As many as 79 percent of surveyed mobile app developers are planning to integrate HTML5 in the apps they will launch in 2012, said a latest report by International Data Corporation (IDC).

According to IDC, it has contributed important data points to a new infographic that highlights key milestones in the rapidly evolving mobile HTML5 space. The research firm has also noted that there will be more than 1 billion HTML5 mobile browsers in the market in 2013; and over 80 percent of all mobile apps will be wholly or in part based upon HTML5 by 2015.

The infographic also highlights current HTML5 mobile browser capabilities in supporting key mobile app types, with data point estimates that were jointly developed by IDC and Facebook. On the other hand, the mobile browser capabilities data points were measured by Ringmark, the mobile browser testing suite of core browser capabilities that developers can use to build HTML5 mobile apps.

HTML5 is one of the fastest evolving and most important areas of mobile app innovation. Ringmark in turn is an important tool providing mobile app developers the ability to test how well different mobile browsers support key app functionalities, allowing developers to strategize and code accordingly, notes Scott Ellison, vice president, Mobile & Connected Consumer Platforms at IDC.

IDC said that the huge percentage of mobile developers planning to integrate HTML5 into their apps in the near future is much higher than many industry observers had expected as recently as Q4, 2011. This is considered a very significant development because the mobile app space to date has been dominated by native apps - especially iOS and Android-based apps.

According to the Appcelerator/IDC quarterly mobile developer survey report, over the last three quarters, 67 to 68 percent of developers stated that they were very interested in developing apps for HTML5. This puts HTML5 as the third most favored platform behind iOS and Android.

IDC noted that games will likely be the key app category to watch in terms of HTML5 adoption in the short to medium term. Apart from that, social apps will also be a major app category for HTML5 innovation in the near term.

Have a look at the infographic below:

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[Source: IDC, ocupop]