PhoneGap is an open source, mobile applications development platform that allows HTML5 and JavaScript created apps to be compiled into native apps that can be uploaded onto the app stores for Android, iPhone and Blackberry.
OpenSource Technologies set out its strategy and plans for start working on PhoneGap soon. Currently our team is working to perceive the advantages, disadvantages, limitations and scope of this technology. Into the way, we met with few drawbacks of PhoneGap technology like any other technology, which are listed hereinafter:
- PhoneGap doesn’t support all built-in phone features.
- Because of covering multiple platforms, PhoneGap is often one step behind the native platforms when new features are introduced.
- PhoneGap apps look the same in all phone environments. While they all look and function like a native app, the look is a little more generic not necessarily like an iPhone app or an Android app.
- The applications are web applications inside a Web-View. Browser performance doesn’t come close to native application component performance.
- Just like any other Open Source platform / SDK, PhoneGap heavily relies on the community to contribute various modules. While these modules will work fine out of box, there may be challenges with the support and maintenance with those modules. Something, I have experienced with Open Source CMS systems. In addition to that these modules may not meet all your requirements thus requiring you to modify or rewrite them.
- Limited Capabilities than Native.
Here it seems like a long list of drawbacks associated with PhoneGap, but all the technologies have drawbacks within them. No doubt, PhoneGap is an outstanding robust mobile application development platform. OST Professionals are striving in order to creating a strategy that must not be affected because of above listed limitation of project.