Here at Bideford People we are very excited to announce the launch

of our shiny new iPhone app. Download it for free on http://itunes.com/app/localpeople.

The app will allow you to access Bideford People content wherever

you are so you can find out where to go and what to do in Bideford while on the

move. Get relevant local news and event information straight from the horse’s

mouth as all its contributors (and that includes me and you!) are on the ground

updating what's happening all the time.

On top of that, the app has extra clever, handy features;

for example you could use the ‘top places nearby’ feature and it will recommend

all the best places where you are, right now, wherever you are.

As there are loads of reviews of restaurants, pubs, hotels,

tradesmen, shops and services you need never get caught out. It is the

equivalent of carrying a huge, opinionated directory in your pocket, as light

as your phone!

But in our excitement, we got to thinking, what is Bideford’s take

on technology? Are we Bidonions riding on the cusp of the digital mobile

revolution? And if not why not? Looking at the growth of other online phenomena,

the stats simply astound. Over 200,000,000 searches are made on Google in one

day; 20 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute; £534,000,000 was

generated from UK e-retail in one day last year; the number of unique URL’s in

Google’s index has exceeded 1 trillion, (I am not going to even attempt the

amount of noughts I need for that figure)!

By comparison, downloadable apps by mobile internet is in

its infancy, but unlike natural evolution it doesn’t take aeons for the digital

embryo to adapt, infiltrate and dominate the species. Mobile phones have been

offering richer internet experiences model on model for years, notably by increasing

mobile internet speeds through the advent of 3G, and high-speed downloads

accessible via mobile broadband. But it took the iPhone to really capture our

imagination about what we can do with our handsets, and to spawn the boom of

the ‘app’.

Calling on Bideford People, let’s see if we are representative of

these stats! Do you already own a new-generation touchscreen smartphone /

iPhone? Apparently about 8% of consumers have one, but 16% intend to buy one

next time, so if you don’t have one already, do you plan to upgrade next time

round to a smartphone? Are you a 25 to 34 male – because if you are apparently

you are 134% more likely to have an iPhone than the rest of us! And for

everyone that is holding on dearly to their fated old handsets, do you use them

to browse the internet or are you happy with gold old fashioned texting and

calling? If you are, then cherish it now, because you will soon be in the midst

of a mobile revolution.