How to Decide Whether to Use Native or Web App Development for the Android

The following excerpt from Building Android Apps with HTML, CSS, and Javascript outlines the pros and cons of the two approaches you can choose from when building an application for an Android phone.

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Different applications have different requirements. Some apps are a better fit with web technologies than others. Knowing the pros and cons of each approach will help you make a better decision about which path is appropriate for your situation.

Here are the pros of native app development:

• Millions of registered credit card owners are one click away
  
• You can access all the cool hardware features of the device

Here are the cons of native app development:

• You have to pay to become an Android developer
  
• Your app will run only on Android phones
  
• You have to develop using Java
  
• The development cycle is slow (develop, compile, deploy, repeat)

Here are the pros of web app development:

• Web developers can use their current authoring tools
  
• You can use your current web design and development skills
  
• Your app will run on any device that has a web browser
  
• You can fix bugs in real time
  
• The development cycle is fast

Here are the cons of web app development:

• You cannot access the all cool hardware features of the phone
  
• You have to roll your own payment system if you want to charge for the app
  
• It can be difficult to achieve sophisticated UI effects

Which Approach Is Right for You?

Here’s where it gets exciting. The always-online nature of the Android phone creates an environment in which the lines between a web app and a native app get blurry. There are even some little-known features of the Android web browser that allow you to take a web app offline if you want. What’s more, several third-party projects—of which PhoneGap is the most notable—are actively developing solutions that allow web developers to take a web app and package it as a native app for Android and other mobile platforms.

For me, this is the perfect blend. I can write in my native language, release a product as a pure web app (for Android and any other devices that have a modern browser), and use the same code base to create an enhanced native version that can access the device hardware and potentially be sold in the Android Market. This is a great way to create a “fremium” model for your app—allow free access to the web app and charge for the more feature-rich native version.