Being a technology evangelist, I have come across tons of applications and software that drive real time information sharing. Mobility is the need of the hour and smartphones have become a pivotal force that has made it highly viable for entities to have all information at the tips of their hands.
I have always believed that news and magazine apps are a vital aspect of real time information sharing as most users use their smartphones to stay updated. These applications are dime a dozen and I use a lot of them as my daily driver to stay in sync with latest updates. One of the vital aspect of news and magazine applications is rich content sharing. Taking cognizance of this fact many development companies now emphasize on intuitive and content friendly UI.
One such application which I found to be highly interactive with robust content sharing features was Consumer watchdog Android app. I would be understating the fact if I say that it follows the same path like most of the news sharing applications. The developers of Consumer Watchdog App have definitely went through great lengths to make sure that the overall application has a simplistic but highly intuitive pretence of relevant information. (You can get it on Google Play here. I liked the screenshots of the app and decided to get it on my device to give it a try!)
I must say the app has been done fairly well by a mobile apps firm called Mobile Programming.
Ben Shalom from this firm, when reached for his feedback on this app, says they have followed mobile best practices like Simplistic Approach, Fluidic UI elements and Responsive design techniques.
Mobile best practices have definitely come to the main stream as there has been mushrooming of applications, making it imperative for developers to create rich applications to stand out of competition.
The application is basically a systematic catalogue of consumer news, politics and activism with rich content sharing capabilities and impeccable UX design elements. One thing that I liked the most about this application is that it is able to take full advantage of the screen real estate. This shows that the designers and developers of this application have put in a lot of efforts to make the application easy to navigate.
The biggest problem with most of the news and magazine applications is that they emphasize on content rather than design of the content. Throughout the time that I spend in using this application, I found it to easily balance both aspects which is why it has become my go-to application for all the daily issues related to consumers which includes news releases, blogs, videos and podcasts.
Some of the leading companies whose applications usher with best mobile practices and have a good visibility on web are Infinite Convergence, Mobile Programming LLC, July Systems and Open Stream. These companies also have a proficient expertise in enterprise mobility solutions and have been providing unerring applications that have bridged the gap of communications between end users. It is interesting to see the client list displayed on their websites.
I really think mobility solutions have a long way to go. Almost everyone now prefers to use mobiles/portable devices to get information quickly than using the traditional means of communication. Right from getting information to ecommerce, consumers prefers mobile devices.
According to Google?s recent mobile survey,
– 96% of mobile users said they encountered a website that is not mobile friendly
– 67% of mobile users said that if the site is mobile friendly they are more likely to purchase
– 48% of mobile users said even if they like a brand a non-mobile friendly site annoys them.
Being a mobile apps user and reviewer, I am sure mobility solutions are here to stay and grow. The mobile market would increase manifold by 2017 as per some Market Research Surveys I came across.
