What is Mobile Application Development & Why It's Important?

Mobile application is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone/tablet or watch. Apps were originally intended for productivity assistance such as Email, calendar, and contact databases, but the public demand for apps caused rapid expansion into other areas such as mobile games, factory automation, GPS and location-based services, order-tracking, and ticket purchases, so that there are now millions of apps available. Apps are generally downloaded from application distribution platforms which are operated by the owner of the mobile operating system, such as the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store. Some apps are free, and others have a price, with the profit being split between the application's creator and the distribution platform. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on desktop computers, and web applications which run in mobile web browsers rather than directly on the mobile device.

In 2009, technology columnist David Pogue said that newer smartphones could be nicknamed "app phones" to distinguish them from earlier less-sophisticated smartphones The term "app", short for "software application", has since become very popular; in 2010, it was listed as "Word of the Year" by the American Dialect Society.

Most mobile devices are sold with several apps bundled as pre-installed software, such as a web browser, email client, calendar, mapping program, and an app for buying music, other media, or more apps. Some pre-installed apps can be removed by an ordinary uninstall process, thus leaving more storage space for desired ones. Where the software does not allow this, some devices can be rooted to eliminate the undesired apps.

Apps that are not preinstalled are usually available through distribution platforms called app stores. They began appearing in 2008 and are typically operated by the owner of the mobile operating system, such as the Apple App Store, Google Play, Windows Phone Store, and BlackBerry App World. However, there are independent app stores, such as Cydia, GetJar and F-Droid. Some apps are free, while others must be bought. Usually, they are downloaded from the platform to a target device, but sometimes they can be downloaded to laptops or desktop computers. For apps with a price, generally a percentage, 20-30%, goes to the distribution provider (such as iTunes), and the rest goes to the producer of the app. The same app can, therefore, cost a different price depending on the mobile platform.

Apps can also be installed manually, for example by running an Android application package on Android devices.

The official US Army iPhone app presents the service's technology news, updates and media in a single place

Mobile apps were originally offered for general productivity and information retrieval, including email, calendar, contacts, the stock market and weather information. However, public demand and the availability of developer tools drove rapid expansion into other categories, such as those handled by desktop application software packages. As with other software, the explosion in number and variety of apps made discovery a challenge, which in turn led to the creation of a wide range of review, recommendation, and curation sources, including blogs, magazines, and dedicated online app-discovery services. In 2014 government regulatory agencies began trying to regulate and curate apps, particularly medical apps. Some companies offer apps as an alternative method to deliver content with certain advantages over an official website.

With a growing number of mobile applications available at app stores and the improved capabilities of smartphones, people are downloading more applications to their devices.Usage of mobile apps has become increasingly prevalent across mobile phone users.A May 2012 comScore study reported that during the previous quarter, more mobile subscribers used apps than browsed the web on their devices: 51.1% vs. 49.8% respectively.Researchers found that usage of mobile apps strongly correlates with user context and depends on user's location and time of the day.Mobile apps are playing an ever-increasing role within healthcare and when designed and integrated correctly can yield many benefits.

Market research firm Gartner predicted that 102 billion apps would be downloaded in 2013 (91% of them free), which would generate $26 billion in the US, up 44.4% on 2012's US$18 billion.By Q2 2015, the Google Play and Apple stores alone generated $5 billion. An analyst report estimates that the app economy creates revenues of more than €10 billion per year within the European Union, while over 529,000 jobs have been created in 28 EU states due to the growth of the app market.

There are mainly three kinds of apps- Native, Hybrid and Web-based.

Native Apps

All Apps targeted towards particular mobile platforms are known as Native apps. Therefore, an App meant for Apple device will never open in Android devices. This is why most businesses develop apps for multiple platforms.

While developing native apps, professionals incorporate best-in-class user interface modules. This accounts for better performance, consistency and good user experience. Users also benefit from wider access to Apps Program Interfaces (APIs) and make limitless use of all Apps from the particular device. Further, they also switch over from one app to another effortlessly.

The main purpose behind creating such apps is to ensure best performance for specific mobile operating system.

Hybrid Apps

Concept of Hybrid Apps is a mix of native and web-based apps. Apps developed using Xamarin, React Native, Sencha Touch and other similar technology fall within this category.

These are made to support web and native technologies across multiple platforms, hence the name hybrid. Moreover, these apps are easier and faster to develop. It involves use of single code which works in multiple mobile operating systems.

Despite such advantages, hybrid apps are slower in speed and performance. Often, apps fail to bear the same look n feel in different mobile operating systems.

Web-Based Apps

These Apps are coded in HTML5, CSS or JavaScript. Presence of strong internet connection is required for proper behavior and user-experience of this group of Apps.

By default, these Apps captures minimum memory space in the user devices compared to Native and Hybrid Apps. Since all the personal databases are saved on the Internet servers, users can fetch their desired data from any device through internet.

The only con is that app developers don’t get sufficient access to mobile operating system API.

The platform organizations needed to develop, deploy and manage mobile apps are made from many components and tools which allow a developer to write, test and deploy applications into the target platform environment.

Why is the mobile application development important?

Mobile applications have revolutionized Mobile World, getting much more power in the hands of customer & more business in the pockets of the entrepreneurs. In the dynamic technology industry, mobile application development market is at its peak. Its is the need of the hour & the latest fruitful business trend.

There can be different reasons for a business model to adopt a mobile application, but some of the generalized reasons showing the logical importance of mobile application development are as following:

1) The World has gone mobile:

There is no denying that the world has gone mobile and there is no turning back. 

According to world statistics, the number of smartphone users worldwide will surpass 2 billion in 2016, according to new figures from e-Marketer. Consumers are using their smartphones to search almost everything under the sky. The mobile applications unlike traditional websites thrive as an intuitive purchasing and browsing alternative making the mobile app presence inevitable for the business to grow.

2) Visible to Customers all the time:

An average individual spends more than two hours daily surfing apps on his mobile with respect to the fact that, only a handful of applications make up the bulk of this total usage but the presence over the device is a future lead, as the human brain doesn't keep things unnoticed.

3) Create a Direct Marketing Channel

Through the mobile app you can reach your customers directly, all the information you’d like to provide to your customers – including special sales and promotions – is right at their fingertips. Through push notifications you get even closer to a direct interaction, and can easily remind customers about your products and services whenever it makes sense.

4) Build Brand and Recognition

A mobile app can greatly contribute to your brand awareness. A mobile app is like a blank billboard sign you can use it to market your content in the manner you want.. The more often you can get customers involved with your app, the sooner they will be inclined to buy your product and/or service.

5) It Can Be a Social Platform

With the rise of people's obsession with social media. Integrating social features such as comments, likes, in-app messaging and so forth in your app can help your business improve its social standing. This can be, users are able to review, share or discuss products or developing a customer community.

6) Better Service and Sales

Mobile app changing the way people buy and sell products and services. It has also changed the way customers view and an ways to analyze a product before purchasing.Mobile apps are perfect for service and support.

7) Real-Time Rich Data Capture

Mobile apps make it easy to capture information about customer preferences and actions on your app. This information can be used to deliver personalized content that is relevant to the individual consumer as well as for making decisions on how to improve your app based on consumer behavior.

8) Mobile Apps Are Very Convenient For Customers

Apps are usually designed with primary focus on usability. In fact, apps were for the most part designed to offer the next level of usability.The professionalism you show in the design will reflect building trust and recognition in your targeted audience through your app.

9) Stand Out From the Competition

You can gain a competitive advantage by developing an app first time for the industry, or designing an app that meets the need gap present in the market or you can win over the competition by giving an ultimate UI-UX via your mobile application.

10) Accessibility

Mobile apps flexible accessibility is one of the major reasons of its popular use. you can access a mobile app 24*7 on your device from any corner of the world.

11) Increase Customer Engagement

The customers can be kept engaged via mobile app via various means like:        Having a messaging (or help desk) feature within your app can really make a difference in the way you communicate with your customers. Or having an innovative & attractive animation can keep the customer coming to your app again and again.

Toexa Inc. has hands-on experience of developing various customized applications serving different customer requirements with client base spread across 36 countries globally.

In case you require any assistance in developing an app to serve your purpose, please feel free to get in touch with me over any of the following:

For Any query to Mobile Application can contact with us:

Email: [email protected] | Skype: [email protected] | Whatsapp: +91 9811715508 |

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