The Past and the Future of Mobile Apps for Business

           The question that we face now is: What is the future of these apps? There are many factors that will affect the app market. The factors to consider are the products which are in the market now. Since the release of the iPhone there have been several competitors competing for their share of the profits.

           Mobile apps have played a key part in business over the course of the past several years and will continue to do so in the future. We began this blog by defining apps as “a term used to describe software that runs on smart phones and mobile phones… designed to educate, entertain, or assist consumers in their daily lives” Hudson Horizons

We continued on this quest by discussing business productivity apps, citing several apps used throughout the country. Two specific apps that we had mentioned were Pages and Keynote. The first app named Pages is a useful tool used to create banners, resumes, and reports. The second app mentioned was Keynote, which is used to create immaculate presentations for any audience.

After this the group delved into credit card apps. These apps allow the small business owner to conveniently accept credit card payments via a Smartphone, iPhone, or tablet. Most of these free apps come with a free credit card reader that is plugged into the 3.5mm audio jack on the device.

Another interesting blog post was on Travel Apps. These allow consumers to move quickly through airports, book hotels, or plot routs for their next hiking trip. These apps can either be directly profitable by selling the product, cutting expenses in airports, or simply encourage the constant use of the product it advertises.

Finally, we came across Task Management apps. These apps assist people who constantly have an appointment to manage their lives by simply telling their Smartphone the event, the date, and the time frame. They also allow users to synchronize data with each other allowing employees to work in unison.

The iPad introduced a new idea to the world: a small tablet that virtually replaced the need for laptops. The iPad uses apps to achieve its purpose. Now, Microsoft has introduced Windows 8 to the market. This has now poses a struggle between apps and software.

Another factor that must be considered when it comes to the future of these apps is the speed of the mobile web. According to an article by CNN “ABI Research recently predicted that in coming years, Smartphone users around the world will be downloading and using fewer and fewer apps.” The reason this was predicted was because the mobile web has evolved, becoming faster and less clunky. Websites now have “mobile sights” that are designed for Smartphone use.

Although it has been predicted that the quantity of apps will fall, it does not appear that they will disappear entirely in the near future. Time will tell the future of these apps. For now, all we can do is watch these innovators craft new technologies as we progress forward.

           We would love your opinion on the subject. Will apps be like records and cassette tapes in the near future? Or will they stand the test of time in this ever-changing market?  

Tasks Management Apps

            After an interesting post about travels, let’s get back to our day to day life. In today’s chaotic business world, trying to stay on top of everything that needs to be done can be close to impossible.  Whether you work alone, or as a member of a team, having access to your or your teams task list is a must.  With task management apps, you have everything you need to know, and be aware of for the day, week, or month, right in your hands.  Task management apps offer the convenience of a personal secretary, with the ease of use and portability of a smart phone.

            Starting out with the most basic, but most trusted and oldest, of the task management apps is Remember the Milk (RTM).  RTM offers an easy to use, checklist style system with a user-friendly design.  Key features include the ability to sync RTM with Google Calendar, and for users with I-phones, Siri can be used to remember tasks, and set those tasks to completed once they are finished.  Another great feature is the share feature, which involves creating and sending or receiving task lists from other RTM users, which is perfect for groups or teams you may be working with.  Remember the Milk’s basic version is free, but for the upgraded Pro account, the price is $25 dollars.

            As with Remember the Milk’s ability to share task lists, Asana’s task management app is perfectly suited for groups and teams needing to share information and tasks.  Asana allows you and your co-workers to collaborate in “workspaces” via smart phones.  All the information typed into the workspace is updated in real time onto your co-workers devices.  Say for example, you need a certain team-member to send an email to an important client.  All you have to do is set a task in the workspace addressed to your team-member and they will receive it on their smartphone in real time.  Asana makes it easy to search the workspace, by including searches by project, person, or even the tags used to describe the task being worked on.  For up to ten people, Asana is free to use, but after the first ten, a fee is charged.

            The last task management app to be discussed is, in my opinion, the best of the three.  Whereas Remember the Milk was great for individuals, as Asana was for teams, Wunderlist is the best of both worlds.  Wunderlist is by far the easiest to use, and the easiest on the eyes.  It is accessible not only on mobile phones, but also on Mac and Windows computers, and even in web-browsers, which is incredibly convenient.  You can create, save, and share your tasks with co-workers, though they can not change or edit the tasks in real-time like Asana.  Wunderlist does a fantastic job of making all of your tasks, lists, and events accessible from the main screen.  The fluidity of the menus makes working with Wunderlist painless and easy.  Best of all, Wunderlist is 100% free.

            As you can see, task management apps are very prevalent in today’s business world.  The convenience of having an app to manage all of your lists, tasks, and events is extremely helpful and beneficial.  These three apps are just a sample of the kinds and styles of task management apps available.  We suggest looking into these doing some exploring on your own to find the app that’s right for you and your lifestyle by visiting: http://asana.com/ , http://www.rememberthemilk.com/ , or http://www.6wunderkinder.com/wunderlist . We will be discussing recognition apps in our next and last blog entry.

Travel Apps

            After focusing too much on business in our last blog, we would like to introduce a more relaxing topic: Travel apps. When it comes to traveling and booking destinations, applications available for phones, computers, and ipads can be very resourceful for individuals. These applications have made booking and traveling to new destinations much more convenient. There is practically an app for every facet of your trip from booking hotel rooms, confirming flights, and documenting your experiences.

            According to an article in Forbes, one travel application that ranks within their “10 best travel apps” includes FlightAware. This application allows users to get instant updates on their flights including delays, cancellations, booking, or gate changes.  All that must be provided by users is a flight number and immediately all necessary information is available at their fingertips. This convenience and easy accessibility clearly benefits users as well as airlines considering more people will be inclined to book flights. Long gone are the days when you arrive at the airport only to realize your flight has been delayed. How much easier could getting information about your flight be?

            Another application that was listed in Forbes “10 best travel apps” is Jetsetter. Jetsetter is an application that provides its users with the ability to book hotels in a plethora of destinations at discounts as high as 50% off. Jetsetter is a great tool to aid you in planning a vacation simply by providing users with plenty of savings on a variety of hotels. This application also features professional photography of exotic destinations all over the world. Who wouldn't want to get a preview of their potential stay while on vacation and simultaneously receiving a great discount? I would suggest to future travelers to take the time to look into apps such as Jetsetter, it will pay off in the end.

            One application popular among young adults is Instagram which was also featured in Forbes as a travel app. Many may know Instagram as a social media to communicate between friends through pictures, but it also serves as a wonderful application when it comes to traveling. Instagram is a way for people to document their travels through photography and share with their friends. How often, while on vacation, could an application such as Instagram come in handy as a means to share an experience? Instagram also serves to promote businesses and destinations through advertisement to users.

            Another app that can be vital when on vacation or traveling is the North Face Trailhead. This app can calculate your location and provide a list of hiking trails and biking routes in the area. Through the establishment of applications such as Trailhead, users are able to get the most out of their vacations. Have you ever been to a new location and wished you knew all the insider trails and lookout spots to visit? This application takes care of that problem by allowing individuals to have complete access to great experiences.

            All these travel applications have one major quality in common. They are all beneficial in making your travel experience more convenient and enjoyable, as well as promoting a particular business or location. Not only are they extremely useful but they are 100% free! What could you lose by taking the time to check out a few of these travel applications? They are definitely worth taking a look at when planning your next travel. Perhaps they are just the excuse you needed to plan that much needed vacation. To learn more, check them out at Forbes.

Mobile Credit Card Apps

           As detailed in our last blog, office document apps are essential for organization.  But for small on-the-go businesses, it is often difficult to process the many day-to-day transactions they make selling their products in different places and venues.  Small businesses on the move used to have to run cash only shops or process credit cards on laptops (Ferner). This can lead to a slow and lengthy process without a strong Internet connection or wireless hotspot. These kinds of connections are rarely found in certain event venues (Ferner).  Mobile credit card apps come into play significantly for these types of merchants and are quick and easy for the buyer and seller.

          Mobile credit card apps are the next big thing for small business, but how do they work?  They are actually quite simple.  Most of these credit card applications are free and easy to download from the app store on to your smart phone.  Although the app is free to download, you will need to purchase some type of “dongle” to go with your credit card app.  What is a dongle?  It is a hardware device that attaches to your mobile phone to swipe and read buyers credit cards (Ferner).  The dongle attaches into the audio jack of your android, blackberry, or I-phone for a secure connection (Ferner).  From there it is simple to set up your account and start accepting credit card payments.

          There are many types of credit card apps out there, but one of the most popular is called Square.  This is app is practical in many ways for it can be used with or without the proposed Square dongle (Ferner).  Businesses can swipe or type in credit card account information easily this way (Ferner).  Transactions can be processed with no hassle and allow the buyer to sign their receipt on the handy touch screen.  The receipt can then be sent automatically via email to the buyer (Ferner). The best thing about Square that gives it a competitive advantage to other credit card payment apps is the fact that it is device independent and no contract is required (Ferner).  Nevertheless, Square charges $.15 plus 2.75 percent for a swiped card and $.15 plus 3.5 percent for typed-in account information (Ferner).

          Another trendy credit card payment app is called Intuit GoPayment.  It is very similar to Square in some ways and very different in others.  With Intuit you can sign up with your bank account information and funds can be deposited within up to 2-3 days directly into your account.  Intuit is the same as square in the way it can swipe credit card information, but different because Intuit can save you time by syncing your transactions with the various GoPayment software such as quick books to manage your business.  Intuit gives you the option to pay as you go with different swipe rates for each credit card, or you can pay a monthly fee of 12.95 and save more on each transaction you make.  

          Being consumers, we can see that even though these two credit card apps have similar characteristics, they can serve different functions to store and organize your sales in different ways depending on your business.  Credit card apps are just another example of the way mobile business apps are progressing society and technology. Expect more on business apps in our next blog.

Business Productivity Apps

Office document apps are very useful in businesses. All businesses have reports and presentations to compose for many reasons. These apps provide a more user friendly way to get information compiled in a presentable format. Whether it is a simple word document that needs to be created and shared or a complex spreadsheet reflecting a company’s performance during the period, these apps are Great assets to businesses. The apps allow you to access files on corporate networks. Because these apps are available on both the iPhone and the iPad, it is much easier to be mobile. You no longer have to carry around a heavy laptop to meetings. There are many different types of apps within this category that I would like to discuss.

One specific app called Pages is a simple but very helpful app. It has the components of both Microsoft Word and Microsoft Publisher. It is great for creating simple reports and letters. It may also be used to create flyers, cards, or posters for events. There are many different templates and other organizational tools within the app. You can add pictures and charts to documents. The possibilities are endless, and all this can be done from your phone. When the document is saved, it is updated to iCloud so that the document is accessible from any devices connected to the internet.

Another app that is great for displaying information is Keynote. It is very similar to Microsoft PowerPoint but has many more features to make giving presentations much easier. There are many different options to choose from when creating your presentation. Portfolios of all of your work can be easily created with preexisting templates. There is also a showroom template where you can display pictures of a new, upcoming products or a product that has just been released. This app makes it easier to rearrange pictures, charts, and animations. All you have to do is simply drag the objects around with your finger on the screen. You can also purchase a TV adapter to help project your presentation to a larger screen

Almost every business struggles with communication in some way. An app called Shareplus is a mobile version of Sharepoint, which is a program that allows companies to share documents, files, and information with other people within their organization. No matter where you are, if you need to upload files to your boss who is across the country, you can now easily do that. You can record conversations and meetings and save them as audio files and upload them directly to Sharepoint using Shareplus. Wi-Fi sharing enables you to transfer files over a web browser. There is built in data protection to prevent your files from being compromised. Finally this app allows you to access blogs and discussion boards within your company on the go.

All of these office document apps greatly contribute to the overall growth of companies and organizations around the world. I’m sure that apps will continue to improve and get better in many different ways. Anything that can save some time for people who already have a bunch of things to do in their lives definitely has a positive impact on the business world. How has business productivity apps impacted your world?

The Ever-Growing Presence of Businesses Thorough Their Apps

The Ever-Growing Presence of Businesses Thorough Their Apps.

The world is ever changing and has been since its foundation. Technology in business is no different. Businesses have been changing and growing over the years. Just twenty years ago, people had to meet face to face in order to conduct business. Given these advancements in technology, we have been able to conduct business online for the past few years. But, just when we thought things couldn't get any better, mobile apps come along.

Older phones came preloaded with predefined programs. Initially, the programs only allowed us to make calls. As technology progressed, we were allowed to send short text messages. Even the first so called smart phones could only do things they were pre-designed for like sending email, task management and a few others. There was no way to make changes to the programs that came with the phone. If there were interesting new programs or phone features on the market, you had to upgrade your phone. Things got very interesting with the development of mobile apps.

There is not much documentation about the origin of apps or the first ever app created, but there are many varying attempts to define it. According to Hudson Horizons, a website design and development company, “A mobile application, also known as mobile app, is a term used to describe software that runs on smart phones and mobile phones. Mobile applications are designed to educate, entertain, or assist consumers in their daily lives”. According to Dictionary.com, an app is “an application, typically a small, specialized program downloaded onto mobile devices”. What those definitions failed to mention is that, unlike programs on older phones, an app is not necessarily developed by the phone manufacturer. In fact most apps are developed by third parties. Businesses quickly grabbed the opportunity to capitalize on that new feature.

Businesses find it increasingly difficult to grab and keep current and potential customers. The ability to develop a mobile app for a specific purpose became a powerful competitive tool. With the explosion of mobile devices, almost everyone has at least one that they work or play with all the time. Getting people to download apps is a great way for businesses to constantly present their product or brand to current or potential customers. But, not all business apps are designed the same way.

Some apps are clearly commerce related. They do not hide their intent to make money. Retail apps and some paid apps are examples of those kinds of apps. Other apps are not as direct about their intentions. They may provide a service that people are interested in free of charge initially, and make money through advertisements that they frequently display, or by requesting payments for premium features. Radio and gaming apps can be put in this category. Others are designed to indirectly make money or protect a company money source by increasing consumers’ intimacy with the company. Customer Relation Management apps are part of this kind of apps.

In the next few posts, we will discuss in detail, specific business apps or categories of apps. In the mean time, we would love to hear from you. What particular app is the most appealing to you, and why? What do you think can be done to make that particular app, or any other app, better? You may respond to those questions or make other comments in the comment section.