Getting Started
If you're already a web developer, you're set up to write HTML5 apps that access Salesforce. HTML5 apps can run in a browser and don't require the Salesforce Mobile SDK. You simply call Salesforce APIs, capture the return values, and plug them into your logic and UI. The same advantages and challenges of running any app in a mobile browser apply. However, Salesforce and its partners provide tools that help streamline mobile web design and coding.
If you want to build your HTML5 app as standalone in a hybrid container and distribute it in the Apple App Store or an Android marketplace, you’ll need to create a hybrid app using the Mobile SDK.