HTML5 development shop appMobi will now open source key elements of its mobile technology in an attempt to accelerate industry migration to HTML5. This move will see the appMobi cross-platform device APIs released to the community contribution model of development and, as a consequence, also embrace support of HTML5 development for both Android and iOS platforms. appMobi will also release the source code for its mobiUs browser, which sets out to allow HTML5 web apps to perform identically to native apps.
The "bounty of technology" made available to HTML5 developers is rounded out with appMobi's DirectCanvas technology, which accelerates HTML5 canvas rendering, physics calculations, and sound by as much as a reported 1500 percent, providing native performance to HTML5-based games.
"We believe in the open web and the importance of an open environment for mobile apps and services," said appMobi's CTO, Sam Abadir. "To help advance the industry's move from native apps to web-based apps, we are sharing our mobile HTML5 knowledge with the global software development community. Among other benefits, the innovations in this open source release will improve the mobile web experience through faster downloads, better offline usage, and dramatic HTML5 game performance increases. An improved HTML5 user experience is the 'rising tide that lifts all ships' for open web mobile developers, and we are happy to pour our technology into that harbor."
The open source release of appMobi's iOS XCode and Android Eclipse projects is likely to be of particular benefit to developers who want to extend existing native apps with HTML5 tabs or views. For example, a developer can add a photo-sharing feature to a native app by mixing appMobi's enhanced PhoneGap with Facebook JavaScript APIs, with millions of existing JavaScript components and web services.
