The whole HTML5 vs Flash debate really started with the launch of iPhone worldwide when more and more people became aware that Flash-based websites didn’t work on iPhone. With that, non-flash versions of previously Flash-based websites began to popup around the Internet as more and more people started using iOS devices such as iPhone and iPod Touch.
Then when iPad came about a year ago, Flash almost became world-known since iPad, like iPhone, also did not support flash. I’m sure web companies such as Tampa web design saw an increase in their business as more and more website owners wanted to optimize their website for iOS devices. I believe there are some 100 million iOS devices out there now (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch) so that’s a big chunk of the Internet to cut-off by relying mostly on Flash for your website, shop, portfolio etc.
So what are some of the advantages of HTML5? Just to mention a few, offline data storage and new API’s such as drag & drop, video & audio and geolocation.
What this means is that you can embed a video as easy as:
<video width=”500” height=”400” src=”video.mp4”>
That’s it. You have now embedded a video and it will work in all HTML5 compatible browsers including iPhone, iPad etc. That’s somewhat easier than embedding a YouTube Flash-based video, right? And it without having to install any plugins.
Geolocation could be huge as well. Especially with mobile devices with a GPS – then a web site will be able to tell you which great sushi restaurants are around you right now, so you don’t have to download an app first or enter your address (if you know it) into a yellow pages search engine.
HTML5 may not kill off Flash right now, but HTML5 does have some pretty cool stuff. Just google “Apple html5” to find their HTML5 showcase page to see Apple showing off HTML5 stuff. Video, Typography, Gallery, Transitions, Audio, 360* and VR. All without the ressource-hungry Flash.