Apps

1. How did you first learn about PhoneGap?

I quit the ad business at the beginning of the year, and began working at a startup (Health Union, LLC - our first site is Migraine.com). We have a lot of initiatives we're trying to build concurrently - one of them being a mobile version of a migraine journal. I started researching the most efficient means of doing this, and PhoneGap was the obvious answer. We were able to get iOS and Android versions of the Migraine.com app (Migraine Meter) out in a fraction of the time it would take otherwise. We were able to produce apps for both platforms in weeks rather than months. After this experience, I didn't look at any alternatives for Advertising Agency.

2. Why did you build the app with PhoneGap?

I started programming in HyperCard back in the 90s, and of course that was edged out by Macromedia Director, which was again depreciated by Flash - the one constant platform all along has been HTML (with Javascript and CSS). HTML5 promises to make it even more powerful, but more importantly, keep it relevant. I've always loved using standard programming languages, and as a designer by trade, html and javascript aren't overwhelming. PhoneGap is great. It lets me spend my time building my app with the tools I already know and love, and handles the aspects of programming that I don't really want to deal with.

3. Did using PhoneGap make the development quicker or easier? What other benefits did it offer?

To anyone who works in any kind of web or mobile development , PhoneGap is a breath of fresh air. This industry has spent years programming (and then testing) on different platforms and browsers, and then versions of browsers. Native apps for mobile devices is just as challenging. However, most relevant mobile platforms all use WebKit to render html - and PhoneGap is the only tool I know of to really harness that commonality. This saves hours of work, not to mention testing. It was really refreshing to test my work on one browser and not have to worry about tracking down other machines with various versions of software on them.

4. What is your overall impression of PhoneGap?

I was pleasantly surprised how reliable PhoneGap was. I've used a lot of open source software, and while appreciative that we have so many options, thanks to the open source community, using it often involves unexpected adjustments and tweaking. PhoneGap worked as advertised - it was painfully easy, and that's coming from someone who is not entirely comfortable in programs like Xcode. If PhoneGap didn't exist, I am certain we would still be toiling away months later on our migraine app, and I wouldn't have dreamed of taking the time to put Advertising Agency - a little javascript game that was initially just a joke I shared with fellow designers - into a mobile app.