HTML5 will have a minor impact on the apps ecosystem, according to the
Strategy Analytics Apps Ecosystem Opportunities report "HTML5:
No Threat to Native App Dominance." The feature-rich
superiority of native apps and the risk HTML5's open standards creates
for existing revenue streams will confine HTML5 to niche status.
Instead, Strategy Analytics predicts that a third type of application,
the hybrid, will exhibit strong growth. Already services, such as
PhoneGap, Sencha, Brightcove and Marmalade are allowing developers to
combine an HTML5 core with native APIs to leverage the best of native
and open standards. This Strategy Analytics report profiles these
companies, clarifies the motives of key players in the apps ecosystem
and evaluates the technical, business, and strategic hurdles HTML5 faces
as it tries to compete with native apps.
According to Josh Martin, director of apps research at Strategy
Analytics, "HTML5 is not the future of apps. While developers dream of
'write once run everywhere,' the fragmented support for and limited APIs
within HTML5 make this impossible. In fact, we predict the hybrid app is
the future. Existing business models are protected, differentiation
among and within ecosystems remains intact, and consumption continues
unabated. The end result is the continued dominance of iOS, Android, and
increasingly Windows Phone."
Strategy Analytics Inc. provides market
intelligence focused on opportunities and disruptive forces in the areas
of automotive electronics and entertainment, broadband connected home, mobile
and wireless intelligent systems and virtual worlds.
The company is headquartered in Boston, with offices in Europe and Asia.
