I don't need an app for that...
 

'yea, i don't need an app for that - it just does it'

Thats been my tagline for the n900 in the current app centric world. There is a nice article about Firefox Mobile and its quest to kill the app store.

From: Tech.blorge
I love this, this is what the n900 is about - the web in your pocket etc. I would like to see nokia jump on this and push the concept.

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

Nokia and others have always had this concept. They - rightly - took it as a personal pleasure to build a device that was a solution that didn't need much else but specalized applications to help you along the way.

Just because users haven't paid attention to that doesn't mean that Nokia (and others) haven't.

As for a mobile device as a platform where the browser and browser-based frameworks are used, reference Nokia+WRT+W3C+mobile web standards. They've not only been quite active there from a policy side, but since the N95, have been pushing such an idea.

Google's Chrome OS and Palm's webOS proport the same things that WRT does - with tighter hardware integration and easier inroads to development - whether the *tech* journalism scene realizes this or not is another thing entirely. There's no app for intelligence.

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

What about if you don't have an internet connection handy?

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

How long till Firefox mobile will support Google gears? I agree with the concept of an app for unconnected functionality. but i believe technology is catching up and will make it unnecessary soon.

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

then also the apps, that use the web are useless...

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

You don't need a web connection to work in an application built with a browser's framework* - if there's no live data being calculated from a datastore that's not on the device.

*I really wish people could divorce the idea of a browser from the action of being online.

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

Well, considering that Google gears is End of Life - Google is dropping it soon, probably never.

Soon is probably a few years, the mean time we still need installable apps. Besides, I don't know about you, but I'm not comfortable with having all my data access be in the cloud, controlled by a faceless corporation (or person).

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

That's not coming. Gears has gone away for the W3C endorsed HTML5 model, which supports local caching of content until a connection is seen by the device.

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

See.. I guess I'm of the opposite end. I think things in the browser should "be" online. 'Applications' should be separate and run stand-alone. I've never been big on the whole "Browser"-application kind of thing.

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

This is an innacurate comment.

You don't need to be online to use a browser. You don't have to share content with any server to compute data within a browser.

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

We have spent weeks/days/months debating why a 'typical' consumer would want an n900 over another device. This is it:

"i don't need an app for that - it just does it" is the biggest value proposition of the N900 to the non developer.

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

While I'm all for browsers getting better and more "app-like", I think the idea that eventually all applications will be replaced by the browser is naive at best.

There are a great many use cases where an actual application performs better than a browser (you can search on google for discussions about iPhone native apps vs. web apps, or specifically there's been a bunch of articles on daringfireball.net)

You can make the argument that web apps will keep improving, and therefore eventually will overcome these limitations, but that's a pretty big bet.

And I'm someone who does most of their computing in a browser. A while back I forced myself to use a Windows 7 machine for six months, and because almost everything I do is in the browser, it was much easier than it would have been a year ago; but far from ideal.

I suppose when this magical day occurs where web browsers can perform all the same functions as a dedicated app (including a UI which isn't sub-optimal), I might reconsider.

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

"it just does it" is a very good value statement indeed. However, it does disregard some things about consumers that are important from a marketing perspective, especially for tech.

1. The statement needs an addition of "... and it's soo easy", I think it's been demonstrated many times that how much a machine can do matters far less than how much it is actually used for.

2. People like feeling special with their tech, at first it was enough to have an iPhone, but since everyone does now (in the US at least), being special is now about having the newest, coolest app... and this sells!

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

+1

These browser apps are just another try to find a silver bullet on cross platform application development. It isn't it just like java wasn't. Or then again I could be wrong and we all find ourselves coding only javascipt anytime soon. But in the mean time give me standalone apps and leave the browser for browsing :)

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

So is our current problem that app manager is too complicated and not user friendly, has no rating or feedback system? :p - then yes I agree, and i would be happy to help with a replacement from a usability / information architecture perspective (pm me)

People are amazed when i show how i have AIM, MSN, Skype and Yahoo all running, not is some stupid app, but rather just as part of the contact and that all those messages are threaded with my sms's (now if we could get email integration we would have something amazing.. kinda like Gwave,

Im not sure if anyone used the lifeblog in s60, it could have been a really cool tool if it was simplifed... Incorporating this into the threaded conversation with photo tagging and suck... it could really be amazing.

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

What are Facebook, YouTube, and Hotmail if not browser based apps? Ever needed to open a GIF file and the image viewer is acting funny? Browser usually doesn't. There's no reason we couldn't do more.

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

"There's an API for that."

;)

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

About FB, YT and HM.. exactly. These are all online and require me to have internet connection as it should be.

Even the "standalone" facebook apps for phones require an internet connection to actually look at recent facebook status'... and this is because these three things are websites. That's what a browser should be for.

Using a browser to run an offline game or app is just kind of silly. Again, My humble opinion. YMMV, etc.

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

Hey, what's wrong with downloading Flash games and playing 'em that way?

Dicewars on my device FTW! :D

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

Well.. as I said.. YMMV :D. I am not a huge fan of Flash.

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

But since your opinion is the same as mine, it need no longer be considered humble. :cool:

If you design an OS whose UI is the browser, that's one thing. But if I have a browser running on top of an OS then it's just another layer to suck CPU cycles. In the same way that I shouldn't have to run OpenOffice in the background if all I want to do is surf the Internet, I shouldn't have to run Firefox (or Chrome) in the background if all I want to do is edit a spreadsheet.

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

these sort of threads make me wanna send back my nokia-- its like geek v cool ..

the iphone is great

the n900 is great

end of story..

the iphone is also a very finished product and does exactly what it says on the tin.. even without the apps it is still exceptional at what it does..

not sure why you guys detest to much- is it because you know how good the iphone is and it hurts bad..

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

Do all the similar posturings by Apple fanboys make you want to send back your iPhone?

I don't think anyone here really detests the iPhone. It's just considered more of an item for beginners, a n00bie-friendly smartphone not intended for serious power users. And seriously, it's not all that good.

But what users here really object to (at least I do). what gets 'em fired up, is the iPhone/Apple philosophy of a totally closed , controlled system where Secretive Steve & Co. decides what's best for us - then makes us pay through the wazoo for it. This is, of course, almost 180 degrees opposite of the Maemo/Nokia OSS approach.

Philosophical issues always bring out the passion in people...

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

Lets take this back from the two utopias argument - beneficial dictator vs free society.

This is about a different approach and direction to where the market can go because of evolving technology.

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

trust the iphone is that good- and no its not for noobs at all, its for people that want a phone to do things well, they want to view the odd web page on the train, they want to txt, they want to make calls, they want to send emails, they want apps to be entertained--- thats it.. most people are not noobs(they really have no intention of learning), they just dont care about what nokia can achieve, most people will just laugh at you when you mention x terminal, ssh or a game from 1990..

everyone seems to have ago at the market leader- well thats fine but i dont see people haveing a pop at android or winmo(they are trying to acheive the same as apple- just not as good at it)

gotta respect apple for what they have acheived here..

and if it wasnt for apple -- would we have seen android(as good as it is)/ win mobile 7 as quick as we will, or maemo on a mobile phone- i very much doubt it!!!

apple has played its part in bringing us maemo 5 on a mobile, just in the same way(hopefully) nokia is helping us getting a fully functional pc in our pocket quicker.

i love the fact that nokia has brought this device- i love it ,the future is drawing closer, but i completly undferstand why the majority of people just dont give a %$^&...

Re: I don't need an app for that...
 

try to stay on topic guys with the OP with regards to mozilla developing for browser based apps for major mobile OS's

as much as i like a web browser i agree with DaveP1 with regards to cpu being eaten up by and application to run an application.

Small apps with fewer threads can run faster then one based inside a larger app with alot more threads.