Mobile Website vs. Native Apps

 A mobile website is similar to any other website in that it consists of browser-based HTML pages that are linked together and accessed over the Internet (for mobile typically WiFi or 3G or 4G networks). The obvious characteristic that distinguishes a mobile website from a standard website is the fact that it is designed for the smaller handheld display and touch-screen interface.

Think of your mobile website as an introduction of your business and brand to the customer and your mobile app as the ultimate engagement tool you can have with a customer. Mobile websites inform the audience and mobile apps create a lasting relationship.

Advantages of a Mobile Website vs. Native Apps

If your goals are primarily related to marketing or public communications, a mobile website is almost always going to make sense as a practical first step in your mobile outreach strategy. This is because a mobile website has a number of inherent advantages over apps, including broader accessibility, compatibility and cost-effectiveness.

Immediacy – Mobile Websites Are Instantly Available A mobile website is instantly accessible to users via a browser across a range of devices (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, etc).  Apps on the other hand require the user to first download and install the app from an app marketplace before the content or application can be viewed - a significant barrier between initial engagement and action/conversion.

Compatibility – Mobile Websites are Compatible Across DevicesA single mobile website can reach users across many different types of mobile devices, whereas native apps require a separate version to be developed for each type of device. Furthermore, mobile website URLs are easily integrated within other mobile technologies such as SMS, QR codes and near field communication (NFC).

Upgradability – Mobile Websites Can Be Updated Instantly
A mobile website is much more dynamic than an app in terms of pure flexibility to update content. If you want to change the design or content of a mobile website you simply publish the edit once and the changes are immediately visible; updating an app on the other hand requires the updates to be pushed to users, which then must be downloaded in order to update the app on each type of device.

Findability – Mobile Websites Can be Found EasilyMobile websites are much easier for users to find because their pages can be displayed in search results and listed in industry-specific directories, making it easy for qualified visitors to find you. Most importantly, visitors to your regular website can be automatically sent to your mobile site when they are on a handheld (using device-detection).  In contrast, the visibility of apps are largely restricted to manufacturer app stores.

Shareability – Mobile Websites Can be Shared Easily by Publishers, and Between Users
Mobile website URLs are easily shared between users via a simple link (e.g. within an email or text message, Facebook or Twitter post). Publishers can easily direct users to a mobile website from a blog or website, or even in print. An app simply cannot be shared in this fashion.

Reach – Mobile Websites Have Broader ReachBecause a mobile website is accessible across platforms and can be easily shared among users, as well as search engines, it has far greater reach capability than a native app.

LifeCycle – Mobile Websites Can’t be DeletedThe average shelf-life of an app is pretty short, less than 30 days according to some research, so unless your app is something truly unique and/or useful (ideally, both), it’s questionable how long it will last on a user’s device. Mobile websites on the other hand are always available for users to return to them.

A Mobile Website Can be an App!Just like a standard website, mobile websites can be developed as database-driven web applications that act very much like native apps. A mobile web application can be a practical alternative to native app development.

Time and Cost - Mobile Websites are Easier and Less Expensive Last but certainly not least, mobile website development is considerably more time and cost-effective than development of a native app, especially if you need to have a presence on different platforms (requiring development of multiple apps).

Support and SustainabilityThe investment considerations of app vs website don’t end with the initial launch; properly supporting and developing an app (upgrades, testing, compatibility issues and ongoing development) is more much more expensive and involved than supporting a website over time.

When Does an App Make Sense?
Despite the many inherent benefits of the mobile web, apps are still very popular, and there are a number of specific use scenarios where an app will be your best choice.  Generally speaking, if you need one of the following, an app makes sense:

Interactivity/Gaming – for interactive games (think Angry Birds) an app is almost always going to be your best choice, at least for the foreseeable future.

Regular Usage/Personalization – If your target users are going to be using your app in a personalized fashion on a regular basis (think EverNote) then an app provides a great way to do that.

Complex Calculations or Reporting – If you need something that will take data and allow you to manipulate it with complex calculations, charts or reports (think banking or investment) an app will help you do that very effectively.

Native Functionality or Processing Required - mobile web browsers are getting increasingly good at accessing certain mobile-specific functions such as click-to-call, SMS and GPS. However, if you need to access a user's camera or processing power an app will still do that much more effectivley.
No connection Required – If you need to provide offline access to content or perform functions without a network/wireless connection then an app makes sense.

 

Augmented Reality in Nutshell

What is it?
The goal of augmented reality is to add information and meaning to a real object or place. Unlike virtual reality, augmented reality does not create a simulation of reality. Instead, it takes a real object or space as the foundation and incorporates technologies that add contextual data to deepen a person’s understanding of the subject. For example, by superimposing imaging data from an MRI onto a patient’s body, augmented reality can help a surgeon pinpoint a tumor that is to be removed. In this case, the technology used might include headgear worn by the surgeon combined with a computer interface that maps data to the person lying on the operating table. In other cases, augmented reality might add audio commentary, location data, historical context, or other forms of content that can make a user’s experience of a thing or a place more meaningful.

Who’s doing it?
Augmented reality has been put to use in a number of fields, including medical imaging, where doctors can access data about patients; aviation, where tools show pilots important data about the landscape they are viewing; training, in which technology provides students or technicians with necessary data about specific objects they are working with; and in museums, where artefacts' can be tagged with information such as the artefact's historical context or where it was discovered. Within the academy, educators are beginning to provide students with deeper, more meaningful experiences by linking educational content with specific places and objects. In many disciplines, field trips are part of the course; by supplementing these explorations with mobile technologies and data-collection devices (including digital cameras), the lessons can be extended beyond the field trip. In some cases, augmented reality technologies have been integrated into educational games. In MIT’s Environmental Detectives, for example, students learn about environmental sciences and ecosystems by finding clues and solving a mystery on the MIT campus using PDAs fitted with GPS devices.

How does it work?
A range of technologies can be used for augmented reality. Many augmented reality projects use headgear or a similar device that projects data into the user’s field of vision, corresponding with a real object or space the user is observing. In the case of a technical course on PC maintenance, for example, augmented reality might overlay a schematic diagram onto the inside of a computer, allowing students to identify the various components and access technical specifications about them. PDAs or other portable devices can use GPS data to provide users with context— including visual, audio, or text-based data—about real objects or places. Augmented reality is not merely a companion text or multimedia file but a technology designed to “see” a real object or place and provide the user with appropriate information at the right time. Augmented reality is designed to blur the line between the reality the user is experiencing and the content provided by technology.

Why is it significant?
Because every object or place has a history and a context, making that content available to individuals interacting with those places or things provides a richer experience. To the extent that instructors can furnish students with a broad context for understanding the real world, students are more likely to comprehend what they are learning and to remember it later. Information can also come from students themselves. Students in an archaeology class might use an augmented reality system to capture their thoughts or impressions when working with artefacts. That content can then be made available to others during subsequent lab sessions, allowing them to have a deeper understanding of the subject matter and a richer learning experience. Augmented reality might also make higher education and specialized content more accessible to the general public, transporting lessons from the campus to the community.

What are the downsides?
Many augmented reality projects rely on specific or customized hardware, and the mechanisms that correlate data added by technology with the real world are often technically complex. Despite falling costs for hardware overall, augmented reality projects can be expensive to develop and maintain. Today’s augmented reality projects typically focus on individual users and may not lend themselves to team activities or group learning. In addition, augmented reality projects may resemble entertainment, raising questions about their pedagogical value. Educators must be careful to ensure that activities have educational merit and that students do not become infatuated with the technology alone.

Where is it going? 
Computing devices, especially wireless ones, are becoming more powerful and increasingly widespread. At the same time, costs for these devices are falling. As computing hardware—both wired and wireless—approaches ubiquity, new opportunities emerge to use technology to enrich individuals’ experiences of objects and places. Because all areas of academic inquiry benefit from background and context, augmented reality has the possibility of enhancing education across the curriculum. By exposing students to an experiential, explorative, and authentic model of learning early in their higher education careers, augmented reality has the potential to help shift modes of learning from students’ simply being recipients of content to their taking an active role in gathering and processing information, thereby creating knowledge.

What are the implications for teaching and learning?
Augmented reality is one way to bring experiential and location based learning to students by supplementing existing worlds rather than creating new ones. Augmented reality installations can be built to take advantage of existing or low-cost infrastructure. The use of nearly ubiquitous devices such as cell phones may permit rapid experimentation and evolution of augmented reality applications. By combining technology familiar to students with locations that students see as their own, augmented reality has the potential
to move learning out of the classrooms and into the spaces where students live. Encouraging informal learning that is easily accessible may prove particularly effective in engaging students, extending learning to spaces that might help them form connections with content, the locations that provide the context for it, and the peers that they share it with.