It's functionally identical to the app version, right down to the nice icon. So, you wonder why FB bothered to commit the resources to building an app. Now maybe if the app supported FB chat running in the background, it would be worth it, but as we know, nothing can run in the background unless it's built by Apple.

This is the same story with many of the apps. Don't get me started on the useless, I mean “fun”, apps.

On another front, Apple's also since dropped the NDA that prevented developers from collaborating more fully.

One unpublicized feature introduced by Apple's latest iPhone software updates is the ability to save Web apps to the home screen and have them launch in full-screen mode without the Safari wrapper, essentially mimicking the experience of a native app.

Clancy, an AppleInsider reader who brought the matter to our attention, believes the undocumented feature arrived as part of the most recent iPhone Software 2.1 update. He notes that the capability is only present in Web applications specifically authored to include the full-screen code.

Seriously, I raised this point in another context – while I am not a technical person myself, I recognize that many Oracle people are, and therefore I have no objection if PKI keys or whatever are inserted into conversations.

I for one will not try to “FTB” techie talk.

OK, this is the appslab blog, less technical talk, more techno fluff.

I would love to see the iPhone run gears or Android phones run cocoa apps. The money is really in the distribution of the apps themselves, control the platform, control the store, you own the market. I think we'll see more platforms go that way in the future.

I tried a whole load of iPhone Apps and removed them (I don't like clutter), I have a handful left that I do use. A good example to your point; I tried twitterific and twinkle but I find mobile twitter loads fast and works fine (what's not to work, requirement: let me insert 140 characters) so I junked those two.

I'm sure someone will try to put Android on it. Not sure that will fly though, due to Apple's hardware quirks.

That's interesting regarding Android on an unlocked iPhone. Think i'd want to run it in a VMware session! Too bad the iPhone specs aren't robust enough to support something like that.

I wonder how long before someone gets Android running on an unlocked iPhone?

Android has a nice stack with Gears that will help developers and customers (faster UI if they can store persistent data on the device.) I think the complexity that Android faces is how they manage various screen sizes inherent with each hardware platform it supports. Apple doesn't have to worry about this with the iPhone.

Would Apple benefit from a Gears solution added to its iPhone stack?

I agree with your points about iPhone app vs. a Safari-based, optimized for iPhone web apps and wasted effort. The Facebook app is a good example; it was one of the best web apps on the iPhone, and now it's one of the best apps on the iPhone. Functionally, the two are very similar, and you wonder why they bothered, aside from cool factor.

Stepping outside the iPhone, developing mobile web apps is a nightmare. Check out Jason Grigsby's slides for crazy stats on the number of platforms and differences between hardware. Even the same mobile O/S won't behave the same way between different devices. I'm guessing Android will also have this issue.

Mobile web is fascinating, but challenging.

I agree, offline apps are going to grow like gangbusters with the pipes to everyone's home getting bigger. Between Gears, Air, Shoes, and traditional thick apps its an exciting time to be a developer. I'm just waiting for the day when we're back on mainframe (with some new fancy buzzword) and all the old cobol guys get to give us an, “I told you so.”