iOS 8 HealthKit

The health tracking industry was previously dominated by companies like Garmin and Fit bit but the health monitoring and fitness gadget sector is being taken by storm by new smartphones and accessories which offer various apps and features that help integrated these previously separate gadgets into the smartphone.

In light of this, Apple released iOS 8 with a very robust Healthkit App. It is an app designed and integrated with iOS 8 to help track your everybody metric from weight, caloric intake, cholesterol, sugar, and many more. This feature not only allows you to effortlessly list down your daily medical records, but it also helps you understand your overall state of health with informative graphs and fitness assessments. It also allows you to easily share collated health data and medical history so medical personnel can help you better in case of an emergency.

Healthkit was designed to be the central hub for all your health records and needs. This is a marked improvement over previous efforts where your data is spread out between different apps that help track your health. With various and separate apps, the user would have to manage and collate the data themselves, which defeats the purpose of this so-called convenience.

As a centralized hub, Apple designed the health kit to be the primary source of personal health data as well as the singular app where all health data is ultimately stored. To help illustrate this feature, let’s look at a day in Mike’s shoes:

1. Mike’s morning workouts app gathers personal health information from the Healthkit to create the right fitness workout profile for him. This will take into account important health data like current weight, caloric intake trends, etc. Mike would no longer have to input this data himself.

2. Mike would use the app’s workout and health programs to help improve his overall health status.

3. The app would then collate all the data from the workout and report it to Healthkit, updating the user’s personal health data with new stats and results of the workout.

4. Mike would then use several other supported fitness apps from the App Store during other times of the day.

5. The other apps will collect data from the Healthkit and then send the results back to Healthkit after use.

At the end of the day, Mike would have all the data and results from his other apps collated and illustrated in a singular app – the Healthkit, without having to input and collate the data himself, turning the whole thing into an automatic process.

Application Essentials: Five Things to Consider When Developing an Application

Technological advances in the area of electronic devices are this millennium’s greatest investment. Smartphones, tablets, notebooks, laptops, personal computers are just some of the devices that have received major overhaul and improvement. An application has been the major selling point of different electronic devices, so far as developing an application that would be the next big thing in the area of technological advancement.

These five important things should be considered when developing an application.

1) Platform
There are many different platforms available to choose from when developing an application. Mobile platforms (Android, iOS, Windows), desktop platforms (Windows, Linux, Mac), and web applications are just some of the platforms to choose from. Typically, an application that runs in all or most platforms would be the most ideal scenario but it takes a huge amount of time and dedication and is not an easy task. A single platform allows you to develop the application accurately and efficiently.

2) Testing
A newly developed application needs to be tested before a commercial version is released. There are three stages in testing: alpha, closed-beta, and open-beta. Each stage consist mostly of testers trying out the application from its early stage of development, discovering bugs and glitches, suggesting further contents and features, and giving feedback. Testing ensure that the application runs smoothly and properly and all known bugs and glitches are fixed.

3) Target audience
The intended target audience for an application should always be all age group with access to the applications’ platforms. But not all applications are intended for all age group and not all people have access to certain platforms. To ensure that the application will expand into different areas, targeting nearby audiences like your city or your country should be the first target.

4) Support
The more people know and use the application, the more popular and attention the application gets. The contents and interface of the application should be improved as new versions of the application are released. Consumers will want to have new and added features and the compatibility of the application should be expanded into other and all platforms.

5) Price
Developing an application does not mean it is a business venture. Some developed an application to help fellow consumers and made it free but some developed for profits. If that’s the case, pricing the application requires systematic analysis and considerable insights around the target audience. If the price of the application is expensive, consumers will think twice before buying it which leads to limited growth and expansion of the application.

Considering there are many applications that have been created, developing an application is a challenge many developers are still seeing through.

iPhone 6 Reviews

Apple finally unleashed the next generation of their iPhones, the iPhone 6. Many would instantly recognize that it is a lot larger than the previous generations. The company has finally embraced the larger screen, which many would argue is long overdue, there is a lot more to this phone than the bigger screen.

The Pros:

The iPhone 6 finally hits HD resolution for the optimal video watching experience. While screens of the iPhone before were definitely very sharp, it failed to optimize HD playback. Coupled with the high resolution display is the new A8 processor, another investment in 64-bit processing and a noticeable increase in performance over the A7. It is a medley of better app performance and immersion.

Another new adoption is the NFC chip which will be marketed with Apple Pay, a mobile payment service that is soon to come. Whether this will be better than Google Wallet is still up in the air. What we do know is that Apple has the connections and influences to make it work.

Finally, we look at the improved camera. While it may have retained the same 8MP camera size, the quality of each shot has been vastly improved. Apple also increased the focus speed of every shot so you can still capture those moments that just might slip away with a slower focusing camera. With a limited internal space and people’s reliance on cloud storage, a lower file size yet higher quality shot is indeed a better option.

The Cons:

With the iPhone 6, there are a few things you may notice that other phones might do better for you. For one thing, the display may be bigger, but the bezel has also increased. Apple fit only a 4.7-inch display in a phone size that could easily fit a 5-inch display.

The overall size of the phone becomes a con for those who actually agreed to Apple’s previous notion that a phone should be easy to handle with just one hand. That is now nearly impossible with the iPhone 6 since you cannot grip it as tightly as the iPhone 5s. The reachability feature is highly helpful, but it simply isn’t the same as before.

In their drive to slim down the phone to help offset the larger frame, the phone suffers in battery life. While it is not worse than the previous iPhone 5s, it is definitely not any better. Other phones with larger frames embraced the size of the phone and put in a larger and longer lasting battery to match the obviously longer time you will spend staring at the bigger display.

Conclusion:

Pure specs may keep the iPhone 6 down against competitors, but Apple’s uniquely married hardware and software still dishes out a more optimized performance than the higher spec alternatives in the market. The lack of new features may leave a lot of people wanting, but it seems Apple only seeks to perfect their previous design and features before focusing on building new ones right now, all except for the battery it seems.

iBeacon in Healthcare – A Beacon of Hope

What if you could access the health records of a patient on your phone? What if you could determine the location of the patient in a hospital? What about the assigned doctor and nurses to the patient? All of this could be possible with the help of Apple Inc. newest Bluetooth technology – the iBeacon.

iBeacon is the newest Bluetooth technology introduced by Apple Inc. and works using the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology or Bluetooth Smart. It provides location-based information and services to similar operating system or a compatible app. Hospitals with iBeacon can greatly raise quality service and provide valuable information to its customers specifically the families and patients.

With iBeacon, hospitals can dissipate information quickly and efficiently and all visiting customers will be able to track the location and room number of the patient they/re looking for. Customers will also be able to pinpoint the exact location of its facilities and other services. Promos, price rate, story, mission and vision of the hospital can also be provided to its customers with the help of iBeacon.

Accessing health records of patients is also a nice addition to the services a hospital can provide. Although security measures must be maintain to ensure all health records are only for confidential uses and will not be leaked outside. Medicine transcription and dosage can also be provided alongside the health records of patients to their customers. Most importantly, customers can keep track of the bills of the patient and can also settle payments.

iBeacon has been commercially been used for retail stores, and since then many establishments have been doing the same thing. It would be a huge step forward if hospitals would be able to utilize iBeacon to its full potential.

iBeacons – A changing face of retail

A week before we have talked about the iBeacon technology and have unfolded many questions about it. Earlier, while much of the focus was on what are iBeacons? How does it work etc etc, Today, we will explore the other side of it which we think you will love. We all love shopping; so what if you receive valuable information about an on going sale, any offer, information about what you are looking for and that to just when you enter a store, Isn’t it amazing and helpful, You don’t have to look and search for offers, coupons, or you no longer have to find your way for any specific store or mall, because now iBeacon will do all this for you.

Lets have a look that how this small coin sized and low cost device has made all the retailers to focus on itself;

  • Promotions: In the right place and at the right time retailers can send customized notifications about different offers, coupons or personalized loyalty programs based on the location, time and purchase history of the shoppers.
  • Monitoring: Retailers can monitor your shopping behaviour and can send information prior to purchase. They can do so by tracking down your visits, your path ways, where you stay longer, how long you stay infront of specific display etc. Then the system can provide information like reviews about the product, other style and colour and other relevant information. Wow, I believe this will make shopping so easy and stressless.
  • Navigation: Finding your way around a shopping mall can be a challenge for you, If it is, then you don’t have to worry since iBeacon can be of much help, you can track down your way through map.

Since we have been talking about the tracking thing, some of you may feel that these notifications are obtrusive and create a feeling of being spied. In such a case you don’t have to fret since it is a one way process. iBeacons can send signals but can not receive any information. Moreover, receiving these information is something which can not happen without your wish. For that you have to download this app, have to turn your bluetooth and location services on.

Infact some of the retailers have already started using it and customers are exploring their interest through it. Its not an another technology hype but its a change, change to your experience. We still have many sectors to unravel and evaluate the usage of iBeacons in them for that I would say – Stay tuned, we will bring it soon!!