Web-based application frameworks include a set of tools which help in building native or native-like mobile apps. PhoneGap and Appcelerator Titanium are the most popular ones.

PhoneGap

PhoneGap was developed by Nitobi Software and it quickly became very popular because of its usefulness. It helps in building apps in HTML and JavaScript and makes the best use of iPhone/iPod touch features too along with features of many other mobile platforms including Android, Palm, Symbian and even the Blackberry OS. This is what a mobile developer would need to create apps easily, isn’t it?

PhoneGap projects require the installed SDKs for building the applications and the coding is done through Xcode. PhoneGap then renders files during the building process inside a native WebView Objective-C or Java. Access is provided to native features including the contacts list and the Accelerometer and even the camera functions and list notifications through its API.

The actual interface uses HTML and CSS which gives an altogether different look to the interface elements including buttons and the performance will differ from that of the native elements.

PhoneGap app is basically a web app which is encapsulated by WebView. It is rendered by HTML, CSS and JavaScript in mobiles and . It currently supports development for the iPhone, Google Android, Symbian OS, BlackBerry and Palm operating systems.

Appcelerator Titanium

Appcelerator Titanium is alike PhoneGap, to develop apps for the mobile operating systems with the help of HTML, CSS and JavaScript. It resembles J2ME Polish which is actually a library for Java Development for creating native UI elements. Titanium is good at providing a binding layer that maps JavaScript function calls to APIs which are available natively. Here are some of the main differences between Appcelerator Titanium and PhoneGap:

Compared to PhoneGap, Titanium can convert the code into native application code. The app code is being interpreted and written in JS. It runs during runtime through bridge layer too.

Titanium now supports only Javascript and no support has been extended to HTML and CSS. Titanium followed the strategy set by PhoneGap before version 1.0 and hence the app code consisted of the regular elements including HTML, CSS and JavaScript. But after version 1.5 and beyond, the native device services are now connected to a unique and specific JavaScript API. After version 1.0, one cannot find HTML and CSS in the codeset. The code is now purely in JavaScript which functions to run Titanium. It can even access the special platform features including the camera options but the developer is given the choice to render native UI elements like buttons and maps along with tables.

The native application has one primary advantage which is performance and efficiency. The UI is expected to do much better only if native OS elements are used compared to the performance delivered by the combined trinity of HTML, CSS and JavaScript in a browser instance. Additionally, the native look-and-feel can easily be maintained.

In Titanium, building and packaging does not happen within the IDE unlike PhoneGap but through Titanium Developer, the software. The tool can set up the new projects and even test them or package them. Any IDE of the developer’s choice can be used for writing the codes.

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PhoneGap mobile application development has picked up considerably due to the emergence of cross-platform mobile app development.

PhoneGap helps create native applications using different technologies including HTML, CSS and JavaScript. It first was created to hack into the iOS system. When iPhone was released in 2007, Apple exhorted developers to create web apps. PhoneGap gained traction in Nitobi and started out in 2008. In 2009, PhoneGap got rejected by Apple but people noticed the value behind it. PhoneGap added Android, Blackberry, Symbian and webOS support. Even Sony Ericsson had contributed to the PhoneGap project. All PhoneGap-developed apps were rejected since they were named “PhoneGap”. But it got great publicity and Apple took them in, shortly after.

IBM began tag-teaming with the PhoneGap founder and added 5 developers to the project. In 2011, RIM and Microsoft also became contributors to the project. Adobe took over the company and contributing to the growth presently.

The Vision

PhoneGap founders believe that the web is a first class platform so it is important to create web apps for the platform. They also believe that the idea should be picked up by all browsers to adopt the model for standard working patterns.

The founding company feels that the web has the ability to reach various devices of diverse capabilities and also feel that all technology deprecates. With these beliefs in mind, we believe that adhering to a single platform or technology could have disastrous consequences. Some technologies manage to stay out decades. But change is certain and hence relevant modifications to present technologies are required from time to time.

Advantages of using PhoneGap web apps

PhoneGap is not a compiler or even an IDE or predefined framework. It's a project which is Apache, MIT and BSD-licensed and absolutely free. It has been contributed to Apache Software Foundation. Many mobile app development projects are based on PhoneGap. Here are some of the best-known advantages and disadvantages of PhoneGap web apps and its development.

Here are some PhoneGap Advantages:

• One can easily code in standard web development technologies like HTML, CSS and JavaScript without having to use Objective-C or Java, thus ensuring quick app development.
• One can develop the app once and deploy it in multiple platforms thus saving time and money.
• It is easy to make use of many of the built-in features of a mobile device including location services, instant messaging and push notifications
• The apps have a branding advantage since their icons are well represented
• The interface of all PhoneGap apps is extremely clean. It does not need a browser frame too, around them.
• The apps can be distributed through app stores of multiple mobile platforms.

• PhoneGap offers support to seven different mobile platforms, including the most popular OS, iOS, and the followers: Android, BlackBerry, webOS, Symbian, Samsung Bada and Windows Phone.

• It’s open source and free hence there are constant enhancements and new modules being added continually.

PhoneGap web apps might not support all built-in phone features or might work uncertainly when new features are introduced. The apps might look the same in different phone environments and function more generically. But by using PhoneGap, one makes certain apps which have cross-platform run ability which actually manages to offer affordable mobile app development for multiple clients. It is important to keep experimenting and innovating since the future in store has much more things to offer.

Elan Emerging Technologies is the leading PhoneGap App Development company providing PhoneGap Web Apps by expert and experienced PhoneGap Developer who creates apps for open source mobile frameworks.

The Titanium platform is used extensively for cross platform app development and is in vogue nowadays since its popularity has gone sky-high!

Developers use different strategies for implementing Titanium platform for app development. Most offshore companies provide typical services for implementation and design such as:

 - Quick and dynamic native app development for various smart phones & tablets
 - Rich native mobile app development for different mobile platforms and even for the mobile cloud
 - Quick App development and publishing for the mobile market
 - Mobile application development and mobile website development for different companies and clients
 - Write-once capabilities for different operating systems and various mobile devices
 - 80% reusable development platform across diverse mobile apps for different domains
 - Absence of fragmentation related to the mobile device market
 - Extensive support for extra scripting languages, codes & more
 - Multi-OS development for the mobile cloud and also for varied mobile platforms
 - Use of authoring tools like HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript according to ideal standards prescribed for mobile app development
 - Rich Multimedia access including apps for the camera and video camera
 - Third-party API integration and support for Amazon, eBay, smart card, Facebook and others
 - Interactive rich native mobile app development for different platforms
 - Source code security measures with a tight non-disclosure agreement

Various maintenance measures are also taken account by the mobile app development companies including the development of add-ins related to Objective-C (iPhone) or Java (Android).

Companies are expected to provide Titanium consulting, training and integration services using different engagement models. Clients can hire a team of titanium developers whenever they need them on flexible engagement. The developers are required to be skilled in HTML5, CSS3, JS and should be able to execute tasks in a specific time limit. Complete bug and error testing is required as part of the maintenance plan.

The best companies who operate in the mobile app development arena always provide high quality mobile apps by utilizing the titanium platform for their projects assigned. Different apps are in demand today including social, rich multimedia, interactive and so on. Every company who operate in the field is required to have a team of strong, dedicated and experienced appcelerator titanium developers who are well versed with the whole development process and can create apps for the Android, iPhone and iPad along with other mobile platforms. Not many have the required expertise to deliver the best in titanium development.

There are various clients from western countries who have been overwhelmed with the services that they have received in terms of Titanium app development from offshore companies in India and China. The service providers who are excellent in their work are highly recommended while most companies even continue to award projects of similar nature for future work projects.

The time taken for delivering apps through appcelerator titanium development is extremely crucial and can make or mar a project. Vendors are required to have diverse app development expertise related to business, utilities, games, multimedia, travel, tech tools and entertainment.

Offshore software and mobile development companies are required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement for app ideas. Once a particular project is completed, all the source code and graphics related to the apps are required to be delivered to the client. The apps are then used by the client for their own purposes.

Elan Emerging Technologies is the leading Offshore Titanium Application Development company providing Titanium Mobile Development by their expert Applicator Titanium Programmers which builds high quality, innovative, low-cost, effective apps which everyone needs.