‘Future of Mobile’ Seminar: Apps v Browsers

The mobile world has been immersed in apps, all 110,000 of them to be precise.  But are they just a flash in the pan or are they here to stay?  And if they are in it for the long haul, will they take away from users’ online mobile browser experience?

“Apps are amazing things”, Simon Andrews, founder of mobile agency addictive!, told delegates at MediaTel Group’s ‘Future of Mobile’ seminar yesterday.  A comment that was, of course, received with fond smiles and nods from the audience.

However, looking to the future Andrews imagines “more of a balance between apps and browsers”.

Tim Hussain, head of mobile and video advertising at Sky Digital Media, thinks that the two are not really comparable at this stage because apps have seen “dramatic” take-up compared to mobile internet.  “They both exist [within the mobile landscape] but apps are a much richer experience at this point,” he said.

Hussain sees apps evolving into bookmarks in the long-term.  “In the future mobile internet will take off and apps will not be as dominant, although they will still exist,” he added.

Andrews believes the key for apps is relevance.  Apps, he said, are valuable and part of the mobile strategy – “they make the user experience rich and can last if they keep them relevant”.

However, Brian Jacobs, founding partner of mobile marketing firm Qustodian, argued that “apps are not beneficial for advertisers”.

For advertisers, apps “are a bit du jour – everyone thinks they’ve got to have one but lots don’t really know what they’re for,” Jacobs said.

MediaTel Group has launched a new mobile database, featuring top sites, demographic breakdowns and mobile phone activities alongside case studies and white papers.