What is an App?

An app is a software "application" that downloads onto your mobile device, such as an Apple iPhone, Apple iTouch, or a Blackberry phone. Most apps contain useful content that is stored on your handheld device. For example, for $0.99 someone traveling to London can download a "London Tube" app that contains train schedules, route maps, and station locations. Apps for the iPhone or iTouch are purchased on iTunes, the same place a person purchases songs for an Apple iPod.

There are free apps for news web sites, such as the N.Y. Times or Wall Street Journal, that allow you to read articles easier than on the web site.

There are apps that consist of classic literature. For $0.99 you can download an app that contains more than 20 classic books in one app.

There are apps that are very imaginative. For $0.99 you can download an app that turns your screen white so that your iPhone or iTouch can be used as a flashlight. How creative is that?

Apps are the next big thing

Just like the Internet in the 1990s, I believe apps are the next big thing because:

1. Apps allow you to store important content on a handheld device.

2. Since apps are designed for your handheld device, the reading experience is far superior to attempting to read the same content located on a web site.

3. Most apps are reasonably priced and some are free.

But I don't own an iPhone or BlackBerry . . .

Neither do I, but I do own an Apple iTouch. For around $199 you can purchase an Apple iTouch that allows you to run apps and access your e-mail and the Internet via Wi-Fi. To learn about an iTouch, click here.

Thanks,

Tom Garland
tg@garlands-digest.com

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