Disadvantages in using html/css/javascript with phonegap instead of objective C (iPhone)

Question

Hi,

I am not fluent in objective-c and thus have decided to take the "easier" approach and use html/css/javascript instead to design and implement an iPhone application. I would be using PhoneGap to gain as many of the cool features which are available to developers using Objective-C as possible. Would I would like to know is if there are any disadvantages to using this method rather than PhoneGap , for example limited features/animations or even a slower speed.

Thank you so much.

Have a nice day :)

C.

Answer 1

PhoneGap is effectively a web app within a wrapper, so you're limited to what a web app can do (plus the features added by PhoneGap). It's nearly impossible to get a web app to perform as well as a native app, and there are plenty of little quirks. You're not going to have native controls (you have to fake it for the most part), and things like scrolling behave differently. Overall, the experience of a web app is rarely (if ever) on par with the experience of a native app.

That said, you have to decide if learning a new platform is worth the gains. Particularly if you're developing a fairly simple iPhone app, PhoneGap might be fine.

You might also want to look into something like Titanium Mobile, which is a little in between the two.

See http://cmorrell.com/misc/mobile-app-development-for-web-developers-696 for some slides/comments/resources discussing this topic.