In today's ever-growing expansion of Internet-based phones, more and more businesses are beginning to look into iPhone and smart phone application development. While most users browse from their computer at home or work, many are utilizing wireless technology to obtain information during travel or leisure time.

So what does this hold for us? Well first off, most cities now offer high broadband wireless connections generally outsourced to your cell phone provider. So you can plug in a USB device to your laptop and have a high-speed wireless connection almost anywhere. The most commonly available wireless connection types are 3G and 4G technologies which have enabled faster data-transmission speeds, greater network capacity and more advanced network services like streaming video from your smart phone. Of course, 3G really refers to third generation mobile and mobile phone technology and NOT 3 gigabytes. 4G (fourth generation) enables us to utilize more 'live' streaming capabilities. Unlike 3G, 4G mobile devices can utilize voice and high-powered video or multimedia streamed all the time from anywhere.

  
Weather application's interface is geared smoothly towards the phone's resolution and style.

  

So what do mobile devices mean for businesses? With broadband wireless speeds as fast as they are, it means we can stream live content, live video and more up-to-date material from all over the Internet. Businesses will be utilizing wireless data for added services. Companies that want to stay on top of technology are looking to further expand their online resources by creating rich media applications made specifically for iPhones and smart phones (Blackberry, etc).

Right now, you can browse most any website on a smart phone but that doesn't mean that it's truly optimized for wireless or portable device resolutions. With the latest technologies, developers can create websites that display well on smart phones, as well as custom smart phone and iPhone applications geared toward the 4G network.

A website can even be programmed conditionally to acknowledge whether it is being read by an iPhone and display the site to accommodate what the user sees graphically. Just as websites are designed now to accommodate popular browsers, more and more sites will also be optimized for specific mobile devices.

As for mobile applications, more companies are creating custom apps that contain video content, allow you to order products, or do just about anything you can do on a regular website, and in some cases more, since they work via online data and are not confined to browser restrictions. Many iPhone applications are free, although there are fees for the more sophisticated ones.

One thing developers have to keep in mind is that smart phones are built around different resolution sizes. Therefore, it is important to support mobile devices with today's technology. Some businesses skip re-tooling their website for the iPhone altogether and create a custom iPhone application that will replace the use of their website when using mobile devices. This prompts the user to launch an application geared towards the proper resolution and create a custom interface.

Even the government has taken a drastic position for mobile devices. President Barack Obama has signed a memorandum that nearly doubles the amount of federal and commercial spectrum available for smart phones and wireless Internet devices. This move is aimed at fostering investment and economic growth and creating jobs as information flowing over wireless networks continues to grow at a rapid pace.

Contact Leif at lfifer@praxisagency.com.