I have been working with Titanium for over a week now and feel like I have a good feel about its weakness.
1) If you hoping you use the same code on multiple platforms good luck! You'll see something like backgroundGradient and be amazed until you find out android version doesn't support it. Then have to revert to using a gradient image, might as well use it for both versions to make the code easier right?
2) A lot of weird behaviors, on the Titanium android sdk you need to understand what a "heavy" window is just to get the back button to work, or even better orientation event tracking. This isn't how the android platform really is, its just how Titanium tries to make their API work.
3) Your thrown in the dark, Things will crash and you have to start to comment code and then when you find it, never use it. There are certain obvious bugs, like orientation and percents on android that have been a problem for over six months.
4) Bugs .... there are a lot of bugs and they will be reported, sit around for months, get fixed in a few days. I am surprised they even are planning to release a black berry mobile sdk when there are so many other problems with android.
5) Titanium Iphone versus Titanium Android javascript engines are completely different. On android version you can download remote javascript files, include and use libraries like mootools, jquery and so on. I was in heaven when I found this out because I didn't have to keep compiling my android app. The android apk installation process takes so long! Iphone none of that is possible, also the iphone version has a much faster javascript engine.
If you stay away from a lot of the native UI parts, i.e instead use setInterval to detect orientation changes, sticking with gradient images, forget about the back button, build your own animations, forget window header, toolbars, and dashboard. You really can make an api that works on both that doesn't require of lot of rewriting. But at that points its just as sluggish as a webapp.
So is it worth it? After all the pain, its worth every minute. You can abstract the logic and just build different UI for each rather then if elseing everywhere. Titanium lets you make fluid applications, that feel fast. You lose the powerful layout abilities of each platform but if you think simple, things can get done under a single language.
Why not a web app? On entry level market android phones its horribly slow to generate a webview and consumes a lot of memory you could be using to do more complex logic.
