Surviving Web To Mobile

A few days ago, Fred Wilson wrote a post discussing native mobile apps that wouldn’t exist without mobile as a platform. This got me thinking about which web first services are building effective mobile apps that will keep them user-relevant as mobile becomes the dominant platform for online consumption? 

The mobile concern is obvious all the way up to Facebook, which has seen web-based traffic lost to mobile, along with complaints about UI and speed from mobile users. Instagram may be a model and well-timed crutch for Facebook as its mobile presence adapts. What becomes apparent though is that many of today’s most beloved services face a significant challenge in maintaining their popularity on a smaller screen with fewer opportunities to retain user attention. 

HBOGO from HBO and Seamless come to mind as services that have crossed into the mobile space with few hiccups and are delivering an experience akin to the quality of their websites and, in HBO’s case, TV channels. Seamless is more efficient on mobile because I can order dinner, tip the delivery guy, and process payment while I’m walking home. HBOGO brings the network’s dynamic programming to all my mobile devices with no drop off in picture quality, episode updates, or increase in pricing. I’m fairly certain both of these services would thrive in a world where only their mobile apps existed. 

I wonder which others will thrive and which ones won’t?