Mobile applications have been around for ages, but their meteoric rise into popular public consciousness over the past year or so is largely thanks to the iPhone and the success of Apple's app store. Apple made it easy for the non-technical to download and install applications onto their handset. And, now, with all the hype surrounding mobile apps, it seems that every company wants to have one. So, for a travel company considering its mobile strategy, going down the mobile app route is a no-brainer, right?
Well, actually, it's not quite that simple.
If we stay with the iPhone as our example, a recent ComScore survey says that 3.5% of mobile media users in the UK own an iPhone and that 75% of those people are males aged between 18 and 44.
So, even allowing for the rapid growth in iPhone owners, an application developed for the iPhone is still targeting a niche market. And, with contract rates of up to $1000 USD per day for a decent iPhone developer - it could cost you a lot of money to keep a small number of customers happy.
Most travel companies I've spoken to want to use the mobile channel to reach the majority of their customers. So, with an app strategy that means you'll need apps for Apple, Blackberry, Nokia, Anroid, Windows Mobile, etc, etc. All are different, all require development work, some handset manufacturers (e.g. Nokia) have multiple operating systems ... so, going down the apps route is an expensive option in terms of time and development resource.
An alternative is to connect with your customers when they're on the move by creating a mobile web-site.
Using the mobile-web you can still offer a rich media experience to your customers and mobile web content is accessible from pretty much any handset with a data connection. With the mobile-web you don't have to worry about how you get your 'application' onto the user's handset, nor do you have to worry about how you roll out upgrades to your software.
However, the mobile-web experience will never be as slick as a downloaded application. Mobile web content is slower and consumes more bandwidth, because you have to download each page individually. Whereas, with a downloaded app the graphics, page layouts and all static data are pre-installed on the handset, so you only have to download the dynamic data.
Furthermore, mobile-web sites can't provide offline access to content (e.g. itineraries), nor do they enable you to take advantage of high-end phone features like built-in GPS and compasses (e.g. for what's near me type requests).
So, which way to go?
Until we see greater consolidation of mobile phone operating systems or until cross-platform development environments (e.g. Adobe's Flash Lite) support interaction with the handset (e.g. access contacts, calendar, location), I recommend:
- If you are serious about using mobile in your customer interactions (e.g. airline mobile boarding pass and mobile check-in initiatives), go down the mobile-web route. Mobile-web will enable you to reach the widest audience for the lowest cost.
- If you are looking to make a PR splash, then by all means go down the app route. For example, lastminte.com's labs team have produced some really nice sample apps recently.
Finally, if you really are bitten by the app bug, then you could always develop a mobile-web site to reach the majority of your users and develop a complimentary app for your favoured handset!
At Mantic Point, we see mobile-web, applications, SMS, and even email as delivery channels. Our focus is pulling together right content, at the right time to create valuable mobile dialogues with travellers. We're agnostic to the delivery channel and we'll work with whichever technology (or more likely technologies) is most appropriate for the audience we're trying to reach.
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