Mobile Apps

I was recently lamenting to a friend of mine that I couldn’t go for a walk, because I’d inevitably end up at a Starbucks, where I would then buy a mocha that negated any benefits of the walk. My friend sensibly suggested that I leave my purse behind and just take my phone.

I’m always amazed by the technology available in today’s smartphone, like video calling or playing games in 3D. The stuff you can do with a device that fits in your pocket is amazing.

One of the primary draws to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets is the ability to download and install apps on the device. The paradigm of an application storefront began in early versions of Apple’s iOS, and has since been adopted by all smart device operating systems. Now what interests me the most about these storefronts is how people use them.

I’ve been following, with some interest, over the last few years the open data movement. For me it started with Hans Rosling’s 2006 TED talk: Hans Rosling shows the best stats you've ever seen.