Games need great interactivity, rich images, speed and performance, which only a client app can provide. Flash based games over the web also work, for non serious gamers. In general, serious gaming needs app on the client device.
On the other hand, for a content site which serves content basis the search context, personalized recommendations and user profile, client app provides little advantage. News requires retrieval in real time,and freshness and relevance of content is important. Yet a client app has several benefits, it can be customized to device specific user interface, has access to local storage or caching of content items, and can access mobile device hardware/apps for alerts and notifications, that can help in engaging with users on more regular basis.
Local storage and caching with browser based cookies may not help if the data size for caching is large or users regularly clear out browser cache for privacy and security considerations. However, if a powerful browser exists and has access to some of the unique interaction elements on the device, a browser based HTML site may match the native app in user experience.
A combination of app and HTML5 site is also possible where the app reserves the content area for server based content that is pulled in runtime and rendered using the installed browser on the device. It saves costly maintenance across platforms and yet benefits from the rights available to the client app.
What are the risks with this approach? I welcome your comments.
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