Web apps for mobile - hurdles and gotchas
A presentation at MobileCamp Ljubljana in in Ljubljana, Slovenia by Luka Kladaric
Luka Kladaric @allixsenos www.designeus.hr
state of “normal” web? @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
it’s alive like never before new browsers, engines, frameworks & languages @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
CSS design is still sometimes tricky but a lot better than a couple of years ago @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
IE6 blows… …but we’re almost rid of it @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
the rest of it is actually alright @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
it’s stable and hassle-free @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
…most of the time @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
state of mobile web? @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
someone broke the time machine, it’s 2000. & 2010. out there at the same time @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
ecosystem VERY fragmented phones & OS’s, browsers, versions @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
rapidly developing & changing @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
long tail of old devices, left behind @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
no real standards we can look forward to mobile web will always be different @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
why do we even bother? @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
4.6 billion mobile devices. right now. 5 billion some time in 2010 feature phones smartphones, PDAs & MIDs … @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
most are capable of consuming mobile web of some sort @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
do you have a mobile web app? @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
opportunities always with the user, not bound to a PC location-aware different situations and contexts more powerful than you imagine the infrastructure just needs to catch up @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
limits screen size, resolution & orientation input sucks yes, even on the iphone slow CPUs, no RAM complex stuff takes ages to parse and display slow networks bigger stuff takes ages to load @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
problems @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
flaky network connections error handling is your first component light AJAX, if you can depending on your use-case, a local database to allow for offline/resync @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
forget progressive enhancement & graceful degradation too many platforms, maintenance is a nightmare mobile browsers that strip down content are a big hit Opera Mini, Skyfire… @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
solutions? the facebook way the Google Mail way the Google Buzz way lowest common denominator IE Mobile, NetFront (SonyEricsson), etc. wurfl helps, but nowhere near a silver bullet @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
solutions? (II) one way or another, there can’t be a One True Mobile Web App if you still don’t believe me: Mobile compatibility tables http://www.quirksmode.org/m/table.html @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
outside the box things get even worse when you reach outside the browser not important with “real” web but a big issue with mobile almost no access NO standardization, complete lack of proper documentation @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
outside the box II composing an SMS with a predefined body and destination number geo-location reliability interface with camera & other HW device events, notifications @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
links QuirksMode compatibility charts http://www.quirksmode.org/m/ dotMobi Mobile Web Developer’s guide http://mobiforge.com/starting/story/dotmobi-mobile-web-developers-guide WURFL http://wurfl.sourceforge.net/ @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
questions? @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
thank you Luka Kladaric @allixsenos luka@designeus.hr www.designeus.hr @allixsenos #mclj Web applications for Mobile
