Google has announced that its Google Voice application is now available via HTML 5. This move allows it to get around Apple’s decision to oust Google Voice from its app store. By running in the browser and using advanced features of HTML 5 Google can escape Apple’s grasp.
In an end-of-year 2009 piece Wired Magazine named HTML 5 one of the top seven disruptions of the year. The first new version of HTML in about 15 years does promise to change the landscape of the web. And more—Wired even predicts that HTML 5 could be a major disruption for the mobile app model, rendering many apps unnecessary. This would be a continuation of the trend of moving off the desktop—and now palmtop—to the web.
My take? HTML 5 has a lot of promise. I’ll be watching with great interest as browser makers implement its features. However, I’m also aware that the coming of a new version of HTML could lead us back to the bad old days when websites were labeled with warnings like “Best viewed in Netscape.” The release of Internet Explorer 8 launched an era in which all the major browser providers, including the ever recalcitrant Microsoft, finally agreed on what HTML 4/CSS 2 should look like. With HTML 5 the complications of implementing web standards could become even greater. HTML 5/CSS 3 dictates not just a new set of CSS styles but a number of new behaviors. In other words, the new web standards are more like a full software development platform than ever before. This will bring with it a new level of complexity for designers, developers and browser makers. Should be an interesting ride.
More reading:
TechRepublic
Google Voice: Alive and well thanks to HTML5