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Mobile applications and websites are the new marketing arena, but what can they really do for you? There is a big difference between mobile applications and mobile websites, so which one is best for you? Will either help you connect to your user base?

Mobile applications are developed to work on each specific mobile format. These are bespoke applications, designed and built to take full advantage of the platforms strengths. All the rich features of the mobile hardware are available including things like the accelerometer, GPS system and multi touch interface. These are ideal if you have a specific application in mind.

Building specific applications for each mobile platform can be costly, so as an alternative you may want to consider a mobile website instead.

Creating a mobile version of your existing website can be a far quicker and simpler route to market than creating a bespoke mobile application. These currently do not have access to all of the elements of mobile platforms, but they are heavily optimised to fit the size and shape of mobile screens.

Often a mobile application will pull in elements of a mobile website as supporting content as this is easily maintained and updated and does not require a 'market' release.

There is a growing market for Tablet specific applications and websites. Once you have your mobile application or website built consider if it is worth optimising it for tablet devices. These generally have bigger screens and are more powerful than mobile handsets.

We have found that if your application has a productivity angle then it may well find a warm welcome in the tablet market, and it can take surprisingly little effort to alter a mobile project to fit a tablet device.