Sabre has opted to develop a hybrid application for the latest version of trip planning tool TripCase which could be unveiled before the end of the year.
TripCase set for hybrid makeover in version three
Sabre has opted to develop a hybrid application for the latest version of trip planning tool TripCase which could be unveiled before the end of the year.
Currently the product available for Apple’s iOS mobile operating system is a native application, but with smartphone browsing rising rapidly Sabre has opted for a single cross-platform solution.
Tomek Krzyzak, Sabre Holdings’ vice president software development, said release of the upgraded TripCase, a third version of the app, could happen before the end of 2012 or in early 2013.
Developers in the Sabre’s Krakow technology centre and in Dallas are currently working on the new version.
Krzyzak said fragmentation in the mobile operating system arena and the lack of mature software standards make it expensive to develop mobile apps.
“There is also a big dilemma as to whether companies should just invest in mobile websites or build native applications or maybe something in between,” he added.
“As a result of all these uncertainties there are lots of concerns around security because not everything has been proven to be secure.
“We are going with the hybrid mobile application which enables us to write the code once and deploy it everywhere.
“With the development of one source code we will be able to cover multiple mobile platforms.
“TripCase will have a new look and feel. We can distribute the app though the App Store and Android’s market. The biggest benefit to us is lowering the cost of development and maintenance.
“It will have a nice modern design with the integration with Facebook demanded by our customers. We will be providing a lot of rich content about the destinations.”
To display each element of the trip in a more graphical way, Sabre has also developed a Facebook-style time-line for TripCase, which has to date been downloaded by one million people.
TripCase is a product developed by Sabre’s Travel Studios developmental team which is based in its Dallas headquarters. It was first launched in September 2009.
The debate around developing HTML5 hybrid apps was highlighted recently by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg when he admitted that the firm had ‘bet too much’ on the emerging technology.
However, Sabre believes the problems Facebook had were more about the implemention of its applications rather than a fundamental issue with HTML5.
