Mobile Applications

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 appdiscovery 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%. Researchers have found that mobile app usage is highly correlated with the user`s context and is dependent on the user's location and time. Mobile apps are playing an increasingly important role in healthcare and can bring many benefits when properly designed and integrated.