Using OData in apps is so easy thanks to the RESTful API that lets us use HTTP directly & JSON results. But OData works directly against a data model with a limited set of operations and capabilities. You can do some customization but at some point you get beyond the point of data services.

So then it’s back to WCF Services where you can have oh so much control over the service but boy can it get complex, especially when you want to leverage various protocols in WS-* e.g., security, etc. And you have to speak the language of the service which is different from one service to the next.

I see Web API as potentially the best of both worlds. I get to have control of the logic in my service, but I can consume it very easily with HTTP.

Value add to my education and this post via Glenn Block: “Definitely a big value prop for Web API is allowing multiple devices to consume the same applications while at the same time taking advantage of client capabilities.”