WebSockets - Mobile APP
WebSocket, as the name implies, is something that uses the web. The web is usually interwoven with browser pages because that are the primary means of displaying data online. However, non-browser programs too, use online data transmission.
The release of the iPhone (initially) and the iPad (later) introduced a brand new world of web interconnectivity without necessarily using a web browser. Instead, the new smartphone and tablet devices utilized the power of native apps to offer a unique user experience.
Why Mobile Matters?
Currently, there are one billion active smartphones out there. That is, millions of potential customers for your applications. These people use their mobile phone to accomplish daily tasks, surf the internet, communicate, or shop.
Smartphones have become synonymous to apps. Nowadays, there is an app for any usage, a user can think of. Most of the apps connect to the internet in order to retrieve data, make transactions, gather news, and so on.
It would be great to use the existing WebSocket knowledge and develop a WebSocket client running natively on a smartphone or tablet device.
Native Mobile App Vs Mobile Website
Well, this is a common conflict and as usual, the answer depends on the needs of the target audience. If a user is familiar with the modern design trends, designing a website that is responsive and mobile friendly is now a must. However, the end user must be sure that the content, which is what really matters, is equally accessible via a smartphone, as it is via a classic desktop browser.
Definitely, a WebSocket web app will run on any HTML5-compliant browser, including mobile browsers such as Safari for iOS and Chrome for mobile. Therefore, there are no worries about compatibility issues with smartphones.
Prerequisites
In order to develop a smartphone app, installation of development tools and SDKs are required.
WebSockets can act as a universal hub for transmitting messages between connected mobile and tablet clients. We can implement a native iOS application, which communicates with a WebSocket server just like the HTML5 JavaScript client.
