An Overview Of The Most Common Mobile Application Categories

Applications, both web and mobile, are in the continuous process of making our lives easier and simpler. Let us begin by understanding what these applications are actually all about. It is just a set of programming code, that is designed for performing any requisite or pre-defined functionality. An app can be of several types that differ based on their definition, functionality, technology and working methodology.

Common Application Types

What does our mind think of, when we talk about applications? We may imagine an app being a utility app, or a social networking app, or say a gaming app. Considering these options, what does one think of the so-called “App World?” Is it the end of it, or just the beginning?

Talking about apps in the present scenario, we should be more specific as well as generic over the type of app, and the purpose it is meant for. Let us discuss here some of the most commonly used categories of applications, and their respective requirements and benefits. Apart from these major categories, there can be a few others as well, fitting into these outstanding ones according to their functionality and development procedure.

Let us now dive deep into the pool of applications, understanding each one-by-one.

• • Native Apps: These are developed for particular platforms, using an IDE (Integrated Development Environment). Native applications use IDEs because of their—
    – Project Management Tools
    – Tools for version control
    – Debugging
    – Integrated support
    – Built-in library support
    IDEs are used because there is no direct option for development of native apps. Some of the most popular features of native apps include: multi-touch support, build-in components, easy to use, documentation, Fluid Animation, etc. The commonly used technologies are Native IOS and Android, PhoneGap, and Accelerator Titanium.

• • Hybrid Apps: This is a combination of both the native and web applications. Native apps are installed on a computing device, and developed for specific platforms. Whereas, web apps can work globally, and developed for multiple platforms. One can access and use web apps, directly in a browser, with the help of an Internet connection.Hybrid Apps are a combination of web and native, having more features than both individually. Therefore, hybrid apps can function with or without a network connection, and can work on multiple platforms. These apps are well-integrated with both web-based services, and device files system. They have a browser embedded for dynamically updating any online content. Phone Gap, Blackberry Native and HTML 5 are some of the commonly used technologies for developing hybrid apps.

• • Generic Apps: In simple words, these apps can be explained as the mobile websites that work with all the mobile phones and platforms. Generic applications do not need a specific GUI, are content oriented, and have a compact view. These apps work on a number of platforms, with web API based app development. Android, Objective C and Microft C# are some commonly used technologies for its development.

• • Dedicated Apps: These are like static apps, specific to certain requirements. They are dependent directly upon the limited functionality and few of the module requisites. These apps are considered better than a book marked apps, because of their well-structured functionality, relying on the requirement set. These apps can also be understood as websites that are customized to work efficiently on mobile devices.

• • Bookmark Apps: These are applications for letting the users save those web resources that they wish to access at a later stage, into properly organized lists to be shared online. In simpler words, one can even say bookmark apps to be like mobile websites. These apps make a website compatible to view in mobile versions, and on handheld devices such as tablets and cell phones. These apps are recognized with names who are different from the actual links. They come with drag and drop functionality, and work in a more organized manner. They can be developed with Graphics or APIs, HTML 5, or any basic scripting language.

• Cross-Platform Apps: These are applications that can work freely on multiple platforms. Such apps can be based on either of standard components, or run-time packages. Due to their multiple platform support, user-friendly environment, development ease, multi-touch functionalities, and a lot more, these apps have gained wide-scale use and acceptance.

The current era, thus, belongs to mobile application development, that explores the latest technologies of the future. For the same, one has buckled up and prepared for the brand-new application journey.