The HTML5 Paradigm Shift–Don’t Miss The Next Wave
Earlier today Neilson released a study showing Android users spend twice as much of their phone usage time with native applications compared to the web. Ok, I will buy that. I am going to even do some further analysis and read into what Android users are actually doing, using Facebook. I feel comfortable saying that because I have reviewed several studies breaking down how smartphones are actually used over the past year. I also watch people around me, yep I am a creeper.
Now you may find it interesting that I am taking the time to promote this study since I am a champion of the mobile web. But for now I have to admit what is most likely true based on observations and of course real data Neilson has collected. The studies I read late last year showed the opposite breakdown for overall smartphone usage, roughly 65% web usage over native applications. I realize consumers follow the cool trends and change habits at the drop of a dime. Until the past few weeks the media has all but hyped native applications the past couple of years over the web. But that is starting to change.
Last week a large wave was created when Amazon launched its HTML5 Cloud Reader, or web version of the Kindle. This web application works in Safari, Chrome and the iPad, which means I can use it on just about any computer device I have. Well except my Windows Phone 
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Amazon’s Cloud Reader
The Cloud Reader does more than just get around Apple’s prohibitive 30% tax, it changes the web site user experience paradigm. The comment I have heard the most over the past week is (paraphrasing) “It’s just like the desktop application” with stunned amazement.
There has been more than one time over the past year when I said I have not seen any user experience in a Flash or Silverlight application I did not think could be replicated as an HTML5 application. Until a few months ago this was often met with a scoff. And honestly they had a point, I mean where were the real examples running around? I personally had not created any of them.
Earlier this summer we started seeing more and more HTML5 ‘apps’ being launched, such as the Financial Times, which was fine. But honestly the Financial Times application did not really inspire me because it did not push boundaries. What I mean is it still looks like a ‘classic’ web site.
In fact I struggle to find HTML5 sites that really apply real rich user experiences. I look through HTML5 Gallery and just see classic web sites. The Amazon Cloud Reader does what should be done, make a real application. There is something to be said to the ‘it’s just like the desktop application’.
We, the web developer/designer community have not successfully reached outside the menu across the top, or down the side and the 3 column layout in nearly 20 years. Its time for that to change. The more we start pushing the boundaries the more consumer excitement we are going to generate.
I am also looking at you, native application developer. I spend time each day reviewing native apps on my Windows Phone, Android app stores, Chrome apps and iTunes looking for inspiration. For the most part I am not inspired. Almost every iOS application is extremely uninspiring. I mean they all look EXACTLY the same, a list of records with a gradient background and an arrow on the right-hand side. Android, I have no clue what’s going on there, but it feels like a bit of chaos to me where Linux heroes design interfaces that stand just above their command line world or just a carbon copy of the iOS version.
Then there is the Windows Phone Marketplace. Metro UI is the #1 feature the Windows Phone ecosystem has given us. Just today Dilbert’s Scott Adams declared Windows Phone the winner in his phone evaluation, mostly because the user experience was superior. I agree. Metro is the thing that drew me into Windows Phone, not because it has a lot of features or cool apps. The browser, even on Mango is not that good either. But Metro is awesome and inspiring.
The problem is very few Windows Phone application developers have tried to really implement it, yet. There are way too many applications that just seem to do a File + New WP7 project, add a few pages, controls and bind some data then upload to the marketplace. Some even go to the trouble, not naming names, to make their application remind me of PowerPoint 95 slides. You know the ones that hurt your eyes.
FourSquare Windows Phone 7 Application
I love the FourSquare application because it takes advantage of the Metro UI and pushes it to a place all applications (native and web) should target. The first release of the official application was just not good, in both performance and design. It was simply frustrating. The new application has become an extension of my daily travels.
Can you create this application experience as an HTML5 application? Absolutely! In fact you don’t even need HTML5 features to pull this UI off. You only need to understand HTML, CSS and AJAX and you can recreate every single element of this application as a web site. The thing that is missing is a confident imagination.
The Summer of 2011 looks the be the Summer where HTML5 really starts to lay its foundation as the next big user experience wave. Amazon has proven where things can go. The question is are you willing to push the boundaries, make mistakes and create a totally new paradigm? Are you going to build desktop, tablet and phone applications that can flip the native application to web usage numbers the other direction? Trust me, its fun, you’ll see.