Once upon a time, the most popular functions of phones were calling and sending texts. Today, mobile applications are powerful and popular. The first Apps on first generation mobile phones – at least those with small, monochrome displays, date back to the end of the twentieth century. Typically, they were small arcade games, ring tone editors, calculators, calendars, and so forth.
The beginning of the new millennium saw a rapid market evolution of mobile content and applications. Operating systems for smart phones (Windows Mobile, Symbian, RIM, Android, Mac iOS), are open to the development of third-party software, unlike the conventional programming environment of standard cell phones.
Fast forward to today and public safety and … Apps. Ever heard of AppComm? AppComm is APCO International’s online Application Community. The website tracks a collection of mobile applications related to public safety and emergency response for use by the general public and first responders. AppComm is also a forum where public safety professionals, the general public, and app developers can discuss and rate apps, identify unmet needs, and submit ideas for apps they’d like to see built.
AppComm segments Apps into 9-1-1, Alerts, EMS, Police, Fire, and Other. There are Apps for both the general public and for First Responders. Most are free, some charge a small price. You can’t download Apps from AppComm. You still have to go to Google Play or the iTunes store to download the App. However, AppComm lists over 180 Apps that have been developed for the public safety marketplace.
There is a terrific forum on AppComm to present ideas for public safety Apps. This part of the website explores ideas for developers who want to build and app for 9-1-1, Public Safety Field operations, including guidelines for police, fire and EMS Apps, and there’s a section where AppComm presents ideas for Apps that could be useful to the community.
Check out AppComm http://appcomm.org/ when you can and learn about one new frontier of the Apps world – Public Safety!
