HTML5 ARTICLE

August 24, 2012

HTML5 Makes New Splash in Navigation with Telenav’s HTML5 Nav


There’s no denying that HTML5 is rapidly gaining ground as the platform of choice in the mobile realm. Sure, it’s not in very wide use yet, and native apps are likely to run the show for some time, but HTML5 is on the move and the recent introduction of Telenav’s new HTML5 Nav shows just what we may be up against in a future run by HTML5.

Earlier this year, a new service emerged strictly for iOS devices, known as Scout for Apps. The iOS first release plan is a pretty common launch point as far as apps go, as developing apps for Android (NewsAlert) devices can be more difficult due to the wide variety of Android devices out there – iOS apps have essentially three devices to work with (though earlier versions of the same devices are often in play).

Therefore, iOS gets first crack a lot of the time.

But thanks to the assistance of Scout for Apps, app developers can now bring their material into play and integrate with HTML5 Nav, allowing those programs to provide turn-by-turn, voice-guided directions to the various goods and services that the apps in question may be discussing.

Using Telenav’s Scout mapping system is reportedly as easy as embedding a video, and thus makes it especially easy for, say, review apps or apps that “find things” – restaurant discovery, places to go apps, and the like – to quickly allow users to use the app to not only find things conceptually, but make a map to physically find them as well.

Scout for Apps is currently available for iOS, Android and Windows Phone (NewsAlert) developers, and Telenav has already distributed a companion version geared toward Web development, making finding locations in a Web browser as easy as pressing a button for turn-by-turn directions.

This combination of factors has to be very exciting for users, who are getting a look at a great new way to navigate – both physically and conceptually – and get a glimpse of the future. HTML5 has significant potential to shake up the entire market space, and make it less about who has what apps and more about who has what hardware.

If HTML5 reaches its fullest potential, much of the market will prove device-agnostic, except for those apps developed directly by the device makers themselves. But given the nature of the app marketplace, largely fueled by independent developers and third-party corporations, any platform-specific app will likely be imitated with just enough difference to make it lawsuit-proof, then released onto a larger framework.

At least, that’s one potential path involved in this setup.

It’s clear the project is shaking things up, making times very interesting for mobile users and mobile vendors alike.


Want to learn more about HTML5? Then be sure to attend
HTML5 Summit- a DEVCON5 Event, collocated with ITEXPO West 2012 taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. Stay in touch with everything happening at HTML Summit. Follow us on Twitter.




Edited by Braden Becker





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