I made a mobile web app about six months ago, and this is what I heard over and over again from users: "Can you please please please make it a native app?"
Just to get our feet wet, my partner and I proceeded to write two simple iPhone apps. The first did 10x better than our mobile web app (with much less effort), and the second did 100x better. That was enough to convince us, and now we've shelved mobile web development in favor of iOS development.
That's just a personal anecdote, of course. I can't speak for the guys (or gals) behind Coder's Coffee. Overall, though, I think this is responsible for a lot of the interest we're seeing in iOS development.
It also helps that Apple has done a great job with XCode and the iOS SDK. Developing for iOS is really a pleasure.
You missed my point, ironically by perpetuating the obsession around mobile.
I meant why can't it just be a regular desktop webapp. E.g. not require a phone to access.
I don't really see myself sitting in a coffee shop thinking "I want to chat with a business guy right now", and pulling out my phone to see if any are sitting within 10 feet of me.
Granted, the app being mobile (and geo!) is probably 10x more likely to get VC investment right now; I'm just saying that, personally, I would be planning stuff like this more deliberately while sitting at my desktop/laptop than while killing time on the subway.
Just to get our feet wet, my partner and I proceeded to write two simple iPhone apps. The first did 10x better than our mobile web app (with much less effort), and the second did 100x better. That was enough to convince us, and now we've shelved mobile web development in favor of iOS development.
That's just a personal anecdote, of course. I can't speak for the guys (or gals) behind Coder's Coffee. Overall, though, I think this is responsible for a lot of the interest we're seeing in iOS development.
It also helps that Apple has done a great job with XCode and the iOS SDK. Developing for iOS is really a pleasure.