PhoneGap Advantages And Disadvantages

PhoneGap entered the market as a developer’s dream application development framework. Business and framework developers were relieved with this application as it allows them to save a lot of time because of so many positive features.
PhoneGap does not require the developer to have extensive knowledge about languages. They can use a basic language like HTML, JavaScript, and CSS and deploy the app on multiple mobile devices and it will perform like a native application.

Let’s dive into some details and discuss the pros and cons of PhoneGap that can be considered by any business before opting for PhoneGap.

Bright Sides
1. One Go – Two Benefits
Using PhoneGap will allow you to reduce your marketing time by a huge margin. The reason for this is that PhoneGap allows you to develop your application once and you can publish it across multiple platforms. So you do not have to start over every time you aim to develop it for a new platform. It saves you a lot of working hours and marketing time as well.

2. Simultaneous Release On Multiple Platforms
Previously, it was a problem that an application was all set to be launched on one platform like android but the same application was under construction for Apple platform. The looks and UI also differed on different platforms. PhoneGap has covered these problems and you can release the application simultaneously on multiple platforms with the same user interface and looks.

3. Expensive Developers – No Thanks
Before PhoneGap, you were required to hire expert developers who would charge you a huge amount of money for using their expertise in making your application. Now you only need someone with just the basic knowledge of HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript and you can easily get yourself a fully functioning application that can be released on multiple platforms at once.

4. The Application Can Perform Like Native Apps
PhoneGap taps into the mobile’s hardware capabilities turning the app into a native app. This is how it does that. It connects with the accelerometer of the phone, the camera and geolocation as well. In return, the UX is improved manifolds and the user can hardly notice that the app in use is from another platform.

5. Quick Backend Support
You will be amazed to see how quickly you get your backend support in PhoneGap. This advantage gets you way ahead in the competition as you are able to increase your efficiency and performance time. Even if you are a beginner, the detailed and easy to understand beginner’s guide is always there to guide you. This allows you to tackle any issue as soon as possible in the least amount of time.

6. Open-Source
PhoneGap is open-sourced, so you can always expect enormous help from the online community. Continuous development and up-gradation of PhoneGap is a pretty awesome thing to experience.

7. Apache Cordova Is There To Assist As Well
PhoneGap is the distributor for Apache Cordova and is powered by it. So PhoneGap has multiple tools tied into Adobe’s multiple services as well, making it not wrong to say that Adobe is also backing PhoneGap.
PhoneGap returns the favor by powering AEM Mobile (Adobe Experience Manager). AEM allows the developer communities to target various platforms and enterprises can have their activities managed from one place. PhoneGap offers ContentSync plugin to cache and fetch an app’s content. You can test any changes through AEM Mobile Verify on platforms like Android and iOS.

8. User-Friendly Plugins
Application development on PhoneGap is eased up by PhoneGap Build which supports multiple plugins from PhoneGap and Cordova. You can access plugins from the public git npm and repository and Adobe repository. Some new and famous plugins are Pushwoosh, Facebook Connect, GAPlugin, Social Sharing, Barcode Scanner, PushPlugin, and StatusBar.

Dark Sides Of Phonegap

1. Plugins With Hooks Are Not Welcomed
Many developers use hooks while working in WordPress that help them to align their code with plugins, themes, and core codebase in WP. Unfortunately, that won’t happen in PhoneGap. [Update phonegap supports hooks now read here more about it – ]

2. Phonegap Might Not Align With Hardware Intensive Apps
Gaming app developers will get a frown to know that PhoneGap is not a platform that works well with heavy game developments. Lags, freezes, and drops are issues that will be consistent if they opt to use PhoneGap to make a game that needs some serious hardware power.

3. Ios Apps Development Needs A MAC
If you are an iOS app developer and want to use PhoneGap, you will need to have a MAC to do that. The reason is that the MAC will be able to download and run iOS SDKs which is necessary for iOS application development in PhoneGap.

4. Plugins Get Outdated
Outdated plugins is a problem that is yet to be solved because it hinders the functionality of the application. For example, sometimes the camera or the geolocation in your application may glitch and affect the functionality. This discovery is often made mid-project and it is not a good phase for enterprises.

Conclusion
PhoneGap no doubt has made its mark in the market as it has performed many times as a good alternative to Xamarin. It has multiple features like other hybrid networks for application development. Having multiple languages in its toolkits like CSS3, HTML5, and Javascript, it certainly beats so many rivals with ease.
With its functionality, flexibility, and complexity of applications, PhoneGap tops a list of frameworks for app development. With a quick backend, you can enjoy a UI in a native look that is appreciated on many levels.
Being able to develop your application by hiring a developer with basic skills, you can get your project done by a person sitting in another corner of the world so you can choose your developer from a global pool.
Now the decision is up to you if you want to choose PhoneGap or go for another application. These worthy points might be able to give you some insight.

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