VisionMobile, a leading market analysis and strategy firm in the mobile market, have recently published a report on HTML5 and what it means for the mobile industry. While its primary target audience seems to be operators and commercial players in the mobile market there are still some key points that can be taken from it that are useful for those in educational institutions to bear in mind. For example…

• The web has evolved through two major phases: Web 1.0, the era of dumb terminals and Web 2.0, the era of smarter terminals, where users are both consumers and producers of content.
• The web is both a technology paradigm (HTML) and a business model paradigm for the unfettered distribution [and monetisation] of content.
• HTML5 is pushing the capabilities of web applications to the point of making web apps as engaging as Flash applications and as integrated with the device as mobile applications.
• Despite the adoption of WebKit as the de-facto browser engine on over 500 million handsets to date, mobile browser implementations remain consistently fragmented. Even standards bodies W3C and the WHAT WG show fragmented approaches to HTML5 completion, which is not expected before 2014.
• The web is winning in developer mindshare, but it will not replace native platforms; instead web applications will co-exist with native applications that maintain an edge in terms of device and cloud integration capabilities. Web applications will retain an edge in use cases such as business applications, mass-market services and cross-screen experiences (mobile, TV, PC).

VisionMobile have given an overview on their blog, where you can also download the free report.

http://www.visionmobile.com/blog/2011/06/html5-and-what-it-means-for-the-mobile-industry/