Wednesday, April 17, 2013

HTML5 evolving faster than you know it

HTML5 is getting better everyday and devs are obtaining more options and more freedom with web app development.

Once notorious for its limitations, HTML5 is offering more than just cross-platform support. And it will only get better from here.



Web Open Font Format (WOFF) is gaining popularity, especially through Fonts.com, Typekit, and Google Web Font API. By using web fonts, devs and designers have more options with their text and therefore do not have to use images to get the look that they want. 

And we all know that text is a HUGE part of apps and web sites. By having more freedom with something that is so indispensable, UI will in turn become more expressive, thus also benefiting users as well.


HTML5 Boilerplate first released in 2011 is being used for a growing number of websites, providing devs and designers with a great kick-start "template" they can use when implementing HTML5 into their projects. They can use as much or as little as needed from the template allowing for freedom, while providing devs with the basics, supporting lighttpd, Google App Engine, NodeJS, Apache, Nginx and IIS.


We can only expect that devs will be provided with even more frameworks and toolkits in the future (ehem, can we say, "DaVinci"? =P) adding to HTML5's new world of possibility.



Even nay-sayers will have to admit that HTML5 is on the rise, while Flash and third-party plug-ins are dying a slow and painful death.



 

Monday, April 1, 2013

The Up and Coming Mobile Health Market



By now, you might have heard of several reports on how health and diet-related mobile apps are on the rise.
Even at the MWC, there were quite a few health-related gadgets/accessories on display. 


I personally use an app that shows me how far I've run on a jog as well as diet-helping apps that tell me how many calories I consume when I search for foods. Like for instance, you can search for "Pizza Hut Cheese Pizza" and the calories per slice would come right out. Very handy.

I am sure more and more people are using these types of apps as America get more and more health conscious.


A new report released this past March said that the global mobile health market is projected to reach a whopping $26 billion by 2017. 


It also says that the market is in a commercialization phase in which there is a massive increase in solutions, new business models, and tightens its focus on health-interested people, patients, and business.



However, only 9% of the total market revenue is predicted to come from app downloads -- 84% is to come from related services and products, such as sensors and remote monitoring. This is expected to drive up even further as many mHealth apps are actually designed for healthcare professionals who use them to aid remote monitoring and health management. (Fierce Mobile Health Care)


A report published earlier this year by Transparency Market Research also confirms this, as the report noted that in 2012, monitoring services took up 63% (the largest chunk) of the mHealth market and that the trend will continue to go strong, especially due to rising chronic disease rates alongside the increasing percentage of smartphone adoption.


In other words, the mobile health market will grow quite rapidly, but not because of public use, but rather hospital and professional adoption of mobile solutions.



Another opportunity for HTML5? I would think so.