Phone Apps and Their Uses

By: Deividas Vavilovas

Navigation AppsThese apps help people with navigation around the world. These apps tend to be based

around the look of Google Maps due to it’s simplicity and easy-to-use UI.There are thousands of these apps on both the Google Play and the Apple App Store. Almost all of them are free, but they include micro-transactions inside them. This means that you get the application and then pay additional money to gain new features. Most of the time it is to get rid of adverts, get more storage and additional features such as new tools for saving locations, times, dates and other similar things. These applications allow the user to use a variety of methods to get around the world, provided that the destination allows the traveller to use the means to get to it.Most of these apps allow the user to save destinations so they can get quick access to the area instead of searching for it for some time.

Real-Time Information AppsThese applications provide real-time updates on information that is happening around the world. The best apps are made by the most popular information media around the world, such as the BBC.They have a lot of different tabs which house the specific information.These applications almost never require any kind of micro-transactions and normally update regularly.You can also get applications which tell you when a service will arrive, such as a bus or train.All of these apps always require internet connection to update regularly in order to work.

Entertainment AppsThese applications provide entertainment to the user, be it watching videos, listening to music or playing something. These apps do not require any internet connection to be played unless they are MMO-Strategy games such as Age of Empires and games such as it, as well as apps like Youtube. They are easy to use and almost always provide micro-transactions. They are usually for the developers own gain and are overly expensive, so it is recommended that you do not waste your money on these games as they are likely to be shut down and abandoned within 3 years.Applications such as Youtube allow videos to be streamed to the viewer at their pleasure. The only problem about these apps is that they require a constantly good internet connection to view videos at 360p quality and above. Music applications include things such as radio stations hosted by users who can create their own playlists or apps that just allow more in-depth control over how users listen to music other than the default music apps. Some of these apps also allow users to create music for their own use or to upload to other websites for other people to download, and some other applications allows users to experiment with many different tools, such as a 3d modelling application that is only available to iPads.

Fitness & Leisure AppsThese applications track and record any fitness data that you want the application to record. This only works when the application is turned on and it is told to start collecting data. These applications collect things such as distance walked, jogged, ran or cycled, how long it took you to reach a destination or a destination and back to your starting point, average speed, average distance per app usage and things like that.These apps are normally used for tracking progress as you stay fit and do not require internet connections to record data, but they do require it to make posts and share your achievements.

Communication AppsThese applications will always require internet connection to work. They allow people to communicate around the world one to another. Applications like Skype, Facebook, Twitter etc. all allow people to talk whenever they are both online. Some of these applications allow people to send folders and files to one another but Skype restricts folder-uploads and so requires the sender to compress the file using 7Zip or WinRAR. These applications have simple user interfaces and can be easily used by anyone to talk to others. Skype allows people to call and send IM’s to one another, as well as emoticons, or smileys. They do not cost money to use but house adverts and micro-transactions if they are big, such as Skype, which allows users to pay money to get a “Skype Call Sim” which allows people to call from their phone when they do not have an internet connection.

Augmented Reality AppsThese applications allow the user to view digital information from places, products and areas around the viewer. Junaio is a good example of this, and Layar, which both are augmented reality apps. They are both free and can be used for different things. Layar allows the user to scan these new smart-tags which then allows the user to purchase that exact item from multiple stores. Junaio allows the user to view information about everything around them, constantly displaying real-time information.

Application Development

Target AudienceThe audience for this application will be children who are trying to learn the alphabet. This application will be aimed for children ages 3 years and onwards.

The application will have to be child friendly and have appropriate content in it.

Application PurposeThe purpose of this application is to help children and people with learning difficulties try to learn the alphabet using sounds or colours associated with a letter of the alphabet. It will have a colour-blind mode for people who need to use it. I will try to include multiple languages in the application and will try to add a configurations tab that will let the user customize the application to their desire.

Application AssetsI will use “AppShed” to create the application. I will use it because other class-members have used it and it has an easy UI.I will also try to get some codes from already created applications if they are available online. This can be used to experiment with on AppShed or other application creation sites to see what the code does and then edit it to see if I can change the product attributes.Google will be used to search for code, images, sounds, gifs and other ideas.

Application Test PlanAfter creating my application, I am going to test it’s functions to see if it works by letting other people use it. This will let many users experience how the application works and to see it’s features in action as well as some testers to have a chance of finding a bug or issue with the application. This will allow me to make adjustments or improvements to the application. I will continue to try and test the application using other people as testers until I come across problems that I can either not fix or are very minor and only rarely appear.