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Smartphone Mobile Apps Gallery

iPhone and Android and more - Interesting trends in App phones

    by Douglas Dixon

  These galleries provide notes on some interesting technology and trends in digital home media.
  They include some sample products illustrating these trends.
  Information and pricing are summarized from public sources as of when they were added,
  and may be incorrect or out of date. Corrections and updates are welcome.

Apps

Smartphones have extended from stand-alone devices to part of a larger ecosystem, syncing your information and managing media with desktop and cloud services. And now your mobile devices have become developer platforms, so you can download Apps to customize your experience.

  • Lock-in - Device, plus services, and ecosystem
  • Device is stand-alone multi-function powerhouse, becoming more entangled with integration with other data and services
  • Desktop syncing - with Outlook / Exchange data
  • Syncing online - with Google cloud services
  • Media management - with purchases through iTunes, DRM
  • "Apps" -- Software applications to customize device, many for free - App marketplace

App Market

  • Apple App Store
    • Over 140,000 apps (1/10), Over 3 billion apps downloaded (1/10)
    • Over 10,000 downloads a day (11/08)
    • Stores over 12 billion downloads - iTunes, App Store, iBookstore (1/10)
    • 125 million accounts with credit cards that can purchase from the store
    • Sold 250 million iPods; Over 75 million iPhones and iPod touch
    • App Store launched 7/08
  • Google Android Market
  • Palm App Catalog for webOS
    • Approx. 1,500 apps, adding 2-300 / month (2/10), 1K 1/10
    • Developer program opened 1/7/2010

Smartphones and App Stores

  • Major smartphone platforms, with links to products, app stores, and developer information

See article - Gadgets and Trends 2010: Smartphones and Apps for sample phones

Apple iPhone / App Store

  

iPhone Platform / Product

iPhone Apps

Google Android / Android Market

Android Platform / Products

Android Market / Apps

(Android Market app on Droid)

Google Mobile - Browser and apps

See article - Grabbing Screen Shots from the Verizon Droid -
     www.manifest-tech.com/blog/2009/12/grabbing_screen_shots_from_droid.php

RIM BlackBerry / App World

Palm Pre & Pixi (webOS) / App Catalog

Microsoft Windows Phone

Symbian (Nokia)

MeeGo - Intel / Nokia

  

  • Open source project to support a broad range of hardware architectures
    • Pocketables / mobile, netbooks, tablets, media phones, connected TVs, in-vehicle
    • Communications, application, and internet services in portable form factor
  • Market apps through Nokia Ovi Store (Nokia / Symbian, http://store.ovi.com)
       and Intel AppUp Center (Atom, netbooks, www.intelappup.com)
  • Merger of Intel Moblin (www.moblin.org) and Nokia Maemo (www.maemo.org) open source projects
    • Linux-based software platform, Qt application development environment
    • Moblin core operating system and reference user experiences
  • Release expected second quarter 2010, devices later in year
  • Open source, hosted by Linux Foundation - http://meego.com
  • 6/09 - Intel / Nokia strategic collaboration announced
  • Intel PR 2/10 - www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/2010/20100215corp.htm

Samsung - bada

  

  • Complete smartphone platform for high-performance native apps and services
  • For Samsung touch mobile handsets; bada means ‘ocean’ in Korean
  • TouchWiz-Stylish user interface
  • Sensor-based, context-aware applications: Accelerometers, tilt, weather, proximity, activity sensors
    • Flash control, web control, motion sensing, fine-tuned vibration control, face detection
  • Samsung Apps store accessible from device and online - www.samsungapps.com
  • 2/10 - released Samsung Wave (S8500), first bada mobile handset
  • PR 12/09 - Unveiled - www.bada.com/samsung-unveils-new-smartphone-platform
  • www.bada.com

Web Applications (Web Apps)

  • Application runs in Web browser - Gmail
    • Java applet, JavaScript, HTML 5
    • Ajax - Asynchronous JavaScript and XML
  • Apple - Web apps - Web + multi-touch - www.apple.com/webapps
  • Google Gears - Browser extensions for Web apps (depreciated) - Desktop and mobile - http://gears.google.com

Related Articles

 

Recent Smartphone articles:

See my Mobile Communications Gallery for more on smartphones

Find the Verizon Droid on Amazon

Top

Apps - Categories

  • Services - News, Sports, Business, Entertainment, Weather
  • Information - Lifestyle, Health, Travel, Social Networking
  • Resources - Business, Education, Medical, Finance, Reference
  • Tools - Communications, Productivity, Utilities
  • Games
Apple / iTunes / iPhone App Store - Categories
  • Books, Business, Education, Entertainment, Finance, Games,
  • Healthcare & Fitness, Lifestyle, Medical, Music, Navigation, News, Photography,
  • Productivity, Reference, Social Networking,
  • Sports, Travel, Utilities, Weather
Android Market - Categories
  • Games, Comics, Communications, Entertainment, Finance,
  • Health, Lifestyle, Multimedia, News & Weather,
  • Productivity, Reference, Shopping, Social,
  • Sports, Themes, Tools, Travel, Demo, Software Libraries
Palm App Catalog - Categories
  • Books, Business, Education, Entertainment, Finance, Food, Games,
  • Health & Fitness, Lifestyle, Music, Navigation, News, Photography,
  • Productivity, Reference, Social Networking,
  • Sports, Travel, Weather

Top

Apps - Device + Local + Cloud

Today's smartphones combine three powerful capabilities:

  • Smartphones have become quite powerful mobile client computers, with local processing, gigabytes of memory, and larger displays.
  • And they integrate a variety of sensors to provide location-based positioning and orientation, including cellular triangulation, GPS spatial positioning, magnetometer / compass, and tilt angle.
  • Plus smartphones are strongly connected devices with wireless broadband service, which means they can also draw on the vast data and processing capabilities of server-based computing in the Internet cloud. They are no longer constrained by the performance and functionality limitations of handheld processors and storage.

This combination of a powerful mobile client system, location-awareness, and cloud services breaks existing assumptions on how best to implement applications and services, and opens fascinating new possibilities for new approaches.

For example, the Google Android platform is focused on smartphones as cloud devices, integrating with online services like Gmail and Google Contacts and Calendar. But smartphone apps also can integrate with the cloud at a deeper level, with Google back-end services like maps and local services as well as voice input (speech recognition), voice output (text to speech), and translation. As a result, developers can build on these services to integrate these kinds of rather sophisticated features into their own applications. And the integration can be deeper -- in the latest Android for the new Google Nexus One phone, all text input fields now accept voice input.

Google Earth

For example, the Google Earth application for PC, Mac, or Linux also is available in a mobile version for the iPhone, to fly anywhere on Earth, zooming from outer space to street level. This obviously draws on massive cloud star, terrain, and ocean databases, but also requires that the platform be capable of real-time generation of 3D rotation, zoom animation, and 3D perspective views.

  

Google Earth

3D Games

These platforms also support immersive 3D games, including action/adventure, sports, and driving.

Asphalt 5: Elite Racing (Gameloft)

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Apps - Utilities

Even simple functions like an alarm clock can be more interesting and useful with a powerful mobile platform.

Flashlights

We know that the cell phone is a multi-function device, but one of the more prosaic uses is to light up the screen and use it as a flashlight. Cell phones have replaced cigarette lighters to sway along with music in arenas, and kids can use them while running around at dusk playing capture the flag.

FlashLight (Flash-the-Brain)

DroidLight LED Flashlight (Motorola)

Alarm Clock

Lightning Bug expands your from from an alarm clock to visual sound machine, with your choice of scenes with calming rain and flashes of lightning, plus other environmental sounds (birds, bells, cars).

Lightning Bug (1908 Media)

  • Visual sound machine and an alarm clock
  • Sound machine displays scenes with calming rain, flashes of lightning
  • Choose scenes - Beach, monastery, city skyline, white noise
  • Plus scene-specific optional sounds - birds, bells, cars
  • Clock, alarm, sleep timer integrated with Android system clock
  • Free - Android
  • www.1908media.com/mobile/lightningbug

Top

Apps - Voice / Gesture Input

  • Alternate input, easier than typing

Search by Voice

  

Google Search by Voice

Google Mobile App

Android

  • Quick Search Box (widget), Search box in Browser
  • Nexus One: Most text fields

 

Gesture Search

 

Google Gesture Search

  • Draw alphabet gestures on touch screen (English letters)
  • Find matching entries on phone
  • Contacts, Browser bookmarks, Installed Apps,
      Music (Artists, albums, tracks)
  • Loose match -- Not exact letter recognition --
       Lists possible matches
  • Upper or lower case,
       Can use multiple strokes (A, F), but not needed
  • Options to select searchable items, Refresh Index
  • Edit in bottom query display area:
      Swipe Left - last letter, Right - erase all
  • 3/10 - Android 2.0 or above
  • Google Labs - http://gesturesearch.googlelabs.com

Top

Apps - Information Services

Is there really a need for all these apps for current information, like news, sports, finance, and weather? There are plenty of web sites that will provide this kind of info, and even let you configure customized listings. Yet there are entire categories in the iPhone App Store and Android Market dedicated to each of these!

Yes, while web browsers are great for scanning though a variety of sites, a dedicated app can provide a much better experience on a smartphone -- with the information formatted to fit the screen without clumsy zooming or scrolling, and one-tap access to further information though finger-sized controls and tabs. Plus, you can store and customize your personal information more conveniently.

No wonder, than that you'll find news apps for the AP and the BBC, and sports apps like CBS Sports and specific sports like the NBA. And for your finances you can download a general financial news tool, as well as dedicated apps from your bank to manage your accounts, like Bank of America. (All iPhone and Android.)

Weather

Even an apparently straightforward app like The Weather Channel can provide an impressive range of useful features, albeit not all the same across all the supported platforms (it's free for the iPhone, Android, Palm, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and BREW & Java). Besides local forecasts and conditions (customized to your list of locations), the app also displays a map view with animated radar / satellite and other customized overlays. Or you can watch local, national and international video forecasts, as on TV.

On the Android platform, The Weather Channel takes advantage of several additional useful features. You can configure small widgets to display on the main home screen, showing current weather summaries for selected locations. Even better, the app can run in the background checking for weather alerts, and then warn you of impending issues using the Notifications area across the top of the screen (the red circle with the exclamation mark). -- The weather alerts are treated like other notifications like alarms or incoming text messages -- and without interrupting your work in progress.

 

The Weather Channel

  • Location-based forecasts and conditions
  • Maps with layers - customizable, motion radar
        (radar, cloud/satellite, temp, rainfall, wind speed)
  • Severe weather alerts
  • Local, national and international video forecasts
  • Traffic cams (select markets)
  • Share alerts and forecasts via email
  • Store and nickname favorite locations
  • Android - Widgets - Small / large, location
         Notifications - Severe weather alerts, Curr. temp
  • Free - iPhone, Android, Palm, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, BREW & Java
  • App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id295646461?mt=8
  • https://forums.weather.com

Translation - Voice, Speech

The free Google Translate and Talk to Me apps for Android bring the full functionality of the online Google Translate cloud service into your hand, with over 50 languages currently supported -- plus voice input and text to speech. Not bad for what are basically simple dialog boxes to select the languages and listen to the translation -- with the heavy lifting done in the cloud. In this way, handheld apps are breaking free of the apparent limitations of the small platform, and are going to get a lot more sophisticated.

 

Google Translate

  • Translate single words and entire sentences
  • Over 50 languages
  • Voice input (for English)
  • Click to hear translation - text to speech
  • History / star favorite translations
  • Rich dictionary option - more detailed explanation,
       related phrases, images
  • Free - Android
  • Google Translate online - http://translate.google.com
 

Talk to Me

  • Speak to translate
  • Voice-only translation, or voice and text
  • Speech: English to French, German, Spanish, Italian
  • Slow down / speed up speech rate and pitch
  • Send translated text as SMS / E-mail
  • Widget for quick translations of selected language
  • (Speech recognition and translate over Internet -
       Google Translate)
  • Free - Android
  • www.flaviuapps.com

Top

Personal Information

Check out a potential date -- or business partner -- by searching personal, housing, and social information available online.

Intelius Date Check

  • Enter name, phone number, email address
  • Instant reports:
    • Sleaze Detector (convictions)
    • Compatibility (birth date, astrological)
    • $$$ (homes)
    • Living Situation (housing)
    • Interests (social and professional networks)
  • Free (upgrade for more info) - iPhone, Android, BlackBerry soon
  • www.intelius.com/mobile

Top

Apps - Communications

  • Local communications - between devices
  • Remote access - over Internet

Local Communications - Between Devices

The original Palm devices could quickly "beam" contact information between devices over infrared. But how can you transfer between different types of devices? These could communicate by setting up a local connection over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi or cellular wireless -- or even Morse code between display and camera. But setting up local ad-hoc wireless connections can be messy for users. Instead, you can pass the data though the cloud -- as long as it's trivial to establish the match between the two devices -- as with Bump.

 

Bump - Connect two phones by bumping

  • Exchange on bump - Pair and transfer via cloud
  • Phone number, contact info, photos, compare friends
  • (vs. Palm IR beaming)
  • Free - iPhone, iPod touch, Android
  • http://bu.mp

 

Remote Access - Over Internet

Yes, you can schedule recordings on your home DVR -- on your mobile phone. But why would you want to do that? Well, with the Verizon FiOS TV Remote DVR and DIRECTV services you can set up show to record, even when you're away from home, and review and cancel recordings. And you can browse TV listings and video on demand, and set parental controls. Today's touch-screen smartphones have matured enough that they actually provide a better interface for interacting with a DVR than logging in over the Internet or stepping though menus with a remote control.

Verizon FiOS Mobile - Verizon FiOS TV Remote DVR

  • Control DVR with your computer or mobile phone, for free
  • Browse / search TV Listings, Video on Demand, Pay Per View
  • Schedule / record shows
  • Review / remove scheduled and recorded programs
  • Turn on/off parental controls, [set up favorite channels]
  • Three ways to access:
    • Internet Website - Log in with My Verizon registration
    • Mobile App - Download application for mobile phone
           (Android, Blackberry, BREW / Feature phones)
    • Mobile Website - http://m.verizon.com/tv - Same registration
  • Verizon FiOS Mobile - Android App
    • Register phone number on website, or on TV
    • Confirm by entering authorization code on phone
    • VOD, DVR, TV Listings, Search, Parental Controls
    • [Favorites set up on DVR set-top box]
    • Search in context - show, actor, TV Listings, VOD, PPV
  • FiOS TV Central - www.verizon.com/fiostvcentral
  • Mobile Access - www36.verizon.com/fiostv/web/UnProtected/MobileAccess.aspx

See article -
www.manifest-tech.com/blog/2010/01/verizon_fios_tv_dvr_mobile_app.php

DIRECTV - Control Home DVR

Remote Controls

And you can use your smartphone as a remote control for your home music players or even computers.

Apple Remote

Verizon FiOS Mobile Remote

  • Remote control functions for FiOS HD set-top-box
  • Transfer photo to TV, view slide show from phone
  • Connect over home Wi-Fi
       to Mobile Remote Widget on TV
  • Free - Android - Motorola Droid or HTC Imagio
  • 2/10 - http://forums.verizon.com/t5/..

 

Logitech Touch Mouse

Top

Apps - Visual Search

  • Take advantage of camera
  • Recognize objects - Barcodes, products, faces

Product Barcodes

 

Shop Savvy - Scan barcodes

  • Product information and pricing
  • Also QR Code - 2D matrix code
    (Quick Response, Denso-Wave)
  • Free - iPhone, Android, Nokia
  • www.biggu.com

Visual Search - Recognize Objects

  

Google Shopper

  • Image search, Voice search, Text search
  • Image: Recognize barcodes, cover art
      Books, CDs, DVDs, video games
  • Google Product Search - Prices, reviews, specs
  • Save history and favorites - offline
  • Share - post to Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, IM
  • Free - Android (2/10)
  • www.google.com/mobile/shopper

Google Goggles - Search with Pictures

  • Take photo to search and recognize
    • No need to type search
    • Products: Book covers, DVDs, Wine labels, etc.
    • Logos, Landmark structures, Artworks
    • Contact Info text recognition
    • 2/10 - Demo text translation - Signs
  • Hold up phone for heads-up overlay of local businesses
  • Free - Android
  • www.google.com/mobile/goggles

Top

Apps - Local Information / Maps

  • Find local stores and services, points of interest
  • Lists, maps - Navigation

Browser-Based Local Information

 

Google Local in Browser

Mapping -> Navigation

  • Map, Satellite, Traffic views; Street view
  • Real-time guidance
 

Google Maps

 

Google Maps Navigation

Location-Aware - Know Where You Are

 

Yelp - Find nearby restaurants
     and businesses

  • View / upload ratings, reviews, photos
  • Feed - Reviews, Talk - discussions
  • Share - Check in location, Facebook and Twitter
  • 3GS - Monocle AR mode - Overlay business info
      Hold flat for rotating local map
  • Free -iPhone, BlackBerry, Palm Pre, Android
    Mobile web - m.yelp.com
  • www.yelp.com
  • iTunes Preview - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/yelp/...
 

Places Directory (Google) - Browse nearby

  

Where - Local information now

  • Weather, news, restaurant reviews,
        closest coffee shop, cheapest gas,
        traffic updates, movie show times
  • Offers - Local deals, coupons
  • Pulse - Geo-located social media: Twitter feeds
  • Free - iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Palm
  • Mobile web - m.where.com
  • uLocate - www.where.com

Top

Augmented Reality - Know Where You Are Looking

  • Combine local processing, location-awareness, cloud services, and camera
  • Local context augmented with cloud services
  • Live camera feed as heads-up display with overlay annotation
  • GPS location, compass, orientation + camera
  • Heads-up annotation - Compass, local information

Sky / Stars Information

 

 

Google Sky Map - Star map window on night sky

 

Traffic Information

Augmented Traffic Views

  • Real-time traffic maps and on-demand playback
  • 5000+ traffic cameras, 40+ North America cities/regions
  • Augmented Reality view - Available traffic cameras - show
  • Predictive Auto-Tracking – Traffic camera views ahead
  • SmartAlerts - Real-time traffic info based on location
  • http://augmentedtraffic.wordpress.com

PhantomAlert - Avoid traffic tickets

  • Proximity alerts when approach enforcement areas
  • Drivers report - Speed traps, speed cameras, red light cameras, school zones, DUI checkpoints, dangerous intersections, construction zones
  • $9.99 /mo., $39.99 / year, $99.99 / life
  • Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, Nokia, GPS navigation devices
  • http://www.phantomalert.com/

Local Context

  

Google Goggles - AR view
  

Yelp - Monocle AR view

Wikitude - World Browser

  • World Browser -
         Presents data about surroundings
  • Landmarks and other points of interest
  • Geo-tagged online content -
         Photos, YouTube, Wikipedia;
         User-generated content
  • List, Map, Camera view overlay
  • Free - Android, iPhone, Symbian
  • Mobilizy - www.wikitude.org
 

Layar - Mobile Augmented Reality Browser

  • Displays selected content layer information
         on top of camera image
  • Browser - Layers like web pages,
         developed by content partners
  • Enhanced AR view with 3D grid, Map and list views
  • Search, "Take me There" function
  • v2.1 - Share layer and screen shot
  • v3.0 - 3D objects & Log in for specific layers
  • Free - Android, iPhone
  • SPRXmobile - www.layar.com

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