Future of Mobile Apps

The Age of the Smart App

Another big thing currently taking place is the merging of mobile apps with the cloud, which will inevitably lead to smarter and smarter apps. These so-called smart apps for the smartphones and tablets are seen to potentially change how we use our brains and how we learn. Instead of remembering as much information as we can, we are going to let the apps do it for us. We are going to learn how different apps fit into the cloud and how to “negotiate” them. Our knowledge might also have to prioritize more on how to access specific information through specific smart apps. (Melissa, 2013)

Medical Apps

Mobile apps have the potential to transform health care by allowing doctors to diagnose patients with potentially life-threatening conditions outside of traditional health care settings, help consumers manage their own health and wellness, and also gain access to useful information whenever and wherever they need it.

Mobile medical apps currently on the market can, for example, diagnose abnormal heart rhythms, transform smart phones into a mobile ultrasound device, or function as the “central command” for a glucose meter used by a person with insulin-dependent diabetes. (U.S Food and Drug Administration, 2013)

 (MedicalBillingSoftware.com, 2013)

Hybrid Apps

The hybrid app, is composed of elements of the other two. It is usually written in a Web-based code such as JavaScript, CSS and HTML, like a Web application, but it runs on the device, rather than on a Web page, making use of a device’s browser engine without using the browser itself. What makes this work is that the platforms’ native API's are shown to a hybrid app as if they were in JavaScript. This allows a hybrid app not only to be accessible on different platforms, but also to be able to get the most out of each of those platforms’ capabilities.

As agencies allow more and more kinds of mobile devices into the workplace, how they develop apps to accommodate that influx may have to change. Hybrid apps will allow agencies to build applications for various operating systems and more deftly utilize the different capabilities of each platform.

Of course, what path an organization chooses will depend upon its specific needs, but as the mobile environment evolves, Gartner’s prediction could stand a good chance of coming true. (Crowe, 2013)

References

Crowe, G. (2013). Hybrid Apps: THe Future of Mobile Development? GCN , 2. Retrieved from http://gcn.com/Articles/2013/02/12/Hybrid-apps-future-mobile-development.aspx?Page=1

MedicalBillingSoftware.com (Director). (2013). Medisoft Mobile App, Medisoft iPhone App ,A Medical ipad app designed for remote electronic billing [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NXufFeQync

Melissa. (2013). Current and Future Trends in App Development. Bluecloudsolutions. Retrieved from http://www.bluecloudsolutions.com/articles/current-future-trends-app-development/

U.S Food and Drug Administration. (2013). FDA issues Final Guidance on mobile medical apps. FDA. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/newsevents/newsroom/pressannouncements/ucm369431.htm

By: Jorel Guzman