iWebkit vs. JQTouch vs. iUI

Question

I am going to develop a content rich application that ideally should have been an iPhone-app, but since I'm short on time, I will stick with technologies that I can, such as JQuery, CSS and HTML. The more mobile devices my site runs on besides iPhone, the better.

A brief search on the web leaves me with the impression that there are three tools I may use: iWebkit, JQTouch and iUI. I have toyed about with JQTouch, which I find impressive and simple to use.

With simplicity comes lack of customizability; I would very much like to have sliders and other cool features in my GUI.

Any comments on which of these three to go for?

Massachusetts

Answer 1

I've talked about this subject a couple of days ago in a WebTuesday meeting, here are the slides of the presentation:

http://www.slideshare.net/akosma/webtuesday-mobile-web-applications-framework-overview

I talk about the following frameworks / technologies:

• iUI
• jQTouch
• WebApp.net
• iWebKit
• SproutCore / Cappuccino
• Yahoo! Blueprint

I personally have used iUI, and then later jQTouch, which I literally fell in love with.

Cavender

It appears that these slides are no longer available. Any chance you can make them public again or post a different URL where I can check them out? – Satisfaction

I can still see them :) the link is valid, maybe when you tried Slideshare was down... – Cavender

I've published an updated presentation in Slideshare: "Mobile Web Rising" slideshare.net/akosma/mobile-web-rising – Cavender

Things are evolving so rapidly -- any updates since then? Thx! – Anzio

I am concentrating in Sencha Touch and jQuery Mobile these days :) Indeed, a lot has happened in nearly 2 years... – Cavender

This is a terrible Presentation. Lots of Jokes but little Information. – Nosewheel

Answer 2

I actually just finished writing and article comparing iUI and jQTouch. In my opinion, go with jQTouch because it covers a greater selection of WebKit browser phones like the Palm Pre, Droid and Nexus One.

It will be a slightly larger in file size because it includes the core jQuery library. But if you are already using jQuery in your site, that shouldn't matter.

You check out my article here: http://www.heinencreative.com/archives/articles/iui-vs-jqtouch/

Tarim

Answer 3

I have done a short list of frameworks for this type of development see here and am working on an article comparing but the holiday and work intervened.

Personally i have done a site in iUI which was a conversion from a Mac Widget, so reused a lot of code. It was relatively easy to do, the code is solid (for iUI) and there is a site where there is support.

JQTouch looks good and so does iWebkit. Quickconnect is well supported and has a book associated with it (which by now should be wildly out of date) and Quickconnect claims to be useable for other mobile platforms as well.

Only hasving lloked i would probably go for JQTouch next time around as it will have mainstream support just with it being based on JQuery.

Olympian

Answer 4

jQTouch and iUI work with QuickConnect Hybrid framework and PhoneGap.

jQTouch is jQuery web GUI framework for mobile devices (e.g. iPhone, Android, etc.).

iUI is javascript web GUI framework for mobile devices (e.g. iPhone, Android, etc.).

While QuickConnect and PhoneGap are Hybrid framework for mobile devices. For example in iOS, QuickConnect and PhoneGap use Xcode + iOS SDK + Javascript, while in Android, the two use Java + Android SDK + Javascript.

I use these frameworks, jQTouch is better than iUI at the moment. QuickConnect is also better than PhoneGap. However, PhoneGap is popular since it address other mobile OSes aside from iOS and Android. QuickConnect has support for iOS and Android.

Xenia

Answer 5

I've gone with JQTouch for some prototyping as it seemed the best fit, and the most convenient for my needs.

Yet I would not recommend to build your main business around a webbased iPhone app. Even though it has quite a good set of features, it just doesn't feel responsive enough, and getting to get the app look perfectly like UX designed it can be some pain in the ass, as not the whole set of iPhone UI elements are implemented.

Yet I have to say that it was a matter of minutes to get a service-consuming app running that looks like a real iPhone app.

Classic

I wouldn't dismiss iPhone-optimized web sites that quickly. Web apps are quite effective for a big percentage of iPhone usage scenarios. They are easier to build and, importantly, update. And you're likely to get more usage since many people may not want to go download your app from the store. – Howzell

Answer 6

Jqtouch has the community support and also certain very helpful libraries now for persistence HTML5 support with inmemory db and even more so very fluid appearence.

Ladylike

Answer 7

I've started with iUI a way back but i'm now using jQTouch wich i find much better, specially if you like working with jQuery like me. Havent tried iWebkit though, but from what i've seen of it it can't compete with JQT.

Fate