Smart Phone Apps - Amazing New Technology is Just Getting Started!

Anyone with an iPhone or Blackberry or any of the other smart phones available knows this, yet even regular users have a hard time keeping up with the latest new apps. Creating applications (apps for short) for smart phones has become a whole industry unto itself, with creative coders competing for the most popular new apps, as there is potentially a lot of money involved for someone whose app becomes very popular.

No longer just a simple calculator or conversion accessory, there are smart phone apps to do almost anything the mind can conceive of. Whatever you may want, it's just a download and a few touches away using only your fingertips; imagine what people from a mere a century ago would think if they could see it! You can find the nest, most recommended restaurant in any city or town you might be in; you can check into your flight and check the status; you can play games, of course, and buy and send things quickly and efficiently. You can organize files, set reminders and do your banking, all while riding a bus.

One innovative company out of California provides an interesting example of what is possible with a smart phone app. ReQall has an affordable integrated organization and reminder system that starts with you calling a toll-free number and making notes, rather like verbal post-it notes. Should you choose to connect the service with your family, friends or co-workers, they too can leave reminders for you. Here comes the cool part: because this service is linked up with Google's latitude and calendar programs and your Outlook files, the system, using voice recognition technology, texts you reminders based on where you go throughout your day. It analyses all the information and prioritizes what makes sense for you, and then will text you your grocery list as you are nearing your normally frequented grocery store, for instance, or the dry cleaning reminder based on the fact that you are driving by and your wife left you a message in the system. Wow!

Perhaps I am simplifying the way this works somewhat and perhaps there will be kinks to work out, but the very nature of these applications is staggering in scope, and the possibilities in realistic application are enormous. One thing we can agree on is that a cell phone isn't just for making phone calls anymore! From students to adults the smart phone is here to stay, and the functions just keep getting more useful.