Mobile Apps for and by Generation Y
There is no easy answer for which came first, the chicken or the egg. This is because it is something called circular cause and consequence. The chicken can't come first because it needed to come from somewhere, namely an egg. The egg couldn't have come first because it had to come from a chicken. Of course today, we can realize that other animals in history (dinosaurs for one) had laid eggs - thus there were in fact eggs before there were chickens. Evolution thus solves the problem.
So too evolution is the answer for the question, which came first, the app or the app user. Mobile handsets evolved and apps, originally applets as in mini applications, arrived. And for this we must thank the younger tech savvy users of Generation Y. As a Generation Xer this reporter is one who will at times think that Gen Y had it a bit easier. Neither my late 30 to early 40 something peers, nor our slightly younger contemporaries were born into an age where we always had mobile phones, but Generation Y likely had their handsets at a slightly earlier age.
Thus texting, browsing and of course using apps is just a bit more everyday to them. Gosh darn it (I must sound old) I can remember a time when you had to go to a Wi-Fi hotspot to surf the Web. It required sitting down at a computer with high-speed Internet, and that's the way we liked it. But for the slightly younger mobile user, they were still in their mid-20s when they could pull out a BlackBerry or Palm Treo and browse the mobile Web.
I joke of course, but the truth is that each generation has adapted to technology a bit more. As a Gen Xer, I'm a wired guy. I've carried a laptop for nearly 20 years. I've had a mobile phone almost as long. I even had a fax machine just out of college (a necessary item for a would-be successful freelance writer). And this brings me back to the point about evolution. Technology evolved, and in a way it impacted the "younger" generation. Baby boomers saw TV come on the air and go from black and white to color. Generation X saw TV go from broadcast to cable to satellite and from standard definition to high definition. Generation Y is seeing TV go to mobile.
By the time the "Millennials" are adults TV on handsets will be par for the course. Computers could be panels you take everywhere and operate with voice commands and virtual keyboards. But software won't be large programs in boxes you install - remember those. They'll be apps, small and lean and designed to do specific things. More importantly these apps will likely work together on your handsets.
We laugh today at Grandpa with his oversized console TV that takes up a corner in the living room. But someday the Millennials will be laughing at Gen Xers and their computers that take up a desk, and the fact that we can remember a time in our adult lives when we didn't have apps.
Mobile App News of the Week:
Samsung Goes HD With Apps
This week Samsung introduced the world's first HDTV-based applications store. This will allow customers to use the Samsung Product Support TV, which includes support-orientated how-to videos and other educational content, via a mobile handset.
USGA Tees Off
No matter what generation, there are those who like to hit the links. myGolfstats just released a stat tracking app for the iPhone. This one keeps track of important stats and calculates handicaps. It is available now for the iPhone for $4.99.
Fly Away To GameCenter
The number one free entertainment app for May was GameFly's GameCenter app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It has just released a v1.2.5 update, and includes information on game reviews, screenshots, price and other facts on the hottest games. This free app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store.
Guitar Hero as an App
If you can't play it, fake it! That's pretty much the deal behind the highly popular Guitar Hero franchise of video games, and now the game that lets you play like you're part of the me generation is now on the iPhone. Publisher Activision has also created an interesting new twist. The game, which includes half a dozen tracks including tunes from Queen, Weezer, The Rolling Stones and The White Strips is available for $2.99. Additional song packs are available for $1.99, so you can rock out to just the tunes you want.
Monkey Business From SEGA
The popular Super Monkey Ball 2 game has gotten an update and while not worth going bananas about, it is worth the upgrade. This includes two new mini-games including Monkey Target, a game that features flying monkeys that you need to help land safely, and Monkey Golf. The latter is a type of monkey business on the fairway that is likely different from the monkey business of the Tiger Woods variety. The full game is available now for the iPhone and iPod Touch for $5.99.
That's a wrap on all things from the world of mobile apps!
