What is HTML5?

With all the hype and buzz and excitement about HTML5 bringing richer interactions to browsers, one important detail isn’t getting a lot of attention until now. An article on ReadWriteWeb covers a recent test which shows that mobile browsers are seriously lagging their desktop counterparts in ability to handle complex HTML5 rendering.

Web developers who are eyeing HTML5 for mobile projects need to be cautious about expectations regarding performance and test thoroughly to ensure the desired results.

Adobe is still trying to push Muse as an HTML5 authoring tool. It will have its place in the product ecosystem, for sure, but that place is at the bottom. Muse isn’t the wonder-tool that Adobe is trying to pitch it as, just as Dreamweaver isn’t the tool of choice for true web professionals. Serious HTML5 web developers aren’t likely to embrace Muse anytime soon.

Microsoft is working on a web version of Skype that will leverage HTML5. Apparently they’re hiring HTML5 web developers so if you’re in the market (and don’t mind working for Microsoft) this might be a good opportunity.

For HTML5 web developers looking for status on support for HTML5 video, be sure to check out this site.

HTML5 Web Developers: If you’re going to be in Barcelona later this month, be sure to check out the HTML5 DevUp conference. 

Sencha has released a scorecard update for the new Apple iPad, and the results are mixed.

In a nutshell, the new iPad is a mixed bag. The new iPad’s display is incredibly fine grained and web site text now appears unbelievably sharp. On the other hand, the browser experience is noticeably slower with stutters and redraws on complex web pages and web apps. Images that haven’t been updated for retina displays now appear blurry in contrast to the sharp text. iOS 5.1 doesn’t offer many new features, and it does take a step backwards. For hybrid apps (web apps packaged in a native shell), iOS 5.1 breaks localStorage and WebSQL persistence, so developers can’t rely on them anymore.

For HTML5 web developers, there is definitely some bad news here. The loss of persistent local storage is terrible for companies with hybrid apps. Sure, there are some workarounds, but Apple has made things very painful. Additionally, the step backward in performance isn’t something any web developer is happy to hear.

We’re usually effusive about the latest mobile browser and hardware from Apple. But this latest offering is a mixed bag at best and a disappointment at worst. For the last few years, we’ve grown accustomed to Apple leapfrogging the competition each year with superior hardware and even better HTML5 browser software. The latest set of Apple hardware has regressions compared to the iPad 2 including slower JavaScript performance. And with iOS 5.1, the removal (or breaking) of features that developers have trusted is a real letdown. While we believe that the iPad is still the best tablet in the market, it’s the first time a new Apple product hasn’t categorically outshone its predecessor. Particularly for business applications, there is no reason to choose the new iPad over the iPad 2.

Gaming in the browser is making big leaps thanks to HTML5. Here’s a list of 15 gaming engines which are leveraging HTML5 to bring sophisticated graphics and interaction to the browser.

Mozilla has created a demo of real-time video chat in the browser with no plugins. The great thing is that this is using the upcoming WebRTC standard, which other browser makers are also working to support. 

Usablenet, a company which provides mobile websites for many big brands, is claiming that adding HTML5 boosts website usage up to 28%. I’m a big fan of HTML5 and all that it offers (and promises to offer in the future). I think, however, that this is mostly a publicity play by Usablenet. They aren’t saying what the 28% increase is compared to. One of the examples they list is adding location detection, but is this in comparison to the same site with only a zip-code field? They also refer to expandable and collapsible boxes, which doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with HTML5.

I think what they’re really saying is that well-designed sites with helpful interactive capabilities perform better than those which are hard to use. HTML5 can definitely play a role in that, but it’s a huge stretch to say that HTML5 will boost usage by 28%.

Here’s a good, quick read on some HTML5 best practices for web developers. It’s fairly basic but has some good info worth reading.