One of the beautiful things about the Apple iOS environment is the thousands upon thousands of apps that will do nearly anything you could want.  Many of them duplicate what can be accessed via a web page — Twitter, Facebook, news sites, and banking apps to name a few.  As an iPad user, I tend to be very happy to access most sites via a Safari Tab.  I’ve tried other browsers on the iPad, but so far, I prefer Safari (only on the iPad — I detest it on a full size computer).

Because of that, I was kind of puzzled about the fixation with apps in many instances.  Until I talked with a Twitter friend who primarily accesses the web via a smartphone.  Apparently, with the smaller form factor of the smartphone and the mobile limitations, an app tends to address smartphone users needs more satisfactorily.  I could see that.

So, presumably, apps are nice for iPad users, but they are essential for smartphone users.