Applications erasing frontiers - 30/08/2010
A few months ago the dispute between Adobe and Apple to set the standard technology for iPhone and iPad application development has left mobile developers unsure about what would be their next step: to keep developing Flash applications, which can be used on any platforms, but to leave aside Apple devices? Or to migrate to Apple's proprietary technology and leaave aside all the rest of the smart phones and internet universe?
However, a few developers were able to see further and realized that a more promising path would be to adopt standards which are being set for the internet, also for the creation of applications.
One of these standards is HTML5, the most recent version of the hyper-text language that was been around since 1990 and which has dominated the internet since then.
This new version of the HTML language includes resources that previously were only present in softwares like Flash. For example, it's possible to include videos, animations, geographic localization and new interactions like drag-and-drop for elements on the page.
By taking advantage of these new HTML5 resources, developers are creating attractive and feature-rich applications that are able to reach not only iPhone users (who can't access Flash applications), but that are also compatible with a wide range of devices: smart phones, tablets, computers and even TVs with internet access (Google TV and Boxee among others), without the need for different versions for each device and without the need for a specific App store.
This will make things simpler for developers who target many platforms and won't need to deal with specific programming languages and technologies for each of them. It will also make things simpler for users who are no longer stuck to only their devices' App stores.
Even Google is encouraging developers to create HTML5 applications by launching a website dedicated to promoting the advantages, novelties and possibilities which can be explored.
Many will remember the day when Google put a Pac-Man game on its home page. The game was completely developed in HTML5 and showcases some of the interaction that is possible to achieve through this technology.
Technical advances are always good news, as long as they are well applied. Now it's up to the developers to use this new tool's full potential to create applications which are focused on the user, easy to use and to learn how to use, and which are pleasurable and satisfactory.
Below you will find a list of HTML5 applications, which you are able to access through your computer browser, as well as you smart phone or tablet browser.
Fernando Oliveira
Usability Expert
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