Five Years of Apps

NYC coming into view along Route 3 in NJ.

It's hard to believe that those omnipresent little programs called apps have been around for only five years. Just this week, Apple celebrated the fifth anniversary of this society-changing product. The impetus for this phenomenal growth has been the success of smartphones and tablets. Led by the iPhone and iPad, it is no longer necessary to carry around a cumbersome laptop. On July 10, 2008, Apple started the App Store with 500 of these tiny programs. Five years later, there are over 900,000 apps available. The early success of apps for the iPhone was accelerated with the launch of the iPad in 2010. When we think of the personal computer (PC), we typically have a laptop or desktop machine in mind. In many ways, the mobile devices are the truly personal computers. The traditional PC's might have a few dozen programs on it. A typical mobile user may very well have hundreds of apps. Each iPhone and iPad is customized to the end-user's preferences. Surfing the web, reading e-mail, and talking with others are just the tip of the iceberg. 

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