Emerging from the beta, the JqMobi version 1.1 delivers several enhancements to the existing plugins, like css3Animate and carousel. Plus, the objects can now register jqMobi events, which was previously only available to DOM nodes. Available as a general release, jqMobi 1.1 comprises a new repository, created to house jqMobi plugins and making it easier for developers to choose the required for building apps. Also, a new touchLayer plugin has been added that provides a delay-free touch input, and works identically on iOS and Android. jqMobi is the first JavaScript framework developed solely for use on mobile devices, and is optimized for touch based interface and smaller screen sizes. jqMobi offers developers a solid framework that delivers equivalent user experiences on both iOS and Android platforms.

Along with this version update, here comes another big, perhaps bigger news. jqMobile framework is used by Badoo for to developing the Badoo mobile app. As we know that Badoo is the the world’s 4th largest social network with more than 160M registered users across 180 countries, this is a prestigious deal for jqMobi. And the best thing is that this deployment marks the first time that an off-the-shelf mobile app framework has been deployed on a worldwide scale.

“Even with HTML5, developers have to choose the platforms they are targeting. iOS/Android and WebKit generally cover 98% of smart phone users. Badoo, in contrast to Facebook, developed an HTML5 experience based on jqMobi that specifically targets the overwhelming portion of their userbase and uses other solutions for the remaining 2%,” said jqMobi’s Sam Abadir.

Badoo has been an active open source participant in the jqMobi project, and performed extensive testing of its app prior to rolling it out to its worldwide user base in mid-August.

Facebook’s not so secret dilemma is how they will make money on iOS. Apple’s control of the app store means that Facebook can’t sell in-app purchases in mobile games – one of their main revenue generators on desktop. Badoo has escaped the grasp of the Apple App Store by delivering this great HTML5 web app. Facebook, in the meantime, has moved to Apple’s Objective-C, and one can only wonder what that means in terms of mobile revenue.