Native Apps vs. Mobile Web: Pros and Cons [infographic]

I’m becoming a huge fan of infographics, they are everywhere. Infographics provide an aesthetically-pleasing way of presenting complex information quickly, clearly and cleanly. Recently a number of companies have come out with tools, that enable us to create these cool graphics with little knowlege of design, my favorite is http://infogr.am/. Check it out when you have a chance, it’s simply awesome.

One of the questions I hear often with regards to mobile learning (mLearning) is whether companies should consider building mobile apps or developing mLearning that can be consumed by learners via browsers on mobile devices. Like anything else there are pros and cons, so it depends.

I ran into the infographic below, and while it compares Apps vs building a website, I believe the principles here are still applicable for deciding how to go about building and delivering learning experiences on mobile.

On the one hand, mobile apps provide more possibilities because developers can make use of features like location services, camera, gyroscope, accelerometer, etc., however they are more expensive to build and companies have to account for so many platforms, each with different programming languages, including iOS, Android, Windows Phone, RIM and others.

This can quickly become time consuming and very expensive. Not to mention the fact that you may need to go through store approval, just ask the makers of the OnLive app, who has been waiting for Apple’s approval for 6 months.

I’m not saying this will happen to your learning app, as it may be for internal deployment, in which case your app may never need to go through the App store, but hopefully you get my point here.

Having said that, I personally think that going the mobile web route is a better way to go for mLearning. As technologies around HTML5 get more powerful and we continue to see what’s possible with Responsive Web design, I’m convinced we can create great learning experiences that adapts to different screen sizes, and  can consumed my learners everywhere, including the desktop and mobile devices, all while using a single codebase.

Check out the infographic below and share your thoughts by commenting or by voting below. And if you find this interesting, hit the Tweet button at the top and share with your Twitter followers.

What do you think? Mobile Native Apps for mLearning, the Mobile Web or both?

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The decision between building a mobile website or a mobile application is ultimately a decision unique to your business. If possible, companies should develop both in order to leverage these two powerful platforms. If only one can be chosen, business must first assess their goals and resources, then closely consider the differences detailed in the infographic and the audience they want to reach. Only then can a business truly tell which mobile method will provide more value, advantages, and opportunities with the massive mobile market.

Infographicby MDG Advertising

via Mobile App or Mobile Website Development? | Which Has Better Long-Term Value? | An infographic by MDG Advertising.