James Delahunty
9 May 2012 15:18
HTML5 can unlock apps from specific operating systems.
Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs spoke at the CTIA trade show, arguing that HTML5 can free mobile users from limits of operating systems. He likened the current situation to the days when AOL had its customers in a "walled garden", but ultimately users decided to move away.
"In the early days of AOL we were within their walls," he said. "And it all worked great until it didn't." The next chapter of the Internet was "open", he said, and predicted that it is also the next step for mobile users.
"The Web grew by an order of magnitude," he said. "The shift changed our world. Humans don't like walls. We want to wander. And we want freedom."
Over 64% of the time users spend on their smartphones, they are using some specific app. Kovacs also admitted that browser providers, like Mozilla, have failed to innovate for the mobile space. "All we've done is shrinkage," he said, pointing out also that only 10 percent of websites are optimized for mobile screens.
By 2016, more than two billion devices will have HTML5 browsers.