If you are thinking of giving an app to a friend or family member for the holidays this year, there’s no need to look far. Utah is leading the way with some of the hottest app development teams in the nation.
The Bloom Built team created Day One, a journaling app, which took home the prestigious Apple Design Award for "raising the bar in design technology, and innovation." Only 12 apps were given the award out of the over one million apps that are available in the app store. The Day One app Day was created as a platform to log short notes throughout the day to create a personal timeline of your work and personal thoughts. One of the things that make the app unique is that it is a private, personal history and personal reference. The app has previously won the "Mac App of the Year" award in 2012.
HABITRPG is one of many in the personal growth and self help sectors that promises to “gamify your life” by turning all your tasks (habits, dailies, and to-dos) into little monsters you have to conquer. The better you are at this, the more you progress in the game. The app is widely used by individuals, families, health and wellness groups, employee groups, and more.
For musicians, The Stage Plot Guru for iPad app, developed by local musician Cj. Burton and Active Media Production Group is slated for release on December 25, 2014, and is already in high demand by stage managers, festival planners, and musicians all over the nation. The app is in such high demand and fills an otherwise unsatisfied vacancy in mobile space-planning tools that future versions of the app have already been developed for everything from meeting room and business spaces to venues, clubs, and concert halls.
The Bubble Ball app was created by Utah’s Nay Games CEO, computer prodigy Robert Nay, when he was just 14 years old. Bubble Ball is a physics puzzle game that has surpassed 16 million downloads, at one point displacing Angry Birds from its number one spot on the list of free games in Apple app store.
While not likely to make your loved ones gift list, a handful of state and local governments have also designed mobile-friendly websites and services that might be useful. Utah was the first state to develop an iPhone app, which came out in 2009, to let users check the licensure status of professionals in the state. It was also the first state to create an app for Google Glass that sends users notifications about approaching trains and light rail and other transit-related information. Another app allows users to report the precise location of roadkill, meaning the state wastes less time cleaning it up. Finally, the state is investigating ways to use a new biometric fingerprint scanning feature, which will be available on the next version of Apple’s iPhone operating system.
The “Silicon Slopes” of Utah is supported by the State’s many investments in the technology sector and by strong trade associations including the Utah Technology Council and Women Tech Council. It's likely to be a force for innovative app development in the future.