It seems mobile developers and marketers, alike, have been smitten by HTML5. As much as 50% of the developers have already tried their hands at HTML and an equal percentage of mobile users favour browser over native apps.
Further, more than a quarter of the top 100 websites are leveraging HTML5’s strong features. And nearly 70% of all browsers support HTML5. Amazingly, all these came about in such a short span. Remember, the HTML5 logo was unveiled in January 2011 marking its officially entry.
Frameworks hogging the limelight
Capabilities such as 2D animations, CSS3 selectors, Geolocation API, WebStorage, offline app support and camera access makes HTML5 a hot property among developers. Similarly accessibility, searchability, cost-effectiveness and cross-platform capability makes HTML5 desirable among marketers.
With such fine combination of features and capabilities, HTML5 along with CSS and JavaScript coalesces to form frameworks. And being open-source tools, there’s a large pool of HTML5 frameworks to choose from.
1. WidgetPad
Developed by Satoshi Nakajima and Yuichiro Masui for iPhone, WidgetPad enables coherent porting of hybrid apps across various smartphone and mobile devices. Available through the SaaS model, it employs the popular open-source combination of HTML5, JavaScript and CSS to build visually stunning and user-friendly apps.
The highlight of the framework is that it allows sharing of it’s source code thereby enabling developers to expand their understanding of the framework. The apps can be distributed through the WidgetPad client in the free version. The paid version enables creation of private apps and deployment in Apple iTunes stores.
2. Sencha Touch
Sencha Touch created apps can be touted as a near native app with its impressive touch events. It has got the ability to access multiple data sources to transact data and attach it to UI components as well as store it offline with the help of HTML5. Its resemblance to native apps is also by virtue of its components that are independent of resolution.
Sencha Touch is an all-in-one package; you don’t need to go in search of additional framework components to enable features like media player or UI. Supports Android, iOS and BlackBerry.
3. jQuery Mobile
This is one framework that literally teaches you how to create web apps, thanks to the perfect documentation. The framework enables you to create UIs without JavaScript, instead UIs are created using HTML. jQuery Mobile can let you build apps real quick, much faster than other frameworks. Same time, it allows for high degree of customization.
jQuery Mobile runs perfectly on all the platforms and browsers, a relatively rare feat considering the promises made by its counterparts.
4. Kendo UI
Kendo UI can build apps on Android, BlackBerry, iPhone and Windows Metro. When used with PhoneGap, Kendo UI achieves what it truly claims – cross-platform. It’s documentation is decent and evolved enough to the level of other major frameworks. Platform centric CSS styles enable detailed customization.
It provides the option to pick and choose files that you need for specific components. You also have the choice to use jQuery or HTML5 to call the components, which is a huge advantage.
Verdict
Well, you wouldn’t have to be judgmental since each of the above frameworks cannot score in all the departments. It’s important to keep in mind that their development started with one platform in mind, which gradually spread to others. Hence your choice should depend on what platforms you intend to deploy your apps, what features you intend and the audience you target.
HTML5 driven future
Various estimates point out that, in one way or the other, HTML5 would form the core of 80% of all mobile apps by 2015. And in the near future, nearly 80% of all mobile app developers would resort to HTML5. These figures give us some idea of what’s in store for the future, but isn’t it too early to come to a conclusion?
Although brief, mobile history is aplenty with examples of uncertainty and fortunes changing hands. Future in this context is undefinable.
Article by Vishal
Vishal Gaikar is a professional blogger from Pune, India. If you like this post, you can follow him on Twitter.
