See, I had the same reaction when web apps started gaining traction: "Look at all the native libraries and UI and tools you're giving up, just to solve the app distribution problem! Solve that, don't take GUIs back 15 years just to fix distribution!"
But, there is more to web apps than just distribution. And, there is more to why people want to write for these mobile devices than just the app stores.
If you've been doing web stuff for a while, you may be surprised to find some of us prefer the tools, APIs, and patterns behind native app development -- just as I was surprised to learn some people had legitimate reasons to make web apps. Some of us have investments in native code that we can move over to these devices. Some of us think having at least some code in the vendor's pet API provides a better user experience, and makes you better able to track with their platform as it changes.
I was wrong to think people only went to the web for distribution. Consider that people may not just be on these native mobile systems for the app stores alone.
But, there is more to web apps than just distribution. And, there is more to why people want to write for these mobile devices than just the app stores.
If you've been doing web stuff for a while, you may be surprised to find some of us prefer the tools, APIs, and patterns behind native app development -- just as I was surprised to learn some people had legitimate reasons to make web apps. Some of us have investments in native code that we can move over to these devices. Some of us think having at least some code in the vendor's pet API provides a better user experience, and makes you better able to track with their platform as it changes.
I was wrong to think people only went to the web for distribution. Consider that people may not just be on these native mobile systems for the app stores alone.