Instead of being so worried over whether HTML5 will ultimately bring-on the demise of applications, marketers should focus on a strategy that incorporates both ? where branded apps complement their mobile Web site counterparts.

Adobe?s study on the consumer?s mobile experience and preferences is the second recent report to find that applications are not driving the use of mobile devices for accessing information while on the go. While Adobe?s just-released survey found that most consumers prefer the mobile Web to applications, a recent Pew study found that less than 25 percent of adults even use the apps on their smartphones.

?Web development is not write once and it works everywhere,? said Patrick Mork, chief marketing officer at GetJar, San Francisco. ?We discussed this on a panel at CTIA last week with executives from Nokia, Alcaltel-Lucent and Yahoo. 

?Even with HTML5 you have multiple standards and there isn't a unique set of APIs that will work on all devices,? he said. ?More people using mobile Web than apps is only partially true. 

?If you look at the comScore data from April of this year, you'll see that the proportion of folks browsing on their phones versus downloading and using apps is strikingly close. This is despite the fact that there are three-times more feature phones than smartphones.?

Mr. Mork said that searching within the application stores is easier than on the mobile Web.

He suggested searching for Fortune Magazine on mobile using Google and seeing if the result is the correct mobile address. 

?Search on mobile is, simply put, terrible,? Mr. Mork said. ?This is a big reason for apps. 

?Searching for apps whether on GetJar, Android Market or the App Store is still faster and more precise,? he said.

Benefit of apps
With a lot of applications, users are not required to be connected to the network for them to be used, unlike mobile Web, which needs to be connected or else it does not render.

Applications provide a richer, deeper and more engaging experience than mobile Web and far more functionality, per Mr. Mork.

Additionally, applications can still leverage unique device APIs that the mobile Web cannot ? not even using HTML5.

The unique tap-and-scroll experience makes applications addictive and fun to use. This experience is not offered on the mobile Web.

?The app is leveraging the device that it is on,? said Michael Burke, president and cofounder of appssavvy, New York. ?Adding benefits like GPS, which tells the app where you are, provide utility about what is around you.?

Misconceptions
One common misconception is that only smartphones run applications. 

The 2,300 devices supported on GetJar are testament to the fact that this is false, per Mr. Mork.

?Feature-phone apps also exist but are less well known,? Mr. Mork said. ?Their consumption has been fierce, though, as more than 1 billion downloads on GetJar have shown.?

Another misconception is that applications are hard to find.
 
Also not true. Application stores like GetJar have services like pay-per-download to help developers promote their apps within the store. 

?Alternatively, we now also provide a cross-platform Web-to-mobile tool to help big brands promote their apps directly from their Web sites regardless of the phone make or model consumers use,? Mr. Mork said.

Another misconception is that developing on the mobile Web is less expensive than building a mobile application.

But Mr. Mork pointed out that there are now tools by the likes of Whoop, Grapple, Didmo and others that make cross-platform development as cheap as Web development. 

Furthermore, several of these even leverage unique device capabilities whether they are touch screen or motion sensing.

Apps will live on
Because of all the benefits that are unique to mobile applications they will live on, according to Mr. Mork and Mr. Burke.

?The benefit of the Web is it is much more open and apps are very pointed to a topic, or content,? Mr. Burke said. ?The mobile Web is open access to any Web site at any time.

?I don?t think HTML5 will cause the demise of apps,? he said. ?HTML5 might make apps more similar to bookmarks. I think apps benefit the Web.

?The Web needs apps for more traffic. Apps change the way people use their mobile devices and drive traffic to the Web and are even like a entry into the Web.

?Apps and Web need to complement each other not compete.?

Mr. Mork also said he supports both Web and applications.

The company is seeing a lot of traction in application adoption from consumers.

?Eventually HTML5 will usurp the functionality of some, simpler apps but we think both will co-exist and apps will always provide a richer experience since handsets advance more quickly than the expensive networks that they run on,? Mr. Mork said.

Final take
Giselle Tsirulnik is senior editor of Mobile Marketer
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