Smart
devices have become the new standard for personal communication, networking,
and
productivity… and corporate efficiency and collaboration.
Everywhere we
look, smart technology has become the must have for everything from
communication, networking, personal productivity, personal comfort, even
mission critical tasks… and app developers can only move forward in creating a
world that is more mobile, hands free, dynamically integrated and
cross-functional.
With
children playing on their tablets for fun, and business executives on their
smartphones looking for apps to configure and standardize the workplace, the
future trend over the next few years is going to not only push the limits of
how we interact with mobile technology, but how mobile technology can interact
with us.
Major
companies like Microsoft─ with
Microsoft Surface and
mobile functionality in Windows 8, and Google─ with its
Google Glass
technology, are showing a renewed focus on design for mobile devices that
not only affect tablets and smartphones you’re using today. They’re also
talking about the smartwatches, visors, pico projectors, and God knows what
else we’ll be using next year and the year after that.
Mobile
was an add-on. Today, mobile is just as, if not more, important than the
traditional desktop PC… and who knows what’s around the corner with wearable
computing?
It
would be crazy not to be looking at all these new devices and new ideas, from
things hitting the market now like…
- Google Glass,
- MicroVisions Laser PicoP Display Engine in every
single mobile device,
- or things that are just rumors like Apple’s
watch.
Our
growing reliance on the Cloud and big data streaming has only accentuated what
mobile technology can do. Apps are better looking, more versatile and make
connecting with people easier and essential. Looking ahead further into 2014, a
few mobile trends are beginning to become extremely visible.
The Cloud:
SD cards and internal storage are still essential for personal computing
technology, but what about cross-platform mobile accessibility? I remember the
days when carrying a floppy disk or USB
stick was the only ways to keep my data on me at all times.
As I got older, I started emailing things to
myself. But now with apps like DropBox or my Google
Drive, sharing and archiving my data from any
smart device is as easy as uploading a file.
Now, this same model is being applied to basically every app, from content
streaming applications to niche utility apps… and being able to save your data
somewhere other than your device for sharing and retrieval is paramount. Apps
that used to offer options for social media sharing are starting to adopt
DropBox availability and drive accessibility as a basic feature for more
efficient apps.
Access to online storage is not only making data easier to get to regardless
of device, but encouraging more personal connections through networking.
Mobile Sharing:
Playing on-line games with friends from far away lands to sharing your
content with others via your mobile device is becoming the standard for
workplace and social networking. Just look at any website as evidence for this
model of mobile trending. You cannot find an article online, for example, that
does not have an option for sharing a link or assorted media on basically any
social networking site imaginable. Mobile
sharing goes beyond social engagement… it can, if done right, spread your
message like wild fire.
As mobile technology and its ubiquitous use continue to multiply,
configuring apps to keep everyone connected, regardless of mobile platform, is
the most important step to keeping our personal smart technology as efficient
as it can be.
Cross-platform Apps Configuration:
This
trend is more applicable to the corporate setting; where apps not only need to
be focused and efficient in bringing out the best from the workforce… but also
allow standardization across the entire user base for fluid communication from
the bottom up. Apps that are developed for corporate use must be designed and
be natively intuitive for multiple types of devices and be able to efficiently
communicate throughout a large collection of personal smart devices, to ensure
that the mobile network is not only transparent but also works as it should.
The
workplace demands streamlined communication, specifically the accessibility to
embedded analytic for corporate, departmental or local office operations. On
the spot reports may be a luxury right now, but when everyone is standardized
on an app, reports can be as easy as inputting data and watching it trend
throughout the office. Executives looking for the quickest way to provide
accurate analysis are turning to apps developed specifically to create trends for
essential data. Whether employees are using personal mobile smart devices or
their personal work computers, apps that mimic the office environment online
are a company’s best bet for efficient data management and communication.
Also, cloud-based employee management apps that consolidate employee
information, interaction, business expenses, and production into an easy to
access database are continuing to pick up speed.
High Definition Laser Pico Projector Display
Engine in Mobile Devices
The combination of a mobile device and a
built-in HD laser pico projector offers ultimate in mobility… functionality… video
sharing… and the cool factor ownership of an interactive and 3D projector
display.
MicroVision unveiled their latest
HD
Laser pico projector with focus-free touch Interactive and 3D display.
This second generation laser PicoP display engine has higher screen resolutions
than the original. MicroVision describes the PicoP Gen 2 engine and PicoMagic
display applications as
“ideal for various consumer and commercial
mobile applications such as entertainment, advanced gaming, business
projection, and education.”
Focus-free touch interactive
displays will allow users to instantly interact with a projected image on any
surface, as well as, create Multi-user applications such as virtual
whiteboards. For business users, touch interactive technology will provide the
convenience to conduct business presentations with only the touch of their
fingertips on a large display surface. Avid mobile gamers would also benefit
from touch interactive technology by interacting with projected images with
high response levels, making mobile gaming more realistic.
This technology is sure to engage
the creative imagination of thousands of app developers, and we can hope to see
many thousand of apps that will be useful in business, entertainment, and educational
field.
Self-care Healthcare for Global Markets:
Present
day medical technologies are far advanced over those available to our
ancestors─ and as a result we suffer far less than they did. Yet modern
medicine can achieve little in comparison to what scientists know is possible
for the future. Despite amazing advances in understanding and treating conditions
[such as cancer, heart disease, dementia, diabetes, and many others], it is
still the case that, for basically healthy people, no presently available
therapy or tool can produce even a fraction of the long-term benefits to health
and life expectancy provided by awareness, prevention, nutrition, regular
exercise,
a
calorie restricted diet, natural therapy, and natural supplements.
Self
healthcare behavior is the new paradigm; and an up close and personal choice
that is as unique [in scope and strategy] as you and I and billions other on
this planet decide to choose. Developing a suite of comprehensive self
healthcare mobile apps with such diversity is a complex proposition… unless you
follow the old mantra of “one-size-fits-all” recommendations based on books,
articles, and blogs that talk generalities and quote statistics.
Self-care behavior, a key concept in healthcare, refers to decisions and
actions that an individual can take to cope with a health problem or to improve
his or her health. Examples of self healthcare behaviors include seeking
information (e.g., reading books, searching the Internet, attending classes,
joining a self-help group); exercising; seeing a doctor on a regular basis;
getting more rest; lifestyle changes; following low fat diets; monitoring vital
signs; and seeking advice through lay and alternative care networks, evaluating
this information, and making decisions to act or even to do nothing.
Self-care is generally viewed as a complement to professional health care
for persons with chronic health conditions. Self-care behavior is, however,
broader than just following a doctor’s advice. It also encompasses an
individual’s learning from things that have worked in the past.
Presumed benefits of self-care include lower costs for the health care
system; more effective working relationships between patients and physicians
and other health care providers; increased patient satisfaction; and improved
perceptions of one’s health condition. Self-help behaviors have been shown to
lessen pain and depression and to improve quality of life. Generally, health
care practitioners encourage and support patients to practice self-care
behaviors because patients then actively participate in their own care.
However, many practitioners experience difficulty in offering advice on
self-care behaviors because they are not aware of specific techniques,
strategies, and supports their patients can use.
Self-care is seen as empowering and with acquisition of self-care skills,
people are able to participate more actively in fostering their own health and
in shaping conditions that influence their health.
There are several apps under development that focus on mind and body fitness
and will allow the subscriber to establish his/her own personal scope and
strategy for self healthcare… and serve as the guiding light for their personal
journey to health, wellness, and longevity.
We
believe there is a massive awareness and movement underway where individuals
want to take charge and get-on with a personal journey to enhance their health
and wellness… and prevent onset of chronic diseases. Self-care healthcare apps
will help them understand, facilitate and support this journey.
These
apps are examples of where apps are going. Some are paid and others are free,
but are evidence that the mobile apps are no longer meant to just improve the
day-to-day tasks of using a smart device.
Future
mobile apps will be more interactive, offer more cloud-based models, work
across smart devices, and keep people engaged… to entertain, educate, network,
and bring about a paradigm shift in self-care healthcare.
According
to IDC report published in 2011, app downloads are projected to grow from 10.7
billion (in 2010) to more than 182 billion (in 2015). Reports also show
that mobile advertising spending is increasing 20-30% annually in the developed
markets. We are finally at the stage where mobile is seriously considered as
one of the channels for marketing.
Anant
Goel
Producer CEO – RKNet Studios
