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HTML5 mobile sites just as rich as any app: T-Mobile exec

SAN DIEGO ? Panelists at the CTIA Enterprise & Applications 2011 conference said that HTML5 is a great tool for marketing.

During the ?Apps Boardroom Session? panel, executives discussed how everyday elements of life, social interactions, shopping, travel and entertainment are increasingly being integrated with the distinct functionalities of wireless technologies. The panel was moderated by Roger Cheng, senior writer at CNET, San Francisco.

?There are so many apps out there now,? said Brad Duea, senior vice president of value added services at T-Mobile USA, Bellevue, WA. ?But it?s about how you get discovered.

?In June we crossed a big milestone,? he said. ?People are surfing the Web more from their mobile device than a PC.

?If you see how things have transpired in the past 6-12 months, it?s pretty spectacular.?

HTML5 growth
According to Mr. Duea, even though applications are rapidly growing, HTML5 is something that marketers should also consider.

?I think HTML5 is great,? Mr. Duea said. ?A lot of HTML5 mobile sites are just as rich as any app.?

David Brinker, senior vice president of operations and business development at The Daily, New York, agreed that HTML5 is a great tool for marketers.

However, when the company was researching whether it should use HTML5 or native apps for its digital magazine, The Daily found out that native apps were the way to go.

?We use HTML5 pretty extensively, but we made the decision early on not to use it [for the iPad] because it didn?t perform as fast as the app did,? Mr. Brinker said. ?Discovery is also a big issue.

?After discovery, it?s about getting people to continue to use your app,? he said. ?There are insights about apps being used once and then never again."

According to Mr. Brinker, The Daily has a unique challenge of getting users to download its app, as well as subscribe to the publication.

?You have to have products that customers are talking about,? Mr. Brinker said.

According to Mr. Brinker, The Daily, the company is also looking to roll out an Android application in the near future.

?The big difference for us is that we know the market is going to get bigger and we believe it?s a platform worth investing in,? Mr. Brinker said.

Mobile content
Additionally, the company believes that its monetization model works.

Consumers can download the application for free in Apple?s App Store.

?You can use it for two weeks and then you decide whether or not you want to pay for the subscription,? Mr. Brinker said. ?Our conversion rates from trial to paid are pretty good.

?You pay like 11 cents a day,? he said. ?You can?t get a newspaper for 11 cents a day.?

Jim Eadie, senior vice president of digital business development at Viacom Media Networks, New York, agreed with his fellow panelists that discovery is a huge issue.

?In addition, we found that if an app doesn?t start off with good reviews, it?s tough to turn that around," Mr. Eadie said. ?You have to make sure that consumers are aware of your apps.

?The window of time that you have to impress somebody with your app is short,? he said. ?They?ve made up their mind in the first or second time they?re experiencing the app.

?When you?re investing that kind of money in a product, you want it to be essential for those consumers.?

According to the panelists, mobile apps are helping drive creativity.

Marketers are just getting started in the space and are constantly looking at new ways to engage consumers.

?We?re going to start seeing apps and the physical world intersect,? said Rob Chandhok, president of Qualcomm Internet Services, San Diego.

Final Take
Brad Duea, senior vice president of value added services at T-Mobile USA