MobiUs Web Browser Technology From appMobi - You Won't Believe What the Mobile Web Can Do Now

BARCELONA, Spain and LANCASTER, Pa., Feb. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- appMobi® (www.appmobi.com) today unveiled MobiUs™ – the first-of-its-kind mobile Web browser technology that allows developers to create Web applications – or WebApps – that exceed the functionality possible with native apps, putting the entire World Wide Web on equal footing with app stores as the distribution channel for discovering, downloading and interacting with mobile apps.  

Many developers and publishers are already using standards-based Web programming languages like HTML5, JavaScript and CSS to create feature-rich cross-platform mobile applications.  With MobiUs, these apps run within the open-specifications MobiUs Web browser that also utilizes native smartphone and tablet features, without requiring the compiled binary files typical of downloadable native mobile apps.   This combination delivers the best of both the mobile Web and native app worlds in a single application.  At last, fully-featured WebApps can be distributed through any channel developers and publishers choose – including website downloads – avoiding the often steep fees and content approval processes required by traditional app stores.

The MobiUs WebApp browser technology, together with the appMobi XDK, gives wireless operators, handset manufacturers, browser software companies, major brands and large media providers all the technology, tools and infrastructure required to deliver powerful mobile browsers that run WebApps, build their own app stores, and support large developer ecosystems across multiple devices, platforms and operating systems.  

"The mobile app market is gigantic, with several estimates for 2011 indicating that mobile apps will generate more than $15 billion in revenue this year," said Sam Abadir, chief technology officer of appMobi.  "Imagine the business dynamics of just one segment, for example the eBook market.  Publishers and bookstores make no money on their eReader apps; they make their money on the sales of eBooks.  But with app stores requiring a 30 percent cut of ebook sales revenue, this fee structure ultimately means less choice and higher prices for consumers.  The app store may even lock these businesses into delivering content to just a single device or operating system.  Using MobiUs, eBook companies can easily create an off-line capable WebApp eReader  to deliver their content securely to the devices and platforms of their choosing without a 30 percent fee that might make their business model infeasible and kill an otherwise cherished source of content on mobile devices."

The MobiUs Advantage

Until MobiUs, WebApps have been unable to utilize device hardware and storage features.  The MobiUs WebApp browser technology changes the game.  MobiUs is a mobile Web browser reference implementation that harnesses the power of HTML5 and enables Web browsers to cache and run fully-featured Web applications on smartphones and tablets with the same ability to utilize device hardware and storage features previously only possible with native apps.   With MobiUs, even mobile websites can gain native app functionality.  Leveraging powerful JavaScript APIs from the appMobi XDK, PhoneGap and Wholesale Applications Community (WAC), WebApps run via MobiUs can utilize the complete set of device features including:

• Accelerometer
• Camera
• Contacts
• Device file and storage system
• Encrypted data storage and transfer
• GPS and geo location
• Notification system (sound and vibration)
• Touch, gestures and portrait/landscape orientation

In addition to these capabilities MobiUs WebApp browser technology also enables WebApps with:

• Augmented reality
• OAuth (Open Authorization)
• Over-the-air app update capability
• QR code reader
• SQL database integration
• Streaming media

Altering the mobile app paradigm even further, the MobiUs WebApp browser technology not only runs Web applications with the same functionality as native apps, it also adds important new capabilities that go beyond those available in native apps.  

A key new feature appMobi is delivering to the WebApp universe is a frictionless single click (or touch) in-app mobile payment capability.  A MobiUs-equipped browser includes an electronic wallet that enables true one-touch in-app purchases that span all major payment services such as credit cards, payment gateways including Authorize.Net and PayPal, and carrier billing.  One touch payments have been shown in similar implementations to dramatically increase sales volume.

MobiUs also enables the next generation of push messaging that goes beyond text-only messages which are the norm today. With MobiUs, both WebApps and mobile websites can push targeted rich media messages to devices. These rich-media messages increase user engagement and can include video, audio and any HTML content.  MobiUs also enables comprehensive mobile analytics – collected both on-line and off-line – that includes app starts, page views, click-throughs, push message reception and payments activities, among other important measurements.

Websites and WebApps that run within the MobiUs browser tap into powerful development, deployment and distribution cloud services from appMobi.  appMobi's Platform As A Service (PaaS) mobile offerings empower publishers to provide the same experience to which users have become accustomed in the Apple App Store and the Android Market, including frictionless purchasing and easy installation of apps.

MobiUs for End Users

End users will run WebApps via MobiUs the way they do any bookmarked website or other native app.  The WebApp is stored in the browser, and an icon for the app is placed on the device home screen.  With MobiUs, cached WebApps can run without Internet connectivity, just like native apps. In fact, users can surf the mobile Web on their favorite browsers, and when a native feature enabled by MobiUs is required, the MobiUs WebApp technology is summoned to complete the task, returning the user back to the browser and website he was viewing.

appMobi, recently named one of 10 companies to watch at Mobile World Congress, will showcase the MobiUs WebApp browser technology, including a version of its own WebKit based browser for iOS and Android devices, in booth 2.1D50 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, held February 14-17, 2011.  To make an appointment to meet with appMobi executives, contact [email protected].

About appMobi

appMobi® provides integrated tools and services for creating complete mobile application ecosystems and supporting large-scale developer communities.  At the core of appMobi's technology are its revolutionary cloud-based development, deployment and monetization tools that let millions of Web developers of all skill levels quickly build, test and distribute mobile apps with full native functionality for multiple smartphone and tablet devices and operating systems.  appMobi's turnkey, white label platform-as-a-service offering enables device manufacturers, network operators or any business to establish wide-reaching mobile app ecosystems and fully featured app stores under their own brand.  For more information visit www.appmobi.com.

SOURCE appMobi