Developing mobile apps need not be as limiting or as device specific. Those who are having knowledge of Javascript, HTML, CSS, can create mobile apps fast and simple for multiple platforms. The solution is PhoneGap, an open source mobile development framework used by NUS, Logitech and BBC Olympics.
Phone gap has removed the requirement to develop separate apps for windows, Android and iOS. Thus developers can develop the apps with the web technology they are comfortable with, optimize them with PhoneGap and implement in their choicest platform. PhoneGaps popularity can be clearly elucidated by the fact that it has been downloaded more than a million times and worldwide more than 400,000 developers use it.
The normal ways of creating mobile apps is changed by PhoneGap. With PhoneGap it is possible to use our current web development techniques, develop mobile apps faster than past and be costeffective for clients.
The pros of PhoneGap are multiple however, like all technologies there are some factors where we need to be careful. Let’s now see several criteria everyone should pay more heed to before launching PhoneGap.
- Companies can use the skills already possessed by them (Javascript, HTML, CSS) instead of hiring developers with skills like Java and Objective-C, when they use PhoneGap.
- PhoneGap helps developers to develop and publish apps in several mobile platforms like:Android, Samsung Bada, Apple/ iOS, Blackberry, Windows, WebOS and Symbian.
- PhoneGap offers access to different phone features through Javascript API like camera, geolocation, accelerometer, network etc. This permits the feature rich app development instead of pure HTML5 web based app.
- Since PhoneGap codeis “write once, run anywhere”, lot of time saving can be done since one mobile application is created and run as native application in different platforms.
- PhoneGap is open source in nature which means that there is an extraordinary group related to the solution that moves technology forward with a broad variety of user given plugins.
- Many built-in phone features like storage on Bada are not supported by PhoneGap.
- Since PhoneGap applications look similar across every platform they may look generic unlike Android app or iOS app. A tool known as Steroid can be used to make the application look more native.
- You can package mobile application with a service offered by Adobe known as PhoneGap Build. Thus developers can create iphone apps without the need for windows phone apps or Mac. When you create one app at a time, this is a free service.
- Multiple devices are covered by PhoneGap, thus it lags from the native platforms while they introduce new features. So incase a new feature is included in iOS, updates need to be made in PhoneGap post launch.
- Different actions such as clicks, taps, double taps are found in different devices. Compromises are made to deal with these differing touch gestures.
- Some years before many phones had a tough time in running a hybrid app without feeling slow. Only the computationally heavy apps are not compatible for PhoneGap.
- Since it is simple to create cross platform, developers require testing in multiple devices. Inorder to make device testing simpler, there are some initiatives like Edinburgh DeviceLab.
Inorder to quickly and cheaply create cross platform applications, you can rely on PhoneGap. PhoneGap offers lots of advantages for agencies and cost effectiveness for clients.
