A typical case of an iPad application going wild! And how is it just possible?

Orangutans who are known for their high intelligent quotient have also started communicating using the iPad.  The authorities  at the Miami’s Jungle Island are allowing their 6 orangutans to use the iPad to communicate and be part of a mental stimulus programme.

Linda Jacobs who oversees the programme says that orangutans have the intelligence that they need to communicate, but they are just not equipped to do so. Jacobs said she began letting the orangutans use iPad last summer, based on the suggestion of someone who had used the devices with dolphins. The software was originally designed for humans with autism and the screen displays pictures of various objects.

A trainer then names one of the objects, and the ape presses the corresponding button.  They can also identify body parts, helping the trainers  to give medical care for them and even give them shots. The devices have been a great addition to the enrichment programmes Jungle Island already does with the orangutans, Jacobs said.

Keepers have long used sign language to communicate with them. While trainers have developed strong relationships with orangutans, the iPad offers an opportunity for them to communicate with people not trained in their sign language.

Looks like yet another revolution in the making at both – the Animal world and the App world

Forrester

Forrester predicts there will be 1 billion smartphone/tablet consumers by 2016. Out of this 1 billion, 20 million will use it at the enterprise level. This level of penetration in the enterprises will pressurize the CIOs to create mobility strategies to manage enterprise mobility. They also indicate that the mobile applications market will reach $55 billion and business expenditure on mobile projects will grow by 100%. They predict that mobile workers will account for 15% of all the global workers by 2015 in verticals like healthcare, retail, manufacturing, transportation, chemicals and petroleum.

Gartner

Gartner predicts that 50% of the enterprise email users will rely primarily on a browser, tablet or mobile client instead of a desktop client by 2016. They indicate that mobile application development projects targeting smartphones and tablets will outnumber native PC projects by a ratio of 4-to-1 by 2015. The reason cited by Gartner for this is “Smartphones and tablets represent more than 90 percent of the new net growth in device adoption for the coming four years, and increasing application platform capability across all classes of mobile phones is spurring a new frontier of innovation, particularly where mobile capabilities can be integrated with location, presence and social information to enhance the usefulness”

Others

Global Industry Analysts (GIA) predicts the global market for enterprise mobility is projected to exceed US$173.9 billion by 2017. International Data Corporation (IDC) foresees the IT spending to reach US$1.8 trillion in 2012 of which 20% will be related to the mobility segment. ABI Research indicates global location-based services platforms revenue will grow from $560 million in 2010 to $1.8 billion in 2015. Juniper Research indicates there will be 3 million mHealth remote monitoring users by 2016.

2010 and 2011 saw tremendous growth in the demand for mobile devices and applications. So what is it for 2012?

Business Applications

Enterprises and its employees are increasingly becoming dependent on their mobile devices to save time and multitask. With mobility penetrating all departments of an organization, app development for business’ is going to expand further and grow in 2012. Wise choice of the platform and specific business app is going to drive the growth for application developers.

Cloud and Mobility

Cloud computing can make a significant difference for mobile users as their devices offer continually improving functionality. The partnership between very powerful mobile devices and even-more-powerful cloud platforms creates the sort of opportunity that stretches the mind for application developers, and introduces new opportunities for applications that didn’t even occur to people in the desktop PC world.

Mobile Payment Apps

Payment preferences of the consumers are shifting from just online to mobile payments. Mobile Wallet services are likely to replace credit/debit cards and net banking. Organizations other than financial institutions will also invest in custom made payment applications.

Location Based Apps

The traction to develop location based applications is on the raise with all the mobile devices being able to support GPS. This is beneficial for mobile advertisers, mobile markets to offer targeted, location based content for its consumers.