Experts Predict Apps May Soon Replace Computing as the World Awaits Launch of the iPad

A story this week in USAToday predicts the possible demise of the computer and traditional software as more and more people opt for mobile devices and customized apps.  With devices such as iPhones, iPod Touches, Android-enabled devices and the soon to be released Apple iPad, apps are continuing to transform portable devices into personal assistants.

More than 100,000 apps are now available in the Apple App Store.  Tech specialists estimate the annual app market to be $2 billion and only expected to grow with the launch of the iPad. 

“The sea change here is that people are gradually moving away from spending time with TV and computers to their mobile devices,” says Matt Murphy who manages Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers’ iFund.  Statistics uphold his observation.  A recent study from Morgan Stanley shows that typical cell phone users now spend 30 percent of their 40-minutes-a-day average on data, with iPhone users spending 55 percent of their 60-minute average on “non-talking” phone activities.  

So, what makes apps so popular?  Some users like that their mobile device doesn’t have to boot up – it just comes on.  The increasing mobility of society is another contributing factor.  Still others like the fact that the pricing (typically 99 cents per download) makes it easy and economical to try new apps. 

“A one-click purchase appeals to our need for instant gratification, and the low cast means that you can buy at will,” says Paul Saffo, a Silicon Valley futurist and consulting associate professor at Stanford.  Saffo says he envisions a near future in which today’s home computer feels like yesterday’s brick-size cell phone. 

For more on this, see USAToday

In a related story, Dublin’s OCLC has announced that its WorldCat search and registry APIs are now part of the iPhone app, pic2shop.  Pic2shop allows consumers to comparison shop by scanning barcodes with their iPhone to compare costs and availability of books at various retailers.  Now, through the WorldCat inclusion, consumers can also see what libraries within the vicinity have access to the book.

For more details, see the release from OCLC