Mobile development company appMobi wants to push HTML5. It does not want to do this just as a developer framework or an alternative for publishers who are pondering native apps vs. Web apps. AppMobi wants to push HTML5 as its own mobile platform, capable of taking on Android and iOS from an application level.
Last week, the company added a new tool to its HTML5 developer tool kit to further boost HTML5 development. The appMobi Chrome App Packager enables developers to build Web apps and browser extensions and wrap them for submission to the Chrome Web Store.
AppMobi’s Latest Tools For HTML5
Developing for HTML5 is not easy. Yet, the benefits of creating a well-coded HTML5 Web app can be dramatic. This is where startups like appMobi come in, creating tool kits developers can work with to simplify the development process. This is not a cookie-cutter approach to app development (we are still a long ways away from that for HTML5) but a way to ease the burden on developers of creating cross-platform applications.
In August, appMobi released a new “XDK” that allows developers to build HTML5-optimized applications for the Web and mobile platforms. The Chrome Web Packager is an extension of that. Think of it as PhoneGap for the Chrome store. Instead of wrapping your app for iOS or Android stores, developers can package their apps for Chrome. It is a small new feature but an example of tools that developers find useful in their day-to-day process.
How Useful Will It Be For Developers?
“It’s a tool that we created initially for our own use, and then we realized that everyone in the HTML5 development world could benefit from it,” said appMobi CTO, Sam Abadir. “It can be used to package both hosted and non-hosted apps.”
Developers also gain access to appMobi’s cloud services for features like push messaging and in-app purchases. What is particularly interesting about the packager is functionality that Google itself does not provide, at least specifically.
Is the Chrome packager a fully necessary item in appMobi’s tool box for developers? The company itself may find it useful, but is the Chrome Web Store even a viable target for developers?
Let us know what you think in the comments.
