Did you know that many of the seemingly “native” smartphone apps you use every day aren’t really native apps at all? For example, popular smartphone apps like Facebook, Netflix, and Linkedin (to name a few) are actually hybrid apps–a cross between mobile web apps and native apps. Today, let’s examine the hybrid application approach, and learn why so many businesses are taking that approach.

Now, before I explain hybrid apps, let me first say this: Many businesses turn mobile apps into a bigger and more expensive job than it needs to be. The fact is, mobile web applications are more than enough for most companies, and they’re easier to build, work across all platforms, and can handle most anything that a native app can handle. If your company is considering mobile apps, mobile web apps are most likely the best option.

That being said, some companies actually need (or think they need) native apps. Maybe they need an app that can access the camera or microphone. Maybe they want to place their app in the app store/market. Whatever the reason, if your company needs to build native apps, the hybrid approach will save considerable time and money.

What is a hybrid app?

A hybrid app is a mobile web app (HTML/CSS/Javascript) that has been wrapped in a native shell. To an end user, a hybrid app is indistinguishable from a native app. It is downloaded from an app store/market, looks and feels like a native app, is stored on the device, and launched like a normal app. As I mentioned above, many of the “native” apps you have on your phone are probably hybrid apps.

How does it help?

Suppose you wanted to build native mobile apps for each major platform (iOS, Android, WP7, Blackberry). Here’s the difference between the native and hybrid approach:

• Native approach: You would need 4 different developers to create 4 different applications.
• Hybrid approach: You would need one web developer to create one mobile web app. Then, using a free tool like Phonegap, that developer could wrap that one mobile web app in different native shells for each platform.

Since both options produce the same result, which one would you rather take? If you need to create native apps, the hybrid approach is practically a no-brainer.

Conclusion

If your company is considering mobile apps, mobile web apps are generally sufficient. However, if your company needs to build native apps, consider the hybrid approach. It will give you all the advantages of native apps along with the “build once, use anywhere” advantage of mobile web apps. In short, the hybrid approach gives you the best of both worlds at a fraction of the time and cost of native apps.

There’s a great new template in the project exchange that you have to check out. It’s called the “Quicksand template”, and it uses a really cool jQuery effect to bring animated sorting and filtering to your web apps. As you can see from the demo, it creates a pretty slick, yet unique interface.

As with all templates in the project exchange, it’s free for m-Power users. So, if you want to build web applications with this template, head on over to this page and download it. For those that want to learn a little more about the Quicksand Template first, here’s a nice description.

What is a template?

If you’re unfamiliar with m-Power templates, let me give you a short explanation. I hesitate to use the word “template”, because m-Power’s templates are nothing like the typical templates you might find in MS Word or Powerpoint. Those templates do nothing more than provide a basic layout, while m-Power’s templates are far more powerful.

m-Power’s templates are essentially pre-built (yet customizable) web applications. They include the application layout, foundation, and advanced features like ajax suggest, sorting, filtering, searching, graphing, and much more. Basically, once you add your data and define a few specs, you’ve created a web application.

Now, that’s just a basic explanation, but it should give you a decent idea of what m-Power’s templates include. If you would like to learn more, feel free to check out this page.

Every Friday, I share the most interesting and useful tech articles that I’ve found over the past week. This week’s top articles cover a wide range of topics, from changing enterprise software to mobile apps to outsourcing and much more. I hope you find them useful:

9 powerful business uses for tablets
You’ve probably heard all the talk about tablets in the business. The real question is: How can my company use tablets? This slideshow shares some great ideas and examples of ways other companies are using tablets in their business.

Why Oracle may really be doomed this time
Enterprise software is changing. Companies no longer have to spend millions of dollars implementing new enterprise software packages. We are seeing a dramatic shift away from expensive, clunky enterprise software and towards cheaper, flexible options.

8 best cities for IT Jobs in 2012
Word on the street is that the IT job market is improving this year. If you’re wondering where/what these jobs are, here’s a short slideshow for you. It not only lists the best places to find IT jobs, it also lists the most in-demand skills for each city. Here’s a hint: If you’re a Java developer, mobile developer, or web developer in general, things are looking good.

Beyond BYOD: Building mobile business apps
For all the talk of managing consumer devices in the enterprise, one question is largely ignored: What opportunities does this mobile transformation present? This article does a good job of going beyond BYOD and addressing the bigger questions.

How to save the IT industry in 4 (not so easy) steps
Politicians have zeroed in on the topic of outsourcing this election year, but would their proposals actually help anything? This author says “no”, and goes on to list 4 things they could do to help remedy the situation.

Here’s something you may not know: Did you realize that mobile web apps and native apps are nearly equal in terms of capabilities? It’s true. As you learned in this article from a few weeks back, mobile web apps are much more powerful than most people think.

As promised in that article, I’m going to go through some of those “native” features and explain how to use them in your mobile web apps. Today, let’s take a closer look at the first feature on the list: GPS. Specifically, I’m going to show you how to use GPS in your mobile web apps, and also give you a few ideas on ways to use it.

Ready? Let’s get started…

How to use GPS

Using GPS in mobile web apps is actually quite simple thanks to HTML5’s geolocation API. Without getting too technical, here’s what it does: Geolocation lets your mobile web application use the device’s GPS to pin-point the user’s longitude and latitude coordinates. How can you use geolocation? We’ve written up a full tutorial complete with a demo, which you can find right here.

A few ideas

Now that you know how to use GPS in your mobile web apps, let’s tackle another big question: What exactly can you build? The possibilities go far beyond simply getting the user’s location. For instance, here are a few types of mobile web apps you can build when you take advantage of GPS:

• Trip meter apps that can calculate distance traveled
• Check-in apps that let users check in to specific locations
• Discovery apps that let users find things nearby
• Tracking apps that let customers see their shipment’s progress
• Turn-by-turn navigation apps (if used with the accelerometer)

Conclusion

Many people assume that taking the mobile web app route means they must sacrifice features. The fact is, mobile web apps are far more powerful than most people think. Today, we learned how to use GPS with mobile web apps, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. Over the next few months, I plan on covering even more “native” features that you can use with mobile web apps. Stay tuned…

What’s keeping your company from modernizing those legacy applications? If our 2011 survey is any indication, the answer is “There’s not enough time.” In fact, the survey results show that modernization is the biggest need, but a lack of time keeps most companies from addressing that need.

If your company lacks the time required to modernize your legacy apps, you’ll certainly want to read this story. It explains how one very small IT staff with limited time and resources managed to modernize their legacy green-screen interface quickly. You can read the whole story here.

Every Friday, I share the most interesting and useful tech articles that I’ve found over the past week. This week’s top articles cover a wide range of topics, from tablets to BI to programmer’s personality traits and much more. I hope you find them useful:

2012’s hottest IT jobs by industry (itbusinessedge.com)
These IT job lists are really helpful, both for IT professionals and business leaders. How so? Well, do you want to know which tech trends other companies in your industry are focusing on this year? Check out which tech skills are in the highest demand.

Business Intelligence: What’s in a name? (information-management.com)
Business intelligence has picked up a number of different names over the years, like operational BI, real-time BI, embedded BI, and more. But, it’s important that we don’t lose sight of what Business Intelligence is all about: Making better business decisions.

Today’s CIO: Where business strategy meets IT (forbes.com)
In the past, the IT department kept the company’s technology running smoothly and supported the users. That’s all changing now. The IT department should be a vital part of the business strategy, and it all starts with the CIO.

Programmer personality types: 13 profiles in code (infoworld.com)
A humorous take on the various personalities commonly displayed by programmers. However, it brings up a serious question: Which type is most valuable to a business? My answer: Whichever one solves the most business problems in the shortest amount of time. Very often, that’s the programmer that uses a development tool to improve productivity.

Best tablets for business (informationweek.com)
Tablets are quickly proving that they can provide plenty of benefits to businesses. If your company is considering tablets, this short slideshow outlines a few tablets to consider.

Application architecture is one of the single most important, yet boring topics you’ll ever run across. You’re not going to make too many friends at a party talking about technology stacks, open frameworks, or any other architecture-related themes. In fact, you’ll probably get a lot of blank stares wherever you talk about those things.

Yet, the difference between good and bad application architecture is mind-blowing. Good architecture is nearly invisible. Everything just works, it’s easy to maintain, and all of your applications operate in perfect harmony.

On the other hand, bad architecture is only invisible at the beginning, but becomes increasingly obvious over time. When you buy a new development tool or begin using pre-built software, the applications may initially work fine. But, if they’re built on bad architecture, problems will quickly arise. What exactly can you expect? Here are 5 costly problems caused by bad application architecture:

1. Hard to maintain

At the beginning, bad architecture causes minor problems. Simple maintenance is difficult. Adding seemingly “basic” features are impossible. A change in one area breaks other parts of the application. The annoyances are fairly minor, but begin to build.

2. Poor Integration

Next, you’ll realize that your applications don’t work well with other software. Users will wonder why they have to use multiple applications to access related information. Basic integration is only possible with sloppy workarounds, which adds to the application complexity.

3. Doesn’t scale

As the business grows, the applications must support more users and include more features. You’ll find that some requested features are impossible, while others require even more workarounds. With all of these workarounds, the applications are getting even harder to maintain.

4. Limited options

As the business continues to grow, another problem arises: What if the business requires a new enterprise software package? What if it needs a new database? The bad architecture severely limits your options, and may force the company to choose an inferior option or even stick with the current setup.

5. Short life span

You’ll finally reach the point where the applications are nearly impossible to maintain. They’re so limited, that they can no longer support the business effectively, and have even begun to hold it back. Now, you must face the most difficult task of all: How do you tell management that your relatively new applications need replacing?

Conclusion
Architecture isn’t the most exciting topic in the world, but ignore it at your own risk. When choosing a development tool or buying pre-built business applications, the architecture will play a huge role in your company’s success. If you’d like to learn more, this article explains how the right architecture can actually save time and money.

Now that you understand the basics of QR codes and why your company should care, let’s focus on the next step: How can your company use them? We’ve already explored how QR codes are helping the restaurant industry, but today, let’s take a look at an example that applies to a broader audience.

Consider this scenario: It’s 5 p.m. and time to go home. But, you’re stuck in the office analyzing some Business Intelligence reports for your meeting tomorrow. What if you could seamlessly move that report over to your smartphone and analyze it on the train ride home?

You can, with mobile web apps and QR codes. In fact, you can even try it for yourself right now! Just visit this demo site and scan any one of the QR codes with your smartphone or tablet (you’ll need a QR code reader app). You’ll notice that it opens up the same application, but that application looks like it was built for whichever device you’re using. Pretty cool, isn’t it?

How does it work? Each of those applications have three presentation layers: One for PCs, one for smartphones, and one for tablets. The QR code on each application simply links to the application itself. When you scan it, logic placed within the application detects your device and displays the appropriate layer. That way, you’re accessing the same application, but in a format that appears native depending on the device you’re using.

Now, I realize this might sound a little confusing. If you have any questions, or if you just want to learn how to make something like this for your company, we’d be happy to help. Just fill out this short form and let us know what you’re thinking.

It’s often difficult to keep track of all the useful tech stories, so once a week, I like to post a weekly tech recap listing some of the more interesting articles that I’ve run across. In this week’s tech recap, you’ll find a common theme: Mobile apps! From mobile app development, to mobile devices in the workplace, these articles will help you better take advantage of mobile in your business. I hope you find them helpful:

5 lucrative niches for ambitious developers (infoworld.com)
While the article lists some good ideas, you can boil it down to one main point: Find a problem that your company is currently facing, and fix it. Take the first point for example. Those that can develop cross-platform mobile apps will certainly be in high demand because it addresses the costly business problem of building separate apps for every platform. What other business problems can you fix with technology?

There’s no app for that, and that’s good (informationweek.com)
Building mobile apps for your business has become the latest IT trend. But, before you go down the native app route, examine the pros and cons. Do you really need a native app? Are you sure you can’t accomplish the same goals with a mobile web app? As we learned last week, mobile web apps are more powerful than you think.

Apple forcing IT departments to ‘adapt or die’ (networkworld.com)
Apple has long been known for their “take it or leave it” attitude. While this works with consumers, how will it translate over to IT departments? Will there be any pushback? As more Apple devices make their way into business, we’re about to find out.

What’s the difference between a native app and a mobile web app? Let’s start with the basics. A native app is downloaded and installed on the device, while a mobile web app is accessed through the device’s browser. Native apps must be built separately for each platform, while one mobile web app works on every platform.

Following me so far? Now, let’s get into the confusing stuff.

What can a native app do that a mobile web app cannot do? This is where a lot of businesses seem confused. Many believe that mobile web apps are nothing more than a web page running inside of a mobile browser. They believe that native apps are the only way to fully take advantage of the mobile device’s hardware.

The truth is, mobile web apps are capable of much more than most people think.  What can mobile web apps actually do? I’ve created a list of 6 “native” capabilities that many businesses don’t realize are possible with mobile web apps.  Over the next couple of months, I’d like to write up posts covering each point in more detail, with examples and tutorials on how you can add these capabilities to your mobile web apps.  Sound good?  To start things off, let me first share the 6 “native” features that you may not realize you can use with mobile web apps:

1: Mobile web apps can use GPS

2: Mobile web apps can upload files from a phone/tablet

3: Mobile web apps can function while offline

4: Mobile web apps can use the device’s gyroscope

5: Mobile web apps can use the device’s accelerometer

6: Mobile web apps can use swipe navigation

Conclusion
Many businesses assume that mobile web apps are limited in their device hardware access. The truth is, mobile web apps have far more capabilities than most people realize. Over the next couple of months, I will explore each one of the above capabilities in greater depth, and show you how to add these features to your own mobile web apps. Stay tuned!