There’s an App for That – Are Apps Taking Over?
Mobile
platforms are rapidly taking over our lives, whether it’s on a phone or a
tablet - they’re here to stay. From Apple’s iOS platform for its iPad, iPhone
and iTouch to Google’s Android and Research in Motion’s Blackberry, more and more
consumers are being exposed to mobile computing and applications ‘apps’ each
day.
Apple
launched its Apps store as part of iTunes just two years ago in July 2008.
Since then over 5 billion apps have been downloaded. In fact, iPad, iPhone and
iTouch users download over 16.6 million apps each day – astounding numbers. And,
what’s even more shocking is that 81% of all apps are free for the users.
The
average mobile device user has 65 apps downloaded to their device. While many
go unused, more and more useful apps are coming to market. As an early adopter
of the iPhone, I immediately became enthralled with apps, downloading them
quickly and swiftly. From shopping sites (eBay has an app) to surf reports and
weather, there truly is, or is about to be, an app for everything. During the
recent World Cup Soccer (or Football to non-U.S. residents) events a company
called Vuvuzela introduced an app that removes the horn noises from the games.
Who would have ever thought of that?
While most
associate apps with personal uses, there are also numerous business apps that
are helpful, especially for those who are on the road or need/want to be in
contact with their organization 24/7. For customers of Salesforce.com, they
have apps for both the iPhone and iPad that let you access your entire database,
set tasks and run reports. On a tablet, document editing, sales presentations
and video conferencing are now available through various apps. There are
thousands of business related apps including Hoovers, LinkedIn, Facebook,
currency, car rental, air travel, business card readers, news and more. There’s
even a human resource at your fingertips app and an employee feedback tracker,
both available now for Apple’s iPad.
Will we
get to the point where we, relocation management companies, clients, client
employees and second tiered suppliers, are all communicating and sharing
information via a mobile app? Will potential recruits be able to submit a
resume or C.V. for an open position via an app? It’s scary to think about, but
it’s most those times are likely to be here sooner than you think. Currently
there are several major second tier suppliers with mobile apps, including
national and local realtors, movers and mortgage companies. And, based on the
growth of mobile devices along with the consumer desires of the next generation
(Gen Y), apps will be a way of life in the future, that’s for certain.
Posted on 07/9/2010 in Technology | Comments (0)
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