Mission #7: Design an App

For our seventh and (sadly) final mission we have been asked to think of an app which could potentially revolutionise the app world, and have an impact on people’s lives. There are so many apps out there in the world, and there are few that we actually use on a day to day basis that genuinely make things easier. Most are gimmicky and transient amidst a few apps which we will honestly use on a daily basis. This makes it hard to think of an app which would really make an impact on people’s lives. For this reason I’ve come at this task from a more personal perspective, and will share my thoughts on what I would like to see the Galaxy Tab being used for... or the future of all tablet technology in general.

“App”, of course, is short for “application” and I suppose I’ve interpreted that in a broader sense of the word. Not only would this be an “app” on the Tab, but it’s an application for the use the Tab which I think, and hope, could be quite far reaching.

Present for the Future


We all know that the days of the blackboard are over. Whiteboards are still just about clinging on but really it’s projectors and “interactive whiteboards” that dominate the world of education and presentations. My idea is to use the Galaxy tab as an interactive device to use in presentations. The Tab would be used to switch between slides, highlight relevant information on the screen and add a whole new dimension of interactivity to the way information and knowledge is presented to the audience. It would mean that the presenter wouldn’t have to turn around every minute to change the slide. They wouldn’t have to use a silly laser pointer to point at information while accidentally blinding half the people in the audience!

The size of the Tab would be perfect for this; you can fit it in one hand, leaving the other free to interact with the content on the tab whilst not hindering movement. The set-up would, of course, be a wireless one which would allow the Tab to be passed around the audience so that each individual could interact with what’s on screen... annotate...add text...or complete tasks.

Communal Presention and Sharing

Taking this idea a step further... imagine if everyone in the classroom, lecture or meeting had their own Tablet device. It would be possible to synchronise the app so that all devices show the same thing on the screen, but those in the audience could add their own annotations to the presentation in real time whilst their device records audio and syncs it with the change of slides/content on screen for future reference or revision. It could also be possible for different users in the group to have their device display its content on the main screen (if a screen was needed!) or other Tabs. This would allow everyone to demonstrate their knowledge or share ideas and content that couldn’t be better expressed verbally.

Ambitious?

Okay, yes, this is a rather ambitious idea: I understand that this is not something we can expect to see in the next few weeks, months or even years... but it’s already happening to some extent with computers in schools and universities... so why not take it to its more simple, portable conclusion? Apart from needing a piece of software/connectivity to connect the Tab with the projector or computer connected to the projector I think that the hardware is already sufficient to achieve this.

Over the past few years I’ve placed a few bets with friends about technology and where it will take us next and I’ve made a good amount of pocket money from it! I wouldn’t like to say that this is something which will definitely happen, certainly not in its entirety, but I do believe that this is a great application (in both senses of the word) for tablets, and would not be at all surprised if something similar to this crops up in the future!