what's the best mobile app approach?
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Mobility MatrixHow to plan & deliver winning
apps
Mobile Apps: What & Why
New Features
Presence
Native Required
Browser support
Why would I want a mobile app?
Mobile Apps: What & Why
Future of the web
Windows 10
Android
iOS
FireOS
Mobile Device Landscape
A tough proposition
Build Options
WINDOWS 10
ANDROID
APPLE IOSMust be compiled on a system running OSX.Developers write Objective C or Swift in the Xcode IDE.
Can be compiled on any system that supports Java.There are many IDEs that can be used.
UWP apps are written in C# or JavaScript and built using Visual Studio on a PC.
Pros
Cons• Your code is not portable. If you
need to support more than one platform you must write multiple native apps.
• Development IS expensive! There are very few iOS developers which drives up costs.
Native Approach
• Full functionality of the device at your fingertips.
• New features are generally available sooner.
• Typically faster as your running code is compiled and optimized for the native environment
Xamarin
Appcelerator TitaniumWrite code in proprietary JavaScript/XML format.
Write code in C# and proprietary XAML.
Pros
Cons• The framework examples above are
extremely expensive which is indicative of other players in this space.
• Developers are difficult to find and potentially expensive to retain for the same reasons as native developers.
• There are few examples online. The technologies are proprietary so even though they claim to use existing JavaScript and C# skillsets, the language is actually only a small portion of the learning curve.
Cross Compiled Approach
• The code is compiled into Native code so you’ll get better performance than a hybrid app.
IBM MobileFirst
PhoneGap
Apache Cordova
Sencha Touch
JavaScript, CSS and HTML
Adobe bundled version of Cordova
Formerly known as Worklight
Yet another Cordova bundled option
Pros
Cons• Interpreted apps typically run a bit
slower but not noticeable for most applications.
Hybrid Approach
• Developers leverage their web skills.
• Apache Cordova is free and open source.
• It’s a mature framework being backed and used by many big-name players in the field, Microsoft, IBM ect.
Developers utilize existing web skills: JavaScript, CSS & HTML. These are not proprietary versions.
Cordova packages up a developers web-based code into a native application shell and then runs that code in a web-view.
Native functionality is accessed using plug-ins that invoke native code when needed.
What is Apache Cordova?
Reusable code
Proven Platform
Affordable Development
Quick to app store
• Ionic, • ngCordova• Microsoft Taco
Major vendors support
Why Cordova
01
02
03
04
Will my Cordova app get accepted into the app store?
- Yes, there are numerous apps in the app store written in Cordova. The platform itself doesn’t violate any terms and conditions.Are there limits to the native functionality available?
- If it can be done using native code then it can be done in Cordova. There are hundreds of plugins available to provide access to native functions such as the camera. In the event a plugin is not available you can write your own. The documentation and framework for plugins is very mature.I heard Cordova apps are slower? Is that true? - There are indeed tradeoffs and having an interrupted app does come with a slight performance hit. This is rarely noticeable in a typical app.
Will a user know that my app is written in Cordova?- They are installed and launched like any other app. Zero differences. What you don’t get out of the box though is a native look and feel. User interface frameworks such as Ionic do provide this and pair nicely with Cordova.
FAQs
Mobile AppCross Platform
iPad AppOil & Gas Sales
iPad AppLeasing Tool
Real-world Experience
Support for iOS and Android (mobile phones and tablets)
Use of web technologies to leverage existing developers
Native look & feel (thanks to Ionic)
Push notification reminders for auto re-orders on
contact lenses
Historical view of past orders to support quick
reordering
Embedded view of the responsive website for full
site functionality
AC Lens looked to HMB to help build a cross platform mobile application for their Discount Contact Lenses brand that will be available in major app stores.
AC LensKey Features include: Requirements fulfilled by Cordova:
Key features of the app:• Integration with Office 365 Active Directory cloud
based authentication.• Push notifications for important global sales alerts.• Content sharing and integration with SharePoint.
ABB
Significant requirements fulfilled with Cordova:• Time to market was critical for the
application. The team built the application in under three months. Familiarity with the technologies was a huge time saver.
Key features of the app:• 100% full offline capabilities
with bidirectional periodic synchronization.
• An offline map that plots the 120+ properties managed by the company.
• Support for encryption of sensitive sales data on the iPad.
• PDF annotation support
Mobile Leasing App
File Storage
EncryptionSQL
SupportKeep-alivePDF editor
Mobile Leasing App
Native functionality
• Device file storage for nearly 8 GB of data• Container and drive level encryption of the
files• SQL Lite database support for structured data• File transfers from the central server• Device keep-alive for long duration sync
sessions• PDF viewer/editor with annotation support
Mobile Leasing App: The Results• The client realized a savings of $149,175 by using Cordova over a native
iOS approach.• Long term maintenance utilized in-house web developers already on staff. • The client knew going into the project that a Windows 10 version of the
application was likely. Many users have Microsoft Surface Pro devices that they’d like to use. The project may kick off later this year and will benefit from nearly 90% code reuse.
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