I few weeks months ago I committed to using mobile web applications (where available) on my phone. I have both enjoyed, and been extremely frustrated using mobile web experiences (@lukew) vs their native counterparts. In most cases I enjoy the mobile web experience more, they seem to be updated more frequently and keep consistent with the style of the standard desktop web version. At the same time, certain functions aren’t implemented, try uploading a picture to Twitter on their mobile site, no options for that, yet.
Daily Web Apps Pros/Cons
Twitter - http://m.twitter.com
- Pros: Service integration is implemented faster, better metadata for tweets
- Cons: No push notifications, limited timeline, no contact integration or images upload
Google Reader - http://google.com/reader/m
- Pros: Always in sync with desktop
- Cons: No offline access
Facebook - http://m.facebook.com
- Pros: No background battery drain, access to some Facebook Apps
- Cons: Infinite timeline loop bug, no contact integration
YouTube - http://m.youtube.com
- Pros: Fancy new UI
- Cons: Limited sharing, can’t upload
Limited Mobile Web
Foursquare provides limited options on their mobile web experience. You can view venue details, badges, profiles and such, however you’ll only see those if you open a foursquare link on a mobile phone. Otherwise http://m.foursquare.com takes you to a functional, yet ugly, interface that hasn’t gotten any love for a few years. I wish they had a more robust mobile web experience and a mobile home/landing page. The mobile pages look great, however I can’t checkin to a venue (something that Gowalla’s mobile web experience allowed) through the browser.
No Official Native App
Stack Exchange has a variety of third-party mobile apps build off of their API. While many may be pretty good (I’ve tried 2) they aren’t Stack Exchange proper. They guys behind Stack Overflow took their time in developing a mobile web experience that is the right blend of what you can do on a mobile and what you should do on a mobile phone. They took their sweet time, but it is a great experience. After launching their mobile initiative I uninstalled the native app I’d been using and now link directly to the site.
No Official Native App
Stack Exchange has a variety of third-party mobile apps build off of their API. While many may be pretty good (I’ve tried 2) they aren’t Stack Exchange proper. They guys behind Stack Overflow took their time in developing a mobile web experience that is the right blend of what you can do on a mobile and what you should do on a mobile phone. They took their sweet time, but it is a great experience. After launching their mobile initiative I uninstalled the native app I’d been using and now link directly to the site.
