Microsoft on Web Apps vs. Native Apps

Some time ago, I wrote about Vic Gundotra's (Google) and Ilja Laur's (GetJar) views on web apps vs. native applications and the role that the different platforms play (here and here).

Yesterday, Microsoft's chief software architect Ray Ozzie and Bob Muglia weighed in on the subject:

• It’s not the applications available on the various platforms that will be the differentiators.

• All the apps that count will be ported to every one of them [the platforms].

• Mobile apps require very little development, so it’s much easier to bring them onto every platform.

• 
  It makes sense for many developers to use HTML, especially as it becomes more powerful, but there will always be opportunities for people to build apps that go beyond what standards can do.

via VentureBeat.

The question that arises is: why haven't we seen 'all the apps that count' ported to all platforms yet? Might not be such an easy thing to do. And while there definitely are many mobile apps that require little development (in comparison to web or desktop apps) - might this change in the future? Even if the apps stay simple and restricted to a very specific set of use-cases (which they should on mobile), the number of scenarios that needs to be covered then becomes very big. What I mean: maybe a company doesn't have to support one single app but a range of apps at the same time?

A lively discussion on this topic over at Scoble's blog.