Mobile HTML5 Applications (WebOS Mojo vs Sencha Touch)
I saw an article in Dr. Dobb's this week on the new cross-platform Sencha Touch framework for Apple's iOS and Google's Android based devices. I think anyone doing development for multiple platforms would like the idea of being able to write to one common framework regardless of device, but there is a downside to Sencha's approach, since it can't access the device.
Palm's WebOS, recently acquired by HP, also offers an HTML5 framework known as Mojo. However, unlike Sencha, Mojo is offered natively on the device and it gives the application access to device features like GPS, accelerometers, ambient light, IR, etc. In addition, Mojo allows the user to interact with other native and custom applications and services on the device, like the mapping service (see image).
I am unsure if Sencha's claim to be "The First HTML5 Mobile App Framework" is true or not, but without access to the device hardware it doesn't seem much more than a locally cached web application.
I have been contemplating replacing my Windows Mobile 6.5 device as I am continuing to run into hardware problems and software issues. I have been a fan of the C# language and the .Net platform for almost ten years now, but the restrictions that Microsoft has been placing on the Zune and WP7 are turning me away. Now that my colleague snagged a PalmPre the other day maybe I can clear up some of concerns about the device, get away from Windows Mobile and write more applications in JavaScript.
