The Browser is Dead. Here Comes the Widget.

A recent CNN article claimed that the Internet browser is becoming the most critical piece of software on a device.
 
I disagree completely.
 
The most critical piece of software in the universe today is the mobile application, or widget. 
 
When a person pulls out their smartphone to check the weather, get the latest social updates from friends, or find their way across the state, they are not using a browser.  They are using a mobile application.   They are using an application that makes grabbing relevant information quick, intuitive, contextual, and seamless.  An Internet browser is none of these.
 
A browser makes you very much aware that you are accessing the Internet to obtain information.   You enter an “address” or URL; you have to search; you sift through garbage on pages.  The nuts and bolts of the web are fully exposed and must be tolerated.
 
On a mobile device, there’s no time for this, and the Next-Generation consumer won’t tolerate it.  Interfaces must be engaging, customizable, and must make sense.  Most of all, they better be reliable and fast.
 
Smartphones are quickly becoming the access device of choice for consumers.
 
So isn’t the mobile app the most critical of all software?