It's all about the Application

By Nick Arnold

Gone are the days a mobile phone was just that – a device to talk to people on while moving.

It could be argued that the mobile phone has become the most essential part of everyday life for the majority of people who own one; in no small part thanks to the advances made by the phone manufacturers.

From the alarm that wakes you up in the morning, to the calendar that manages your appointments and the system which delivers your time-sensitive emails to you on the move, the mobile has evolved into your very own pocket-sized assistant.

The advances have even seen it add features from other products. No longer is a separate camera required to catch those priceless moments on a night-out, or a separate MP3 player to pass the time on a long journey.

Despite this, possibly the biggest change to the mobile phone has taken place in the last few of years with the invention of applications – in particular applications created by the general public.

The content of a mobile phone is no longer solely down to the decision of the phones designers sat in their offices. Users in offices, living rooms and bedrooms all over the world are helping to create the future of mobile telecoms.

Applications have been developed to help with learning a foreign language, checking the latest news, levelling shelves, tracking shipments and most of all, passing time. All of a sudden it is the end user deciding on their phone content – and with over 100,000 applications there are plenty to choose from.

While the apps are still tested and approved by the manufacturers before their release, the creative emphasis is shifting away from the manufacturers. The end user will have a responsibility if the big changes mobile phones have seen over the last two decades are going to continue.

The power is with the people… (to some extent at least).