Readers of blog.bango.com will be well aware of Bango’s strong support for the development of “web apps” – which can be delivered across a wide range of devices by using technologies such as HTML5 and modern browsers. Bango technology has been optimized for browser deployment, and we see the browser as a great platform to enable truly explosive growth of mobile by making apps less dependent on the handset operating system. If you want to share an App or service with others, it makes more sense to mail or tweet out a link to a web app than to try to get your friends to download apps!
It seems like Facebook may have the same vision according to an article in TechCrunch , joining Twitter and Google in pushing towards the mobile browser as the “Killer Platform”
There are some interesting points in the article:
“Facebook is about to launch a mobile platform aimed squarely at working on the iPhone (and iPad). But it won’t be distributed through the App Store as a native application, it will be entirely HTML5-based and work in Safari.”
and “those familiar with the project believe the intention is very clear: to use Apple’s own devices against them to break the stranglehold they have on mobile app distribution. With nearly 700 million users, Facebook is certainly in the position to challenge the almighty App Store distribution mechanism. But they need to be able to do so on Apple’s devices which make up a key chunk of the market.”
Bango provides payment services that work really well in web apps, so it was interesting to read TechCrunch’s take on payments in the case of Facebook:
“One thing the App Store has nailed is an easy payment system. Facebook has been attempting to build the same thing with Credits, but so far hasn’t done much in the mobile space. With Project Spartan, they intend to have Credits built-in to allow developers to sell apps and offer in-app purchases. This will be vital for a partner like Zynga, for example.”
We don’t know whether “Project Spartan” actually exists or whether its a “labs” project, as Facebook has not made any announcements. Nevertheless, the ideas presented by TechCrunch are compelling, not only for Facebook but for any App or platform developer looking to take their services to a mass audience.
Bango thrives in an open environment where consumers have choice of apps and are not constrained by a “prison garden” mentality that tries to force loyalty to particular devices. Seems like Facebook could be joining Bango, Google, Twitter and others as a strong ally in this new wave.