Two Modes of Delivery

Mode 1: The Web Browser

As we have already said, the computing environment is now in a state of flux. In the past, when all web browsing took place on the desktop, there was a period — rightly or wrongly referred to as "browser wars" — when web design was complicated by the different and undocumented ways that the various browser of the time would render the same web page in quite drastically different ways. This came at the worst possible time for the web, when HTML standards were also in transition to the adoption of Cascading Stylesheets (CSS), an attempt to separate style from content.

 

The end result was the concept of the so-called "modern browser", which means one that supports the latest iterations of the CSS standard.

 

However a new skirmish has broken out, now on mobile. The current state of play is that there are 3 broad types of operating systems in play:

 

•Apple's iOS operating system, which runs iPhones, iPad and iPod touches,
iOS usually updates annually and, because there is little friction impeding this, most iOS devices rapidly upgrade to the latest version of the operating system

•Android, originally developed by Android Inc, which was bought out by Google.
There are a number of manufacturers who produce Android phones, most notably Samsung.
Generally, few Android phones update after purchase to the latest Android release, the reasons for which are many and too complex to discuss here.
Also there are a number of manufacturers in China who have "forked" Android and whose devices run no longer on a Google-sanctioned version of Android.

•Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system.
This operates on mobile-devices only. It does not have the market share of the above two.

•Microsoft's Windows 8.
Microsoft has been pursuing a "Windows everywhere" policy and has, with its latest iteration of Windows, intended that Windows 8 runs on both the desktop and on larger mobile devices such as tablets.
To further complicate this, there are two flavors of Windows 8 on Microsoft's own brand of tablets: the Surface. One runs on Intel central processors; the other (the Surface RT) runs on completely different central processors. The two flavors are not compatible or interchangeable and the Surface RT requires a different version of Windows.
And if that were not enough, every copy of Windows 8 ships with two different browsers: Internet Explorer for the familiar user interface of Windows and Internet Explorer running on the Modern user interface.

 

This is only the beginning. The different mobile operating systems also have different browsers, usually a default browser that ships with the phone and others that on some or all of the phone models and manufacturers running that operating system

 

 

It is no surprise that all of these have their quirks and incompatibilities. And, the mobile hardware has also evolved rapidly, so that web pages that failed on many of the older mobiles in the past now run quite comfortably on the newer.

 

Mode 2: Via Native App

As mobile users know all too well, the other means of delivery is through mobile apps, as these generally offer speed and stability in a given mobile operating system. At least, that is the theory.

 

Avoka offers the TransactField App, where you can publish your forms to the mobile app without having to redesign the form to run in the app. There are even some widgets that work solely in the app and not the browser.

 

This mobile app is available for iOS, Android and Windows Mobile Phone.

 

Which Mode is Superior?

The answer is: it depends. If you need to make use of an app-only function, the choice is obvious. If users are coming to the form from a website, the choice is equally obvious.

 

Just remember, too, that installing an app (which is usually done through an online store, for instance the Apple Store) is a further source of friction for users.