Mobile apps – how did we manage without them? Apps have seen a massive rise in consumer usage and popularity in recent years. Smart phones, tablet PCs and other mobile devices have all sparked the rise and growth of this industry. Some apps come integrated into the devices but thousand more are available for consumers to download. Originally intended for more productive usage of our phones, these days there is an app for almost every purpose – and a lot of them are for pure entertainment. But, what does it have to do with television?
Television: An Evolution
The rise of apps is comparable to a different device which changed the way the majority of people in the developed world receive and process information—the television. The evolution of technology surrounding the rise of the television, and the public response to it, was a watershed cultural moment. From the first television signal in the early 20 th century and those small wooden boxes with black and white screens that they used to call TV sets, the first television broadcast and the BBC’s first European colour broadcast in 1967, satellite transmissions and digital television, all the way to the thin as air plazma screens and today’s most advanced Sky Plus, BT Vision HD , Virgin’s TiVo and etc. – it has been a showcase of technological advancements. It gets even more interesting when different technologies join together to give us something even better, and since we live in the digital age of the 21 st century, it does not seem to surprise us either.
Televisions Going Mobile: the Apps
So, with mobile technology becoming increasingly dominant in the high-tech sector, aforementioned apps taking over the mobile space, it is no surprise that the television has gone mobile too. The apps market is very prolific and it is growing fast with new apps emerging almost daily. Apps for watching TV on your mobile device are no exception and with growing number of them to download, it is worth doing some research on the web before you decide which one to use. There seems to be sort of a general consensus within the online communities that for iPhones, Netflix leads the way, and for smart phones with Android operating system – the TV . com app comes at the top. It is completely free and allows you to stream full episodes from various TV stations. However before you start downloading, browse around and see what’s out there – there might be something that is just right for you.
With mobile industry slowly but steadily dominating the high-tech sector, some people suggest that smart phones will gradually lead to departure of televisions as a source of viewing content. The fact is, however, that they go hand in hand and watching TV on the smart phone will never compare to watching TV on a big plazma screen – it is the same thing done in two different ways, and it is simple as that.
