Thursday, April 14, 2011
Are you interested in mobile applications? We talked to Gustav Gordon Andersson, tech freak about the use of mobile in daily life and his view on the future of that industry. Gustav works as a blogger at Swedens most popular tech blog Feber.se, as a portrait photographer and is the usual suspect if someone talks gadgets on Swedish TV4. Gadgets are his life so call him a geek, or maybe a nerd, whatever you think is the coolest. Gustav's been browsing the web on his phone since 2003 (a Sony Ericsson T610i) and loves this new mobile information society!
Do you think we'll ever return to a state where we want our phones to not include applications?
Yes, I do. I think that in a couple of years web apps will have taken over and our phones will only be a platform to access those apps. Therefore there won't be any need for apps to be installed directly on our phones.
How have apps affected our mobile usage?
It has made the phone a more personalized platform where we can make it do whatever we want it to do instead of what the manufacturer decides that the phone is able to do. That has made us use our phones for a lot more things than we did before and I don't see any end to that. I believe there are still more undiscovered areas for which we can use our phones for and that new hardware, accessories and apps will allow us to do a lot more in the future.
Do you think app development is good choice for a future profession?
Yes I think it is, but I also think one will have to be aware that apps as we know them today may only have a limited lifetime and that one day, apps will be no more.
What trends are you currently seeing within the apps industry?
I think the app market still is very open and people are trying things in every area possible. But of course there are some trends like social media apps (especially when it comes to photo sharing), and cute competitive gaming like Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Doodle Jump and many more.
What app do you wish that you had created yourself?
That's a hard one but I would say EasyRelease, an app which functions as a model release when I work as a Photographer. All apps that can make me get rid of paper is a good app so right now I'm looking for another contract app for when I sell pictures.
Functionality or fun?
Without a doubt functionality. The apps I love the most and have spent the most money on are the apps that make my everyday life and work easier.
How many apps do you download per week?
It really depends if I'm "in the mood" or not. One week could be a slow one and I only download around 2-3 apps and another week I might download up to 10 apps. I do not wish to know how much money I spent on apps over the years...
What do you think is the most innovative use of an application?
Information gathering. Ok, maybe that is not so innovative but I still want apps that make that easier. I'm still waiting for the app that lets me take photos of anything and then immediately get all the information about that thing nicely presented. There are apps right now that are trying this, like Google Goggles, but we still have a long way to go. For example I want to be able to take a photograph of your shoes and then get information on where the closest store i can buy them in is located, where I can buy them for the lowest price, the history behind them, who designed them and more.
Thanks Gustav! And to all our readers working the last day with the Hyper Island fall application - good luck!
