HTML5 in latest “Developer Economics” survey

Hi,

VisionMobile has released the latest edition of their survey of mobile
developers:
http://www.visionmobile.com/blog/2014/02/developer-economics-q1-2014/

I've gone through it and noted the following interesting bits regarding
“HTML5”:
        * “HTML5 sits between iOS and Android in terms of developers
        below the app poverty line (59% below the line) and has a middle
        class that is roughly equal to Android. However, it boasts the
        largest share of publishers that generate very-high revenues
        (over $50k per app/month).”
        
        *  ”The ability to reach users remains the single most important
        platform selection criterion, highlighted by 57% of developers
        as very important. Revenue potential comes in as the fifth most
        important selection criterion, marked as very important by 44%
        of developers” 
        
        * “The appeal of HTML5 as a priority platform for app
        development is restricted to those use cases where it excels:
        cross-screen and cross-platform deployment.”
        
        * “HTML5 can be viewed as both a deployment platform
        (on-browser) and a technology that can be used beyond the
        browser (off-browser)”
        
        * “HTML5 is still far off from being an app ecosystem as it
        lacks distribution, retailing and monetisation services in the
        form of a large-scale app store […] In spite of these issues,
        HTML5 remains a very attractive cross-platform development route
        for developers, 16% of whom indicate their intention to adopt
        the platform.”
        
        * “HTML5 is the priority platform for 14% of mobile developers,
        down from 17% in Q3 2013. Although this slump is marginal, it is
        likely that developers that prioritised HTML5 previously have
        come to terms with the shortcomings of pure web approaches.”
        
        * “While HTML5 is very close to iOS in terms of developer
        mindshare, usage of HTML5 as a primary platform is quite low,
        indicating that the majority of HTML5 users view it as a
        companion, rather than a priority platform. Lacking large-scale
        discovery, monetisation and distribution functions, HTML5
        continues to be a technology platform rather than a
        fully-fledged app ecosystem.”
        
        * “Our research on HTML5 vs native apps in Q3 2013 showed that
        the key issue in HTML5 development, is not performance or API
        reach, but the lack of mature development tools.” 
        
        * “among those developing primarily on iOS or Android, about 19%
        use HTML5 to display limited web content in their apps, for
        example documentation or elements that may require frequent
        updating. […] At the same time around 10% of developers
        targeting Android or iOS use HTML5 to develop hybrid apps, using
        tools such as PhoneGap.” 

I've added those to the relevant sections in
https://www.w3.org/wiki/Mobile/articles

Dom

Received on Wednesday, 5 February 2014 14:25:01 UTC