Any investor in Apple knows that apps are a huge part of the company's mobile dominance. Apple's App Store has become the hub for developer activity, with top apps like Instagram hitting the App Store first before eventually migrating to Android.
However, the very foundation of developing across different mobile platforms is being played out right now between LinkedIn and Facebook. LinkedIn has revealed that almost all of its mobile traffic comes from its app, which in and of itself shows the importance of apps on smartphones. Yet LinkedIn says 95% of its recently launched iPad app was created using cross-platform HTML5, a Web standard. That's in stark contrast to Facebook, which recently replaced its HTML5-developed app with one specially written for Apple's iOS. Since the launch of its updated app created natively for iOS, Facebook has received rave reviews.
In the following video, Senior Technology Analyst Eric Bleeker explains why the intricacies of Web development are important for investors in Apple and its rivals. Companies such as Research In Motion and Microsoft have been trying to catch up with Apple but are having a tough time enticing wide developer support on their platforms. The more platform-agnostic standards such as HTML5 catch on, the more development is a level playing field. Yet the problem with HTML5 is that more demanding applications like games and even Facebook see performance issues on it. As Facebook has demonstrated the performance increases seen with its native app, that's a problem likely to continue in the years ahead. To see Eric's full though, watch the following video.
As the discussion about things such as HTML5 versus native apps shows, Apple investors have a lot to keep track of. To help investors track all the threats and opportunities facing the company, we've created a brand-new report on Apple. Best of all, it's not just a read-it-and-forget-it report -- it comes with continuing updates and guidance on the company that's essential to Apple investors. Just this week, we launched an exclusive report on what investors need to know about the iPhone 5, including which suppliers are best positioned as profit plays along with Apple. If you're interested more Apple guidance, get started now.
