UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI PAVIA
FACOLTÀ DI LETTERE E FILOSOFIA, SCIENZE POLITICHE,
GIURISPRUDENZA, INGEGNERIA, ECONOMIA
CORSO DI LAUREA MAGISTRALE INTERFACOLTÀ IN
COMUNICAZIONE PROFESSIONALE E MULTIMEDIALITÀ
MOBILE WEBSITE VS MOBILE APP:
STRATEGIE DI PROGETTO E SCENARI APPLICATIVI
Relatore:
Prof. Marco Porta
Correlatore:
Prof. Massimo Cellario
Tesi di Laurea di
Eleonora Campi
Anno Accademico 2011/2012
THE MOBILE WORLD
The social is made up of a set of intense relations
between individuals in close physical proximity
John Urry, The New Mobilities Paradigm:
mobile communication technologies have
enabled the proliferation of connections at
a distance, which are crucial for social life
Mobile computing means accessing data
without constraints on the physical location
or on the equipment involved
HOMO MOBILIS
MOBILE DEVICES
Features:
 personal
 always avaliable
 immediacy of use
 always connected
 customisation
 interaction
 location
VARIETY OF MOBILE DEVICES
Tablet
E-book reader
Smartphone
Play station
Portable PC
Navigation system
Media player
THE HISTORY
History:
 Brick Era
 CandyBar Era
 Feature Phone Era
 Smartphone Era
 Touch Era
Smartphones’ features:
 organization of personal activity
 functions of PC
 media functions
 telecommunication functions
 Internet services
 GPS software
Wireless or Bluetooth connectivity
THE MOBILE ECOSYSTEM
Operators manage their networks
Platforms are:
 licensed
 proprietary
 open
Operating systems are between
the platform and applications
Application frameworks are used to
create applications
MOBILE OPERATING SYSTEMS
A mobile operating system, also referred to as mobile OS, is the operating
system that operates a smartphone, tablet or other digital mobile devices
Modern mobile OSs add to the features of a personal computer’s operating system
the capability to work with touchscreens, Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, video camera, voice
recorder, music player, …
Standard parts are:
 kernel
 file system
 virtual memory
 scheduler
 user interface
Mobile OSs are:
 Symbian OS
 Android Os
 iOs
 Windows Phone
SYMBIAN OS
WINDOWS
PHONE
ANDROID OS
iOS
THE MOBILE WEB…
The mobile web refers to the access to the World Wide Web, that is the use of
browser-based internet services from a mobile device connected to a mobile
network or other wireless networks
Features:
 smaller view
 more suitable for fast contents
 geolocalized
 a Consortium takes care of the standardization
 large development
…THE MOBILE WEB
Mobile web 2.0:
 geolocalization
 offline navigation
 social networking activity
 contextual advertising
 on-demand streaming video
 touch and multitouch
 HTML5, CSS3, Javascript
Mobile websites can be:
Derived: PC version
adapted to mobile
Dedicated: specially
designed for mobile
PC desktop
website
Derived
website
Dedicated
website
APPLICATIONS
An application is a computer program designed to help people perform an activity.
Depending on the activity, it can manipulate text, numbers, graphics
Apps: applications for mobile devices
Two ideal requirements for apps:
adaptability
portability
Three types of apps:
 web apps
 native apps
 hybrid apps
WEB APPS OR NATIVE APPS?
A native application:
is specifically designed to be run on
a mobile device
is developed for specific devices
A web application or webapp:
is avaliable through a web browser
it can be used by all devices that can
access the web
Features:
Features:
 performance
 distribution and
market visibility
 streamlined
support
 full access to GPS,
camera, etc.
 app data stored
locally
 languages: C, C ++,
Objective-C, Java
 interoperability
and vendor
independence
 streamlined
maintenance
 based on open web
standards
 faster development
 languages: HTML5,
CSS, Javascript
HYBRID APPS
The hybrid model is introduced to solve the limitations of the two models above, in
response to the requirements of portability and adaptability
Ability to access the functions
of the device
No need to write specific code
for each device/platform
Phonegap
Some software tools are
designed to create hybrid
apps:
Titanium mobile
Sencha Touch
CASE STUDIES
What is better?
Mobile website or mobile app?
I have considered four apps.
The purpose of the analysis is to figure out which of the two
alternatives offers better functionalities
GOOGLE MAPS
mobile website
mobile app
The Maps app has more functions and
related apps:
 Navigator
 Google Earth
 Offline maps
 Google Local
 3d
 The mobile site has a simpler interface
 The mobile site’s basic functions are easy to use
 The app is more suitable complex operations
 The app is more integrated with the device
YouTube
mobile website
mobile app
The YouTube app offers:
 channel management
 possibility to record videos with the
integrated camera
 There are not substantial differences
 The interface changes slightly
 For watching videos, both possibilities are good
 For managing your own channel, the app is better
FACEBOOK
mobile website
mobile app
The Facebook app offers:
 chat
 possibility to take and upload photos
with the integrated camera
 There are not substantial differences
 The interface changes slightly
 FB developers are focusing more on the mobile
site because it is cross-platform
 For the chat feature, the app is the best solution
EBAY
mobile website
mobile app
The eBay app offers:
 possibility to use the integrated
camera
 acoustic signal for any news
 The mobile site is very similar to the app
 Differences are minimal
 A buyer can use both versions
 A vendor may prefer the app because of the the
camera use
IN CONCLUSION…
Surveys have shown that users prefer apps
because they are:
 more convenient
 faster
 easier to browse
 better from the user experience point
of view
 easier to buy
…IN CONCLUSION
 Mobile web apps are not integrated in the
devices but they are cross platform
 Apps are not cross-platforms
 Mobile apps must be accessed through the
web browser
 Apps are of immediate use because an icon
is on the screen
Your customers dream of a happier and better life.
Don’t move products. Enrich lives
[Cit. Steve Jobs]