Get smart : apps and smartphones

The rapid emergence of the smartphone has brought about a handheld revolution of both accessibility and convenience.

Smartphones are not as closely related to "phones" as they are to pocket computers. They are able to text, take pictures and/or video and surf the web. These phones could possibly do more than the typical home computer does in a typical day.

However, the focus of one of the top smartphone competitors Android, which is on multiple different brands of cell phones, and iPhone, which is only made by Apple, have been on its apps – more commonly referred to as apps.

An app can be anything from an alarm clock to a constellation locator, when using the camera to point into the sky or any game that could be played on the smart phone. The slang term has quickly become part of popular vernacular – noting the American Dialect Society, which listed app as their "Word of the Year."

Apps can be made by anyone from single customers to huge conglomerates who wish to use the phone to provide a great tool to the consumers or score some quick cash with a time-wasting game.

The major difference between the two companies is that Android's apps all come through third-party producers, while Apple likes to check all its apps personally before putting them into their app store.

For example, some of the bestselling free apps right now in Apple's App store, according to its website, are Onenote, which is a popular note-taking program usually used on standard computers, and TV.com, which is an app by CBS which allows users to "personalize [their] TV experience," according to their description in the app store.

On the pay-to-play side of the store, meaning customers need to pay up front in order to gain access to the apps, is mostly topped by "casual" videogames, meaning they only take a few seconds to learn, minutes to play, but can take hours to master, like the extremely popular "Angry Birds."

Whether the consumer has an iPhone or any other smartphone, the most popular apps remain popular websites such as Facebook.com and Google Maps. Having the apps on their phones allows them to access the websites away from their computers.

The Android Market – their version of the App Store, had similar results: mostly games, but also a lot of clever apps people would have never thought they needed until they got a smartphone.

"I have a Droid 2 from Verizon and so far I really like it," said UT anthropology major Amanda Burchett, a sophomore. "Having a smartphone is really nice because you pretty much have an iPod, GPS, laptop and phone all rolled up in one little gadget."

The main advantage that Apple likes to boast that they have over the Android is an official video calling system, which Apple calls Facetime. Android has third-party apps like Fring but it had been shown to be "echo-y" in sound and "pixilated" when it was demonstrated by Jason Chen on tech site Gizmodo. Also, the app could soon be taken off the market considering it does the calls without using the phone provider's service, which may go against certain provider's contracts.

Android, in contrast, likes to flaunt that while the iPhone is only on a single provider, AT&T, Android phones are on most of the major plans.

That was until Jan. 11 of this year when Apple announced that it will be coming onto the Verizon network on Feb. 3. Users must needed to make a reservation through apple by Jan. 10 in order to be eligible. This is a major move for all three companies involved.

The change is mostly likely due to the frequent dropped calls that AT&T customers complain about, while using their phones not only indoors, but anywhere. It even sparked its own hashtag on Twitter, called "#attsucks". Although AT&T has poured in $50 billion to help fix their network since the original iPhone's release, the change appears to have been too gradual for many iPhone owners.

"Dropped calls have never been a problem for me," said senior bioengineering major Phil Proulx. " I absolutely love [my iPhone.]"

Even though he is a PC user, he says this device my switch him over to Mac the next time he gets a laptop. "I have drank the Apple punch and there's no turning back."

With this threat on the horizon, Verizon Wireless' CTO Anthony Melone told Bloomberg BusinessWeek that "we are ready to support the traffic."

Things were looking to sway Apple's way, until their captain had to leave them again.

On Jan. 17, 2011, just a year and a half after having a liver transplant, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced that he would be going on medical leave again so he could "focus on [his] health" leaving COO Tim Cook, who has taken Jobs' place twice prior to this leave.

Although Steve Jobs has stated that he has no plans to leave Apple saying not only will he "continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company," but also that he "love[s] Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can."

Even with this assurance that Apple will not change while he is gone, the fact that Apple's stocks plummeted around 6 percent on the day of the announcement shows how much he is needed to keep the company alive.

As in any part of business, both companies will continue making their product better than the other; but it is uncertain whether or not things will completely change come February.