Monday, April 2, 2012

Apps


There are literally hundreds of thousands of apps available on Apple’s App Store and Android’s Marketplace. With this many apps accessible online, the content ranges from games to dictionaries, handy little flashlights to a restaurant tip calculator. Not only this though; companies are building apps to make their website and features more easy and navigable on a mobile device.  Forrester Research predicts that over the next four years companies will spend approximately $17 billion on app development.

Kayak, a travel search company, can attest to the growing demand for and reliance on apps. They currently dedicate 20% of their engineers to app development. But this is only recent--the app was only created in 2009 when “it became obvious…that people think of their mobile phone as their computer, where they demand full functionality of websites on the move to plan itineraries for themselves.” With so many people constantly on the go using mobile devices, this shouldn’t be surprising.


As is appropriate, this now changes the way Kayak does business and thinks, “We take guidance from what’s going on with the app and adapt the website, not the other way around.” The takeaway? Businesses should devote at least some time and resources to app development and support. With app building software easily accessible and affordable, this shouldn’t be hard. 

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/20/business/travel-apps/index.html

4 comments:

  1. Interesting post and statistics on apps! It's amazing the amount of resources that go into an app. GREAT post!

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  2. I like most students am addicted to my smartphone and love fun and convenient apps. However, I don't know if I'd want to plan a vacation or book flights via my smartphone yet, when it still has issues sending emails and tweet. Good post though. Cory Checketts.

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  3. Oh my gosh $17 billion on app development! That is disgusting! I officially need to be an app developer! I could not comfortably live with out my iphone because of all the amazing apps help to make my life more organized, entertaining, and glamorous than it really is!

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  4. that is some crazy stats! 17 billion on app development! Apps are so cool, I didn't really understand them as much until I got my iphone, but now I can't live without them! the convenience is the ultimate.

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