Surely by now you've noticed the rapid influx of cell phone applications, inflitrating the mobile market? Undoubtedly you've seen the iPhone commercial proclaiming the smartphone's eclipsing number of cell phone apps available. How did this happen? How did cell phone apps become so wildly popular, to the point that nearly every major smartphone offers them?

How the Cell Phone App Invasion Started

Why Cell Phone Apps Are So Popular

Why Cell Phone Apps Are So Popular (cont'd)

Cell Phone Apps Conclusion

Cell Phone Apps Resources

Cell Phone Apps Links

Comments

Cell Phone Apps News

Cell phone apps have existed for some time now. In fact, text messaging (SMS) is actually considered an application! The recent popularity surge of phone apps can most accurately be attributed to the iPhone. When that thing came out, it changed the entire philosophy of how smartphones were produced. Apple took the application, a fundamental function of the computer, and integrated into its touchscreen behemoth.The result: pure genius.

The idea that cell phones are basically pocket computers is not a new one. Up until the iPhone's release, no cell phone developer had truly translated the potential of the computer app to the cell phone. But now that it had been done, (and with such success), there was no question as to the marketability of cell phone apps.

And now everybody's playing catch up.

So, what sparked the initial outburst of cell phone apps in popularity?

Well like the concept of computer applications, new cell phone apps are pretty much lifeline extensions for the hardware they run on. Each new cell phone (in theory) does something new, or adds some new feature to the cell phone to extend its versatility.

There are cell phone apps for everything from traffic conditions to ones that react to the emotions of the cell phone user, to controversial baby shaking simulations. In fact, some of my friends get super excited to show off some of their newest cell phone apps. Just the thrill of constanly being able to get something new is enough to spike the popularity of cell phone apps.

Another possible explanation for the rapid success of cell phone apps is the customizability it offers cell phone users. Life is all about self-expression, and many people like to tailor certain factions of their lives to express who they really are like their music, style of dress and manner of speech.

Being able to pick and choose which cell phone apps appear on their mobile phones is another way for people to express themselves. Everyone's choice of cell phone apps reflects who they are in some way, and might reveal why mobile apps have become so coveted.

Perhaps the greatest draw of cell phone apps is the ability for users to develop, submit, and potentially profit off of their own creations. A few cell phone developers actually allow users to create their own cell phone apps to be distrubuted digitally.

While some companies are more selective then others (*cough* Apple *cough*), the ability to shape the development of cell phones via apps is empowering. Every cell phone user has the potential to create a killer app that can influence cell phone users worldwide. A smart business move on the part of the developers.

Regardless of the reason, unless someone develops a "cell phone app" killer, expect to see hundreds, thousands, and maybe even millions of cell phone apps in the near future.

I love the whole concept of cell phone apps. Being able to expand the abilities of a phone simply by downloading a program is addicting and quite useful. I really don't see any end to the wave of cell phone apps being created daily. Its just too good of a deal for developers, users and phone companies. Everybody wins, because everybody has a hand in the market, even if it seems small at first.