A cell phone app is the cool way of saying cell phone application. These applications are add-ons or bits of data added to a cell phone so it can perform functions usually unrelated to making a phone call. Cell phones always did come with a few extra things unrelated to making phone calls, but these have greatly expanded, and now many people download the extra the apps they want.

Many of the early cell phone app programs were designed to make a cellphone more like a computer. They often integrated some of the computer elements into the phone. While many of these early programs continue to be updated and used to track things like business performance or email, they are only the tip of the iceberg in modern cell phone app offerings.

Applications on a cellphone can provide the phone with additional function and use. For instance, people can now surf the net, blog, contribute to their twitter accounts, or play simple to complex games. A cell phone app might be able to find the location of a friend or turn the phone into a calculator. There are even SAT study apps, and ones that can teach people various subjects or help with studying for school.

Some of the very interesting cell phone apps may be of great help in the medical field. For instance, an app can be used to record heart rate over a period of time and send this to a doctor for review. Some cell phones have a tracking mechanism for blood sugar that can be useful for diabetics.

A few cell phone apps are more for entertainment than serious purpose. Taking their cue from MP3 players, many cellphones now allow people to find the name of song, download a song, and/or play music just as an MP3 player does. Certain apps allow people to play games together over separate cellphones.

The increase in the cell phone app market has been in part due to advancements in cell phone design. Especially any version of the smartphone, where the phone is more complex in design and has many elements in common with a personal computer, is better able to run apps and lots of them. For instance, companies like Apple® have an app store, with applications best suited for the iPhone®. Other companies are certainly following suit, and the number of potential apps available is fairly daunting; over 10,000 are available for the iPhone® alone.

Since most cellphones aren’t suited to holding every cell phone app, it may be wise to use some discretion when choosing which ones to purchase for a phone. They aren’t always compatible, either. A cool Blackberry® app may not run on an iPhone® and vice versa.