Sun 13 Nov 2011
Widgetpad
What the Heck is an App? Fill me in please
Well if you already didn’t figure out the obvious (let’s hope you did or we’ve got a long way to go) App is actually an abbreviation of the word application. Ahhh you say, now it’s starting to make sense, I hope so, but we’ve only scratched the surface of what an app actually is.
The thing is there are many apps or applications on regular desktop computers, an application is essentially a series of instruction developed for an operating system or “OS”, the word can be used almost interchangeably between Computers, consoles and of course Mobile devices. Microsoft word is an application.
That game you play every day during lunch break on your computer at work is also considered to be an application, the little calculator that comes installed on your computer that you use to do simple math is another application, as is the clock that’s installed on the right hand corner of your desktop.
An application is simply a program that is installed onto an existing interface, whatever that interface may be that utilizes the processing capabilities of the OS to perform a particular function, in other words, it is a new series of instructions that enable an existing OS to do something it couldn’t do before, kind of like teaching a dog a new trick or a musician a new song.
App’s have been around long before the Iphone rose to popularity, which only begs the question, so why are we all of a sudden hearing about these “Apps” so much.
The word App today is almost exclusively used to reference an application that was designed for the Iphone or another Mobile OS such as the Android or the Blackberry, this is largely because in 2007 Apple launched an online store where you could purchase a wide selection of phone applications specifically designed to run on the Iphone.
This drew an enormous amount of attention to not only the Iphone and the applications developed for the Iphone by coining them as “apps” instead of applications. Suddenly the Iphone became a viable platform for developers to design software on.
So now today, when you come across the word “apps” you can rest easy knowing that what’s being referred to is an application that’s designed to add additional functions to a mobile device or mobile OS (operating system)
Since 2008 apps have been....for lack of a better word, the hip thing in the tech world.
There seemed to be an app targeted towards every demographic, new mobile phone companies surfaced around this untapped new market and developed their own apps in hopes of competing with Apple for a share of the pie, independent app developers also sought to capitalize on this seemingly new gold mine, many of which pledged allegiance to the most auspicious platforms, others which opted to provide third party applications for all platforms.
The Android Market develops apps for the Android phones, the Windows Marketplace develops them for their Windows Mobile phones, Apple for theirs, other mobile manufacturers that used to be all the rage, Ie. Blackberry, still have their manufacturer support as well.
Most new phone’s come with pre programmed apps, of course they always did, for example the calculator, Tetris.........are a couple examples of Apps you might have found on any, even non-Smartphone’s over the last ten – fifteen year, but now they began to get a bit more sophisticated.
LG handsets for examples, FindmyFriend, an app that allows you to know where your friends are at all times, GPS, Etc. Etc.
Mobile devices are no longer just Mobile phones, they’re everything packed into one miniature and sleek device.
So what mobile apps do is the same thing any other application on your desktop or labtop computer does, they enable your Mobile Phone to perform new functions that they initially perhaps were not intend for.
There’s a ton of apps on the mobile market, they have become somewhat of a technological trend, so the “app” market is quite lucrative.
Mobile Apps are easier to develop and comparably cheap, so it’s no surprise that the App market attracts tons of developers both experienced and new developers looking to make a name for themselves.
There is little doubt the phone you are using today has already a ton of apps installed onto it, some of which you’re probably not even aware of.
The thing is there are many apps or applications on regular desktop computers, an application is essentially a series of instruction developed for an operating system or “OS”, the word can be used almost interchangeably between Computers, consoles and of course Mobile devices. Microsoft word is an application.
That game you play every day during lunch break on your computer at work is also considered to be an application, the little calculator that comes installed on your computer that you use to do simple math is another application, as is the clock that’s installed on the right hand corner of your desktop.
An application is simply a program that is installed onto an existing interface, whatever that interface may be that utilizes the processing capabilities of the OS to perform a particular function, in other words, it is a new series of instructions that enable an existing OS to do something it couldn’t do before, kind of like teaching a dog a new trick or a musician a new song.
App’s have been around long before the Iphone rose to popularity, which only begs the question, so why are we all of a sudden hearing about these “Apps” so much.
The word App today is almost exclusively used to reference an application that was designed for the Iphone or another Mobile OS such as the Android or the Blackberry, this is largely because in 2007 Apple launched an online store where you could purchase a wide selection of phone applications specifically designed to run on the Iphone.
This drew an enormous amount of attention to not only the Iphone and the applications developed for the Iphone by coining them as “apps” instead of applications. Suddenly the Iphone became a viable platform for developers to design software on.
So now today, when you come across the word “apps” you can rest easy knowing that what’s being referred to is an application that’s designed to add additional functions to a mobile device or mobile OS (operating system)
Since 2008 apps have been....for lack of a better word, the hip thing in the tech world.
There seemed to be an app targeted towards every demographic, new mobile phone companies surfaced around this untapped new market and developed their own apps in hopes of competing with Apple for a share of the pie, independent app developers also sought to capitalize on this seemingly new gold mine, many of which pledged allegiance to the most auspicious platforms, others which opted to provide third party applications for all platforms.
The Android Market develops apps for the Android phones, the Windows Marketplace develops them for their Windows Mobile phones, Apple for theirs, other mobile manufacturers that used to be all the rage, Ie. Blackberry, still have their manufacturer support as well.
Most new phone’s come with pre programmed apps, of course they always did, for example the calculator, Tetris.........are a couple examples of Apps you might have found on any, even non-Smartphone’s over the last ten – fifteen year, but now they began to get a bit more sophisticated.
LG handsets for examples, FindmyFriend, an app that allows you to know where your friends are at all times, GPS, Etc. Etc.
Mobile devices are no longer just Mobile phones, they’re everything packed into one miniature and sleek device.
So what mobile apps do is the same thing any other application on your desktop or labtop computer does, they enable your Mobile Phone to perform new functions that they initially perhaps were not intend for.
There’s a ton of apps on the mobile market, they have become somewhat of a technological trend, so the “app” market is quite lucrative.
Mobile Apps are easier to develop and comparably cheap, so it’s no surprise that the App market attracts tons of developers both experienced and new developers looking to make a name for themselves.
There is little doubt the phone you are using today has already a ton of apps installed onto it, some of which you’re probably not even aware of.
