Mobiele app vs mobiele website

posted on Jul 27, 2011 by in iPhone / iPad, Mobile

Regelmatig verschijnen er artikelen waar een vergelijking wordt gemaakt tussen een mobiele website vs een echte app. Meestal hebben de argumenten te maken met technische en economisch redenen.

Vandaag kwam ik artikel tegen van Matt Legend Gemmell en daar gaat hij juist veel meer in op psychologische effecten. Als je je bezighoudt met mobiel is het artikel zeker de moeite waard om te lezen.

Hieronder enkele quotes uit het artikel:

Apps, by virtue of running on devices which we’re physically interacting with, have two frames of interaction: the app, and the device. You’re reaching through a window to do whatever you’re doing.
A web app (frame 1) running within a browser app (frame 2) on a smartphone device (frame 3) has three frames of interaction. You’re reaching through a window, then putting your hands into a box, to perform your task.
Arguably (albeit humorously) excluding women, humans are designed to focus the majority of our attention on a single task at a time. Interfaces which permit and even encourage this separation of concerns reduce our stress level, and facilitate concentration. Many mobile devices use an interface design which enforces a “one app at a time” interaction model.
Native apps are the fortune of an ecosystem, and thus of a platform. For that reason, native apps tend to get free marketing, both at the user level and at the platform-provider level – and that’s never been more important than on mobile devices. Apple’s walled garden is the sleek toyshop that’s already in your customer’s pocket, and they’re willing to put your app in the window once in a while if it’s good enough.
Platform-agnosticism is part of your politics, not your customers’ buying decision. Users couldn’t care less, particularly non-technical users.
... people want an experience that’s delightful, and tailored to what they want to do. Something dedicated, and designed. Something specific, and something special – and something that works with what they already have, without effort or aggravation. They want to hit a button and be subscribed, and wake up to a new issue waiting for them while the coffee machine is bubbling away.