Question

How would you categorize the software that runs on mobile devices? Break down these apps into at least three basic categories and give an example of each.

Answer 1

Answer and explanation:

There are four types of mobile applications:

A) Native apps

These apps are exclusively made for a certain type of Operating System (OS). It implies apps created for Apple devices only or Android cell phones exclusively. Examples: Notes (iOS), Health (iOS), and Wallet (iOS).

B) Mobile Web apps

These apps are not installed in the mobile device but work upon a web-based page. The big advantage of these apps is that they do not use the storage of the equipment. Examples: Financial Times and ChildFund International.

C) Hybrid apps

These apps are the result of combining native apps and mobile web apps. These are apps that were built to be used in web pages but have access to mobile apps that allow the app to take over certain features of the device like the camera or microphone. Examples: LinkedIn, and Twitter.

D) Progressive apps

These are hybrid apps with additional functionalities that may allow the user to work offline. Examples: Workopolis, Umbrella, and HighTide.

Answer 2

Mobile software is an App that can be downloaded to a mobile device and used to execute specific tasks. Once the app is initiated, it runs inside the operating system until it is been closed by the user. These are small, individual software units which can work as a browser, game, shopping app, calculator and more.

There are mainly 3 types of mobile apps:

Native applications, Hybrid applications, and Web applications.

Native Applications:

Native applications are developed to be used on a particular platform or device. They exist on the device and are accessed through icons on the device. Native apps are written for specific Operating System, which means a separate source code is written for each OS, such as iOS, Android, Linux, and Windows, this means, a native Android software will not work on a windows platform, because the Windows platform does not have the source code to operate the software, however, the advantages of native applications is that they can take the full advantage all features in the devices’

Web Application:

Web application (Web app) is a client-server software application, in which the client runs in a web browser. It is stored on a remote server and delivered over the Internet through a browser interface. It is not designed for a specific type of device or an operating system, which means it can be accessed from several devices. Web applications commonly use a combination of server-side script (ASP, PHP, etc) and client-side script (HTML, Javascript, etc.) to be developed.

Hybrid Applications:

Hybrid applications have the characteristic of both web applications and native applications. They combine the elements of both native and Web applications. They are developed using HTML, CSS, and Javascript, and then wrapped into a native application using platforms like Cordova. Since they are designed for various platforms, they don’t require different source codes like native apps, Web application development is obviously faster, simpler and rapid.