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Smartphones are some of the most advanced developments in the modern world and this is because of its wide usage among many individuals, especially the younger generations. For many, smartphones have become a part of their daily lives and this has ensured that they remain among the most popular modes of communication. The globalized world has ensured the wide distribution of smartphones and as such, smartphones have come to be used in such modes of communication of social networking, transacting business activities, making calls, as well as instant messaging. It is, therefore, important for studies to be conducted concerning this technological development and its effect on the lives of its users. Smartphones are among the greatest creations of the twenty first century and that through them, there has been an evolution in the way the current generation interacts and communicates. It can be further said that smartphones are among the determining factors of where the human society is headed since its use has gone viral all over the world. It is yet to be seen how its later development is going to affect the future societies as better versions of smartphones are developed and put into the market.

Effectiveness and efficiency mobile-based applications provide to capture geolocation data and customer data, and quickly upload to a processing server without users having to use a desktop system

Pedometer application is able to transform the iPhone into a pedometer that is sophisticated; the free version of the application limits the user on the distance that can be measured. The application is able to keep a log of the previous journey and is able to record a lot of statistics that is useful like average speed and calories that are consumed. The user interface for pedometer application has more user friendly compared to other pedometers that are built and costs between $5 and $100. The Pedometer can have new features that will keep the track of the user enabling the user see whether 10,000 steps are reached on a daily basis as recommended; this iPhone application will help the user improve the overall health and fitness (Eyre, 2012).

Instapaper accelerometer is powerful and has an ingenious implementation that include tilt scrolling; the application will present the display in a neat format that is easy to view. The user is able to read what is displayed without having to touch the screen, when tilt scrolling and the user can also pan through a specific story by simply tipping the iPhone slightly or further back for readers that are fast. The application can be enabled with highlighting in-application where the user can tap and drag the text present in the normal IOS fashion as well as the define, share popover pop over, or a copy of the normal iOS. The new item present on the list now is the list-highlight; the user taps the device, and the highlighted text will be marked in yellow; tapping the application will make another popover pop over in a different style, and the user will tap the button to enable the removal of the highlight. Other features for improvement include classical Instapaper touches such as pull-to-refresh, video support, tools that enable the user sort, filter and manage the reading que, and new ways that the iPhone user can paginate articles by zipping left or right swiping from one page to the other.

Benefits realized by consumers because of the ability to gain access to their own data via mobile applications

When one considers the use of smartphones in the modern world, one will find that their uses are more diverse than those of other types of phones. This is because of the fact that while in previous years, mobile phones were generally used for the purpose of making calls and texting; smartphones have changed all this through their ability not only to swiftly access the internet, but also to have large memories which can accommodate a diverse number of applications. Smartphones are able to access a diverse number of networks in contrast to other forms of mobile phones, whose access can be said to be generally limited (Sanchez et al, 2012).

Because of the development of smartphones, individuals and companies have come up with sophisticated applications in order to accommodate them. This has created a situation where applications related to smartphones are being developed on a daily basis, unlike those softwares running older types of mobile phones. In contrast to older forms of communication, smartphones have enabled the swift access of individuals to electronic forms of communication which have ensured the swift interaction of people all over the world through the touch of a dial or chatting in social networks. The extent to which companies such as Apple and Samsung have gone to further advance their smartphone technology is a testament of their wide scale use as well as the large market that they have.

Smartphones have been created with the intention of ensuring the swift development of effective communication through the use of diverse applications. This has brought about the development of more advanced software whose purpose it is to make the experience of using smartphones better than it is already. The fact that they have more applications and options for the use of their owners has ensured that they have been adapted to a larger extent when compared to older versions of mobile phones. The unveiling of smartphones into the mobile market has basically created a situation where it is difficult for older types of mobile phones to compete and because of this, many mobile phone companies have chosen to abandon the manufacturing of older versions of mobile phones, adopting smartphones instead.

Examine the challenges of developing applications that run on mobile devices because of the small screen size

Mobile context consists of preferences, situation and attitude; preferences are the personal decisions that the customer shares with the social network, situation is the current location and attitude are feelings and emotions implied by the actions of the customer. Aggregate information from many sources helps in delivering good contextual experience, the sources may come from the device carried by the customer, sensors that are around such as geofence. Aggregating information could come from an extended network of things the customer cares about, and historical context of the preferences. It is challenging to gather this data since it is stored in multiple systems that the application will need to connect.

Device profanation is another challenge facing mobile developers, the mobile app development seem to be well defined in the manner in which it is looks pretty on a 4-inch smartphone then submitted to an app store; this is not that easy and it is presumed to be harder in the future. There is an increase in the need for flexibility with the presence of new device sizes and changes that take place to the nature of the applications on the client; currently there are up to 5-inch phablets, Windows 8 devices that are less than 7-inch, etc. These new devices collectively expand the potential for collection of contextual data about the customers (Wareham et al, 2009).

Majority of mobile developers clamor to get API access to Sir and Google, lots of scenarios exist where the developers would want to build an input into the applications. There are likelihoods of a phone to be strapped to the sweaty arms of a person when it comes to running or fitness applications, and hence looking at the screen while running will seem a fast track into a lamp post. This is also true when driving, for instance a person hustling through an airports having luggage trying to catch a flight, the voice will beat touch; therefore, presence of modern applications will help people use mobile devices while keeping their eyes and hands off the devices.

There is the need to have an expectation of seeing heads-up such as Google Glass that goes mainstream in the near future as processors are pushed to the point where such gadgets are powerful, light in weight and are stylish in appearance. Augmented-reality apps that fail to work well on a phone pose to be transformative when the apps are ported on a device such as Google Glass (Williams, 2012). One compelling example is an application that provides information in real time about the people communication using mobile phones but the mobile phone user has forgotten. Despite this, heads-up has the ability to create a whole new slate of problems for developers; there is the need to adopt to peripheral cues such as alerts and reminders, moreover the alerts should not be able to block the vision of the user. To add to this, there should be an integration of tactile and aural feedback that include voice commands and vibrating sensors that will alert the users they are required to take action (Williams, 2012).

Methods that can be used to decide which platform to support, i.e., iPhone, iPad, Windows Phone, or Android

The company should ensure there is timely dissemination of information that is done on the need to know the basis; search indexed resources model will be used since it is favorable for collecting content-oriented information. Information will be captured from indexed information resources such as databases; afterwards, it will be stored in a database that is created for the purpose before going to the target audience (Howell, 2012).

A map of this analysis will require the network research to help in uncovering emergent as well as communication patterns of information that is present in the organization; these can be compared to the formal structures of communication for the organization. Cross-functional collaboration within the firm will be done in order to uncover the communication patterns.

The applications on iPhone can have a smooth visualization and can measure the current acceleration; the application can be used on the moon, the earth or even in an orbit. At this places, the relative will be equal to the absolute mode; the visualization is used in visualizing direction and gravitational strength (Howell, 2012). The application will measure the g-force while the phone is shaking even though the shaking will get to a limit the application has new designs and it can be enabled with different acceleration visualization. Absolute mode will display the reverse type of acceleration of the AccelMeter in 1g up when it is held steadily; another display mode is the X-rotation, Y-rotation and the Z-rotation. The arrow has been enabled to display the rotation around the entire axis; a digital indicator in the application will indicate angle in numeric between -180° to +180°. Updates should be in place to add ways of calibrating and this could be used as a level.

Ways of providing high availability for mobile applications

The application can be configured to work on other devices such as the iPad; guide to Turbo, the application. As it makes efforts of delivering Intergalactic Mail throughout the furthest parts of the universe, the application is enabled with a racing adventure that is fast-paced coming from Sandlot Games (Seitz, 2012). The user can navigate 50 adrenaline-packed levels of speed action, and this is done in a postal mode as well as pro Challenge; the user puts the reflexes to the test of the Challenge Mode. The user can also go for one of the fast delivery time in the universe in various time trials. This application has been designed for any snail mail game, and this enables the user challenge his friends in multiplayer modes such as side-by-side. The in-built accelerometer of the iPhone has created opportunities for the world especially for the iOS developers that take part in the development of innovative, creative and highly engaging applications (Gupta et al, 2009). The accelerometers provide many creative ways that it can be used that include reading, photography and even music; the thing that lies ahead with accelerometers is the endless possibilities.

Belly Bio is an example of a Biofeedback where a person can use this application to measure parameters that are health indicators of an individual’s body. When using this application, data is fed back to the user in a form that will allow the user make adjustments of the body state in a positive way so that the parameters that have been measured are improved. The bellybio application should have a multimedia based biofeedback system where the user will have a biofeedback enabled with multimedia system. The system will have a new interactive environment designed to have an abstract presentation of parameters enabled with movements. Scenery pictures that have their precision and orientations used in reflecting arm movements as well as the comparative position to the target instead of an animated arm. The parameters will be classified into levels w.r.t. with the importance of the movement parameters to perform. The parameters will have presentations in visual and auditory form with incorporated music instruments. The application will explore information and how feedback used in the interactive environment that is simulated to facilitate efficient design and application of virtual environment based on therapeutic interventions.

Making mobile devices more secure

Mobile devices are more secure when their software are up-to-date, a release of software will patch a number of security vulnerabilities; therefore, before a phone user goes for a trip, it is good to ensure the software is checked on the manufacturer’s website for see whether the software will patch with the update that is available. Presence of a new update should be downloaded except in circumstances where there is a massive firestorm of reviews that are not good from people that adopted the software early. Apart from this, phone users can be safe by not messing with the security settings of the phones; most of the default settings of Android phones, Blackberry phones and the iPhone are safe when outside the box. Therefore it is recommended that the browser settings should not be changed since they are already good.

URLs that begin with https are safe even though it is not a foolproof, therefore, whenever a person accesses a site and intends to share personal information such as the bank site, the data that is transmitted to a particular website will be encrypted. SSL does not act as a foolproof since a person that is still in an unencrypted network connection is till subjected to attacks in the form of man-in-the-middle. Man-in-the-middle takes place when the bad guy makes a connections independently with two different parties and gets in the middle and the two people will think they are communicating with each other. These are rare attacks and to guard against them one has to ensure he/she is connected to a secure network such as https websites when entering into useful information. Moreover, majority of email service providers have a clear text option which often suspends data that is encrypted (Bonasia, 2011).

Turning off cookies and auto fill prevents hacking into mobile phones, a mobile phone that automatically enters passwords as well as login information into a specific website should have that feature turned off. Even though this is convenient, it poses to be a private threat, in order to get back some of the conveniences offered by auto fill, third party applications can be applied. Third party applications are available for various platforms that are capable of managing saved passwords with a security level that is high. For instance, the Mac OS X has been developed with a built-in manager referred to as the Keychain, on the other hand some versions of Windows have KeePass that is a free open source password manager. Looking at android phones and IOS, 1Password, SplashID and the LastPass are password features and use of these features does not imply the phones are fully secure as turning off the autofill. Despite this, it is a way of striking a good balance and a little inconvenience goes a long way altogether in attaining added security.

Reference

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Eyre, C. (2012). From social butterfly to engaged citizen: Urban informatics, social media, ubiquitous computing, and mobile technology to support citizen engagement. Social Alternatives, 31(2), 52-53.

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Howell, D. (2012, Dec 31). Ransomware, fake social sites rising security threats in 2013 'going to be A nastier place' government, corporations stay on espionage alert; madware targets mobile. Investor's Business Daily Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1272124447?accountid=1331

Sanchez, F., Barrilero, M., Uribe, S., Alvarez, F., Tena, A., & Menendez, J. M. (2012). Social and content hybrid image recommender system for mobile social networks. Mobile Networks and Applications, 17(6), 782-795.

Seitz, P. (2012, Jan 03). 2012 tech trends: Social, mobile, cloud facebook IPO awaits some tech leaders face biggest crossroads since mid-1980s' shift to PCs. Investor's Business Daily Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/915538891?accountid=1331

Wareham, J. D., Busquets, X., & Austin, R. D. (2009). Creative, convergent, and social: Prospects for mobile computing. Journal of Information Technology, 24(2), 139-143.

Williams, P. (2012). Companies slow to adopt social media and mobile computing. Journal of Commerce, (93), 1-2.