobile browser delivery should be near the top of every mobile plan or roadmap.
All sounds good, with only one catch – and it’s a biggy. Monetisation. The App Stores have this down with pay-per-download, in-app sales, and subscriptions. There are definitely a few viable options out there – PayPal Mobile, Google Checkout, and even Bango. But none have the streamlined ‘impulse purchase’ power of the App Store.
So for now, if you’re looking to turn an immediate ‘direct’ profit on a mobile product – the App Stores (and specifically the Apple App Store) is a sound choice. But for businesses looking for broad reach, future advertising revenue (there are rumours Apple’s iAds will soon be Mobile Web-ready) and mass total handset coverage – ignoring the benefits of the Mobile browser could be a costly mistake.
Entropy Digital is very pleased to congratulate our client Mobile IQ on the recent appointment by the BBC for the comprehensive design and development of a suite of iPhone and iPad Apps for both BBC News & BBC Sport.
The first deployment for BBC has seen a ‘Featured’ and ‘Top Ten’ iPad News App for BBC News (live in the U.S.) as well as a successful iPhone App counterpart. The iPad app itself has proved massively successful in the emerging news category – spawning a number of similar design approaches to iPad News Apps.
Entropy Digital works with Mobile IQ to provide strategic visioning and business development support across a number of new and emerging products and services. For more information on the BBC iPad or iPhone App, or to get your copy of the App now, please use the link below:
