HTML5 is still something of a new face in the market, with many of its best capabilities likely still to come. The more this platform is considered, however, the more it starts to look like this could offer some absolutely amazing potential releases indeed, and looking over in the direction of mobile devices, the picture becomes even clearer. In particular, some are starting to look at the combination of HTML5 and Android (News – Alert) devices with a particular fervor, and may mean new market opportunities for HTML5.
HTML5's biggest draw is that it's looking to replace HTML 4.01, which last emerged in 1999. Naturally, the Internet—which largely runs on HTML—has undergone some major changes since 1999, and HTML5 looks to account for many of these changes. Top on the list is the ability of HTML5 to deliver what's known as “rich content” without needing to bring in extra plug-ins in the way that HTML 4.01 did. This opens up some new content provision opportunities, as well as opportunities in general for those who put this new platform to work.
One place that's starting to see a lot of growth in HTML5 operations—particularly as relates to mobile devices—is Africa. While smaller players are often concerned about the kind of resource commitment that's required to establish a presence in this comparatively untapped market, companies like Samsung (News – Alert) are taking advantage of the open spaces to establish some real dominance. Indeed, reports suggest that Samsung now holds a majority of the market for smartphones in Africa with a hefty 52.1 percent unit share for just the second quarter of 2013. That's the fourth quarter in a row that Samsung has held market share around 50 percent, and represents a serious gain over competitors like BlackBerry (News
– Alert), which holds about 17.8 percent of the market at last report. Thanks to cheaper data packages, BlackBerry is reportedly maintaining its hold, but with that serving as its major competitive advantage, BlackBerry's position in the field may not hold much longer.
Indeed, some even suggest that the whole thing comes back to HTML5 capability. Since HTML5 can offer support for a variety of different points of content—from movies to videoconferencing—those devices that can support HTML5 may be likely to really take off, as appears to be just the case with Samsung.
The African market, however, is just a microcosm of the rest of the market, and HTML5 is gaining a lot of ground in the wider market. Seen satisfying a number of potential uses from video games to document viewers, HTML5 can have plenty to offer its users. That potential doesn't seem at all lost on Android, which has been making moves to improve itself with a particular focus on HTML5. For instance, the recent revelation of Project Hera shows that Android looks to be hitching its collective wagon to the HTML5 star, using the platform to offer improvements in multitasking capability, a capability that's prized in no small quantity these days.
Though it's worth noting that the increased development in HTML5 is bringing with it some new dangers for mobile devices, as most any new technology will, HTML5 is also bringing a host of new opportunities for devices, particularly those operating on the Android operating system. The sheer number of possibilities posed by HTML5 for Android is making this a technology that's hard not to consider, and markets are already looking to possibilities posed by these two platforms combined.
Edited by
Stefania Viscusi