Mobile smartphones and devices are paving the way of the future, and companies will look to strategically leverage these growing areas of technology, says Robert Bailey, president and CEO of Abacus International. (right)

Saying that new mobile tools such as apps are driving the future in every aspect of life, including travel, he added, "Mobile advancements through HTML5 and mobile apps will continue to play a critical role to maximise operations and ultimately, the bottom line for travel companies."

Mobile users are utilising their devices an average of 94 minutes per day in apps and 72 minutes browsing the Web compared to 43 and 64 minutes per day respectively, just a year and half ago .

By 2015, 183 billion cumulative downloads are expected, up from 11 billion in 2010, with social and location features contributing to a shift away from paid download revenues to in-app purchases and advertising. Much of the development and innovation to support demand is expected to be derived from Asia, said Abacus.

Rapid advances in HTML5 coupled with the advantages of lower cost and faster development time make it the most-effective platform to reach a wider audience regardless of device. HTML5 can be deployed on a wide range of mobile devices, from iOS and Android to Windows Phone and Blackberry. Sales of mobile devices with full HTML5 support within its web browser are expected to reach one billion next year, compared to 336 million in 2011 .

"This is an exciting time to be building new travel solutions. The widespread adoption of smartphones and tablet devices along with the headway made by HTML5 has added new dimensions to the way we can connect with our customers and travellers, and enhance the overall user experience," said Brett Henry, VP Marketing, VP India, Abacus International.

Companies like Salesforce, Slideshare and Pandora have already signed up to push for the adoption of the HTML5 standard. Even Facebook recently launched its HTML5 resource centre in an attempt to help designers build, test and deploy Web applications.

"The Abacus strategy is to provide the best user experience for the task at hand; it's not just about rolling out the latest technology fad," Henry said, citing solultions such as Abacus VirtuallyThere and Abacus WebStart.

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