When I started writing this post, suddenly this song from my teenage years by Lou Bega popped up in my mind and I found myself humming and even identifying with it for my current situation…
I gotta girl in Paris, I gotta girl in Rome
I even gotta girl in Vatican Dome
I gotta girl right here, I gotta girl right there
And I gotta girlfriend everywhere…
Before your heads start getting any naughty thoughts, just replace the word “girl” with “app” and “everywhere” with “everything”…
“I got an app for Fb, I got an app for twitter,
I even got an app to chat on Viber
I got an app for this thing, I got an app for that thing
And I got an app for everything”
Sound familiar? Nearly everyone’s in the same boat these days. What really got me thinking about our app-sessed state of mind these days is the number of apps I was checking out in the last 10 days while planning my holiday. From flight tickets to hotels to city guides to maps there’s an app for everything. Right down to an app for finding vegetarian food in (nearly) any city in any country! This “Apptopia” (app+utopia) is quite a blessing for the consumers since it puts all the power, quite literally, at their finger tips. As Lou Bega says in his song;
With a little bit of this and a little bit of that
You can get what you see, you can see what you get….
Twelve years ago, when I was planning my honeymoon, I had to be seated for hours at the computer, with a slow internet connection and check all the hotels, flights…everything. (Yes, I LOVE planning holidays.) And now, I can do everything from my smartphone while picking up son from school or while taking him for football class or even while waiting for my turn at the dentist. All thanks to the apps. My favourite ones? Fashion and travel apps of course.
So what exactly are mobile apps?
Mobile apps are software programs or applications (hence the app for short) that one can download and access directly from a smartphone or another mobile device like a tablet or even a music player. Apps frequently serve to provide users with similar services to those accessed on PCs in a simpler format.
Earlier, largely restricted to games and news, they are fast becoming game changers in the world of travel and fashion. Travel mags have their own app and you read about the hot new destinations off the beaten track. You open another app to check the best fares for flights to the nearest airport for that destination. A map app shows you the shortest route from the airport to the destination while another one helps you book hotels (after checking out all the reviews of course) and hire a car. And voila…you’re all set to travel. Oh, and language problems can easily be sorted out by downloading a translation app. Or better still a language app that will give you a crash course so that you can at least say Good Morning, Please and Thank you in the local language.
In the case of fashion and beauty, it gets even better. You now have apps that, using your phone’s front camera, allow you to virtually try on makeup and actually see in real time, how the shades look on you! Like what you see? Just click on the link to buy those products. The same holds true for fashion as well. Shopping via apps like Myntra is actually as simple as 1-2-3. Or rather, as simple as Click – Add – Shop. The option to save your sizes, your address and even your credit card details (though that last one isn’t really advisable) makes shopping easier and quicker. You don’t have to worry about the store timings nor wait in long queues at checkout, these apps are a shopaholic’s dream come true.
Voyage / Shopping Sans Frontiers anyone? The future is here.
Love this article! You summed it up all so well! 🙂
xoxoxo
Ritcha