It seems these days that there is an app for everything, from checking the weather to identifying native trees, from learning a language to booking concert tickets, and from playing online quiz games to a full-blown mobile casino experience. It seems we just cannot get enough of apps; there are almost 3,329,000 on Google Play and 2,000,000 on Apple’s App Store.
App development has become big business, and Canada punches above its weight in terms of app development. Almost 6,000 of the apps on Google Play have been developed by Canadians and Canadian-based companies.
Copyright: rvlsoft / 123RF Stock Photo
These developers are responsible for over 17,000 individual apps, and the most downloaded ones are:
– Chrono – Bus, metro and train,
– Blood Pressure App
– Walmart: Grocery & Shopping,
– Tim Hortons
– PDF Reader – PDF Viewer.
Chrono claims to be the essential app for travelling around Montreal and is the official app of the city’s transit corporations. It says it is designed to give its users a ‘complete metropolitan experience by bike, metro, river shuttle, bus or train’ and lets passengers obtain the best fares and plan the best routes. However, while it might be the most downloaded, it is not the most popular and has some pretty dismal reviews, including:
“Wait until all the bugs are sorted out: Just tried the much anticipated loading of my metro card from my phone. It read my card to recognize it at first just fine, but then failed at loading the fares on my card. Now my funds are stuck in limbo until I get refunded (an automatic from the app). Figured it would go perfectly this early in the game.”
And
“Every time I open the app it deletes my favorites. I have to continually add them. The feature to buy tickets is junk. It is so complicated, sometimes reads the card sometimes doesn’t. Cancel transaction with no reason. Just garbage”.
The Walmart app has had a much better reception. Described as the easiest way to shop for everything on your list, from household essentials to fresh groceries and the latest tech, customers are in agreement. The app promises to help sort out convenient pickup, shipping and delivery options to make it easy for shoppers to purchase online, in-store or on the go. The app measures up to its description and even has 5-star reviews from some users. Albeit after ‘irritating Walmart Plus pop up ads had been fixed’.
The thing about apps is that while there are millions of them, truth be told, most of us only use a fraction of those available. Our devices often come with some pre-loaded ones, and we automatically use social media and communications apps as part of our everyday functioning. We often get tempted to download apps that look appealing on social media and then discover we must subscribe to get the services or get bombarded with in-app purchases or ads. Apps that annoy us get offloaded pretty quickly.
Therefore, it is a good idea to look for advice on which apps are genuinely good to avoid wasting time. Fortunately, for those who enjoy gambling on the go in Canada, there are sites dedicated to reviewing online casinos, and they share information with players about the best ones after experts analyzed Canada’s 10 provinces, taking the guesswork out of the downloading experience. The reviewers rank them on criteria like bonuses on offer, win rate, best interface, best security and protection and how long the operators take to pay out. They also recommend a selection of games to play on the apps.
The Canadian Government has also developed a suite of apps to cover a truly diverse range of interest areas. These apps include:-
– ArriveCAN helps travellers save time on arrival in the country
– Baitfish Primer has been developed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada to allow users to identify and protect Ontario’s baitfishes.
– Canada Business claims to be a mobile business partner. It is a simplified all-access point for businesses to interact with the Government, find tools to build their businesses and find crucial business information.
– How Canadian are you,eh? Sounds light-hearted enough, but it is actually an app to help migrants, refugees, and wannabee citizens test their knowledge about Canada.
– NFB Films allows users to access over 6,000 feature films, documentaries and series for free. That is one for every Canadian app developer on Google Play. The National Film Board of Canada is keen to share its content
– Weather CAN uses data directly from Environment and Climate Change Canada, which is the official source for Canadian weather. It features over 1,000 locations in the country and offers current, hourly and seven-day ahead forecasts. Some people believe you can get all the news you need from the weather report.
– My Tree covers the trees of Canada and lets Canadians know which trees will thrive in which zones according to their hardiness. It provides a list of selected trees according to the mobile device’s GPS or manually input location. Users get to access photos, illustrations and essential information on each tree species featured.
– StatCAN is developed by the National Statistic Office and aims to use stats to help Canadians better understand their country. It lets users tap into expert insights on topics like employment, housing, the environment, agriculture, tourism, transportation, justice, education, immigration, health and more.
If there is an interest, it seems that there is an app for it. Even if there is no interest, someone is likely to develop an app and try to drum up enthusiasm for their favourite topic with their specialist app. Who knows what will be next?
