blog.

I like most people have read the countless amounts of predictions for 2012, most, if not all, mention how mobile is going to make a large impact on the future of online. I wrote a blog article last year saying that sites should consider mobile to complement desktop development. This year companies will see that they need to evolve their web presence to incorporate mobile or be missed by a large number of visitors. Visitors will spend less time, visit fewer pages and bounce more from sites they cannot view through mobile devices.

Smartphone and iPhone use in the UK is growing at a huge rate almost on a daily basis – I saw a figure this week that over 6m iOS devices were registered on Christmas Day, imagine the figure for Android devices!

People are also coming round to the idea of tablets; many were sceptical if there was a marketplace for such a device. I was one of these…until I got my iPad. I hardly use my laptop now.

Another big change, maybe not to web development, but to the way people interact with online is going to be smart TV’s. They’ve been around for a while, but this year it’s going to enter the mainstream. With the Olympics, Euro 2012 and the Diamond Jubilee retailers are going to be slashing prices and pushing us all to buy that new 50” TV. There have been some interesting developments this week from the CES conference...talk of a Google TV, Apple TV set and an Angry Birds app! I have a TiVo box from Virgin and I can now watch YouTube videos, catch up on missed programs or radio shows through the iPlayer, I could even view photos on Facebook or post updates to Twitter – all through my TV.

Online is being integrated into our lives on a daily basis and 2012 will bring with it many changes – some of which could be game changers whether we are users, web developers or designers……interesting times ahead for us all!

I was on the laptop late on Monday night and decided to check on the latest going on in the world of Facebook. After typing Facebook in Google, I noticed the New York Times had posted an article saying Facebook had finally released its iPad app! Upon clicking on the article I saw that it was true and after months of rumours it had finally been released – quietly I must add!

So straight on to the iPad – I had to see what all the fuss was about and was this really worth waiting for? I had been using the myPad app for Facebook previously, which I had to pay for (Facebook is free of course). The app has apparently been ready since May and it was anticipated for release at the recent F8 conference and also the Apple ‘Let’s talk iPhone’ event.

Upon opening the app it has a very slick and recognisable feel (especially for iPhone users). The touch navigation is intuitive, as would be expected and it was easy to navigate around pages and updates quickly and easily. I was able to message a friend with a simply click and had a box pop up without leaving their profile.

The photos on the site was where it really stepped up a level – I was able to flick through hundreds of picture on albums with ease and the navigation at the bottom of screen is an excellent feature. The photos were stunning on the iPad’s display (as much as can be with the picture quality on Facebook)..it’s where I think the iPhone app has its limitations really but due to size more than anything.

There is still features that I need to try like the chat facilities, but it was a definite improvement on the myPad app and easier to use than the Facebook site on Safari. I would definitely recommend it for any iPad user who uses Facebook on a regular basis.