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 John Urry, The New Mobilities Paradigm: mobile communication technologies have enabled the proliferation of connections at a distance, which are crucial for social life The social is made up of a set of intense relations between individuals in close physical proximity 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 Smartphone Tablet Navigation systemMedia playerPlay station E-book readerPortable PC

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 Application frameworks are used to create applications Operating systems are between the platform and applications Platforms are:  licensed  proprietary  open

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 Dedicated website Derived website PC desktop website Mobile websites can be:  Derived: PC version adapted to mobile  Dedicated: specially designed for mobile

APPLICATIONS An application is a computer program designed to help people perform an activity. Depending on the activity, it can manipulate text, numbers, graphics Two ideal requirements for apps:  adaptability  portability Three types of apps:  web apps  native apps  hybrid apps Apps: applications for mobile devices

WEB APPS OR NATIVE APPS? A web application or webapp:  is avaliable through a web browser  it can be used by all devices that can access the web Features:  interoperability and vendor independence  streamlined maintenance  based on open web standards  faster development  languages: HTML5, CSS, Javascript Features:  performance  distribution and market visibility  streamlined support  full access to GPS, camera, etc.  app data stored locally  languages: C, C ++, Objective-C, Java A native application:  is specifically designed to be run on a mobile device  is developed for specific devices

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 Some software tools are designed to create hybrid apps: Phonegap 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 appThe 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 appThe 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  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 The Facebook app offers:  chat  possibility to take and upload photos with the integrated camera

EBAY mobile website mobile app  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 The eBay app offers:  possibility to use the integrated camera  acoustic signal for any news

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]