Hi all,
Really interesting thread. This last comment prompted a question - some
time ago we were in discussion about producing an app. The advice from
our developers was that a standards-compliant website would be both more
futureproof and more widely-accessible than something limited to a
particular platform (or even OS, given the rate at which both Android
and iPhone are churning).
On the flipside, the advice from everyone with an iPhone is that it
really doesn't exist unless it sits on your interface and is
downloadable from the App Store. It seems that the experience of
acquiring the app and then using it directly from the UI is a pretty big
part of the value for iPhone users (I wouldn't know, I use a Blackberry,
for which the closest thing to an app is using the shiny back as a
mirror). This is great in one sense - instead of the endless worry about
marketing your web-based experience in amongst the noise of the web, you
can let the App Store take some of the strain out of the supply chain
for you.
So, given that most people will not have the luxury of cross-platform
development - and I absolutely love the Historical Maps app, by the way,
even though I can't use it - how would you make the choice between
satisfying the quite clearly-defined and restrictive needs of the
community of iPhone users and the broader imperative to reach as many
people as possible (viz. Andy's previous point)? Is it better to design
the open, standards-compliant web experience first and then resolve it
down to an iPhone app, or are they completely different animals?
Would be really interested to hear what people think.
Nick
Nick Poole
Chief Executive
Collections Trust
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-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Andy Mabbett
Sent: 19 August 2010 12:27
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Historical Maps IPhone App
On 19 August 2010 08:31, Chris Speed <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> A small JISC grant has enabled a group of us to give public access to
historical maps from the National Library of Scotland and Landmark (OS
maps).
> It's a free app for the iPhone at the moment and if we have enough
success we're hoping to encourage Landmark to release the maps for the
entire UK.
That's a limited set of "public" you're giving access to. Instead of
walled-garden apps, why not make a standards-complaint,
mobile-friendly website? Preferably using HTML5.
--
Andy Mabbett
@pigsonthewing
http://pigsonthewing.org.uk
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