SEPTEMBER 2017 | MANE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY | 11
Apple introduced their mobile software marketplace, the App Store, a year after the original release of the iPhone. It was launched alongside the iPhone 3G, the phone that helped pave the way for next generation cell networks. The App Store, and a full screen touch panel, allowed developers to create what their hearts desired and although games were present on the majority of smartphones, they were unlike anything we have today. The App Store helped create new businesses, industries and some healthy competition. Google subsequently launched their own marketplace, the Play Store, for the Android-based devices. Development teams began to shift their focus from PCs and on to mobile devices. The cumulative revenue for downloads and in-app purchases on the App Store and Play Store reached $15 billion USD in Q1 2017. Any idea you may ponder up and there’s an App for that.
Apple put the internet in everyone’s pocket. The original iPhone was launched with Safari, its popular web browser, pre-installed. It let users browse full websites instead of stripped-down versions seen on other mobile devices at that time. Steve Jobs was adamant on not supporting flash websites and content on the iPhone due to poor battery life, security and performance issues and he was right in doing so as it pushed development of HTML5 content. After the iPhone launch, developers focused on improving the experience for mobile users. Many sites nowadays take a mobile-first development approach looking at the UI and UX of their mobile site ahead of the desktop counterpart. In late 2016, mobile web browsing overtook desktop browsing for the first time. The advent of the iPhone and the technologies and advancements that followed changed how we communicate with data and all this data usage has forced the development of newer and more powerful data networks. The iPhone launched on 2G/Edge, but later adopted 3G and 4G LTE - in the coming years we should have next generation 5G devices with further improved capability and speeds.
Your old flip-phone had a camera, but today’s smartphones sport high-quality cameras allowing just about anyone to be a photographer. The original iPhone came with 2.0 megapixel camera, outmatching its competition at the time. Since then, smartphones cameras have become better and better. The App Store has also seen its share of photo sharing and editing apps – Instagram is a popular option for those looking to display their creations. The majority of digital photos are now taken by a smartphone and there’s no surprise digital camera sales have been steadily in decline.
Also, selfies. Thanks Apple.
2 The App Store
3 Mobile Internet
4 Photography