Gartner research projects that more that 60 percent of web apps developed in the world will comprise of hybrid products. So, what does one mean by hybrid applications? And what powers developing these kinds of applications?

In simple terms, hybrid applications are nothing but a combination of native & web apps to deliver holistic & continuous services round the clock to users through the power of internet & world wide web. It’s a combination of developing native & HTML5 applications & looks just like a normal application from a users perspective which can be downloaded, saved & used just normally by anyone. But, for a developer it is a different form of developing a hybrid app to the users. Why so? This is because instead of re-writing the codes for different operating systems & devices, the developer can use & re-use the same set of codes across multiple devices & platforms hence making it simple & easy to customize apps for the end-user. Hence, its a dual combination of developing an application with the help of HTML 5 & JavaScript along with inbuilt native features making the product a hybrid one.

So, in a nutshell, its hassle-free, convenient, smooth, easy & flexible way to build applications from the developers angle which offers outstanding UX for the end-user. It’s truly responsive, dynamic, compatible, performance oriented, user-friendly & works wonderfully across devices thus making it feasible for developers & users to adopt to this form of applications. This gives great scope & offers plethora of opportunities for custom mobile application development to enterprises & developers can encash on this by convincing them to migrate & adopt to this kind of technology which offers great benefits not just to the users but also for developers which offers a win-win platform for both of them. We are specialists in developing hybrid mobile applications for one & all.

Another area where hybrid apps score over native apps is that they are well connected with internal file systems & web services. It can function seamlessly whether or not the device is connected to the internet. It has an embedded browser which can power vigorous, responsive, relevant searches & content online. Thus making it a very unique product to be developed in the market.

So, what’s in store for windows mobile widget development?

Windows mobile widgets are lightweight Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) that run only on Windows mobile devices. They are displayed in full screen that provides a user experience similar to a compiled application. Widgets are comprised of source files which can include HTML, CSS, JScript, and image files and an XML file & no specific proprietary tools are required for widget creation. Windows mobile already has a set of objects, accessible from script, that allows widgets to create soft key menus and respond to changes as per the device. A set of enumerated APIs is also provided allowing compiled applications to launch, uninstall or query the metadata of all widgets installed on the device. Please do note that, beginning with Windows mobile widget development, the soft keys are replaced with touchable tiles on Windows mobile professional phones.

Windows Mobile Widget Files

Windows mobile widgets can be made up of multiple files, including at least one HTML file as well as separate JScript files, graphics files, icons, and so on. In addition to the files that contribute to the appearance and functionality of the widget, each widget should also contain an XML manifested file that provides metadata about the widget such as name, authorizer and the container in which it should be displayed.

Packaging Windows Mobile Widgets

Windows Mobile Widgets can be packaged for installation on a device without needing any special tools.

To package a Windows mobile widget
• Create a ZIP file that contains all of the source files for the widget and the XML manifest file.
• Rename the ZIP file to give it the extension “.widget”.

Localizing Windows Mobile Widgets

A Windows mobile widget can also be localized in different languages in such a way that the same .widget file can provide content in a language determined by the local settings of the device on which it is running. To do this, it is advisable that you create directories parallel to the widget XML manifested file and then name them according to the locale for which they should be used (for example, ‘en-us’). Put local versions of the files that make up the widget in each sub-directory. When the widget is run, it will first check for content in the sub-directory named for the device’s current locale. If no sub-folder is present, or if the file is not contained within the sub-folder, the widget will use the file from the root or the main directory.

If the above steps are followed meticulously, then developers can unlock their potential and develop successful hybrid apps for enterprises & individuals & offer effective yet efficient services to Windows mobile phone users.