Google Mobile Ads sponsors Mobile Monday in San Francisco

On Monday night, October 4th, nearly 500 people came out to the Mobile Monday event for a panel discussion on the future of mobile applications.  The Silicon Valley chapter of the Mobile Monday Meetup group hosts free thought leadership gatherings to help tech professionals learn more about the mobile industry. This month Google sponsored the event, which brought together a panel of experts to discuss whether web applications will eventually replace native applications on mobile devices as browser technology continues to improve.

The panel debated the pros and cons of both types of apps and most felt there will always be a place for both; it will just be the market shares of each that will change.

In an early poll of the audience, it was clear that the room was largely developers interested in mobile, and nearly all of them were developing native apps.  The panelists pointed out that native apps currently provide the best options for distribution and monetization through app marketplaces.  Interestingly, despite the current focus on native apps, another poll showed that the majority of the audience felt web apps would be the standard development environment in 5-10 years.  Matt Womer from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) stated pointed out that in order for the shift from native to web apps to take place, the web app ecosystem will need to evolve and become more attractive to developers by improving distribution, monetization and standards. 

Snacks for Mobile Monday provided by the Mobile Ads Team

We are happy we had the opportunity to sponsor such a great event.

Posted by Keri Buchanan, Google Mobile Ads Marketing Team