57-472: Bezeq's B144 services include an online business guide (b144.co.il), the 144 call center and a mobile app . The service provides access to telephone numbers and addresses of any business or person in Israel. The website also includes map services, postal code search etc. During the first years of its existence, the service was established in the form of a call center, in which the operators were connecting calls to
114-541: A DVD . Some companies, such as Bookmasters Distribution, which invested US$ 4.5 million in upgrading its equipment and operating systems, have had to direct capital toward keeping up with the changes in technology. The phenomenon of books going digital has given users the ability to access their books on handheld digital book readers. One benefit of electronic book readers is that they allow users to access additional content via hypertext links. These electronic book readers also give users portability for their books since
171-539: A hard drive or other forms of storage media may allow offline access in the future. Specialist networks known as content delivery networks help distribute content over the Internet by ensuring both high availability and high performance. Alternative technologies for content delivery include peer-to-peer file sharing technologies. Alternatively, content delivery platforms create and syndicate content remotely, acting like hosted content management systems . Unrelated to
228-723: A mobile device such as a phone , tablet , or watch . Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on desktop computers , and web applications which run in mobile web browsers rather than directly on the mobile device. Apps were originally intended for productivity assistance such as email, calendar, and contact databases, but the public demand for apps caused rapid expansion into other areas such as mobile games , factory automation , GPS and location-based services , order-tracking, and ticket purchases, so that there are now millions of apps available. Many apps require Internet access. Apps are generally downloaded from app stores , which are
285-669: A browser, which can be noticeably slower than the equivalent native app. It also may not have the same level of features as the native app. The concept of the hybrid app is a mix of native and web-based apps. Apps developed using Apache Cordova , Flutter , Xamarin , React Native , Sencha Touch , and other frameworks fall into this category. These are made to support web and native technologies across multiple platforms. Moreover, these apps are easier and faster to develop. It involves use of single codebase which works in multiple mobile operating systems. Despite such advantages, hybrid apps exhibit lower performance. Often, apps fail to bear
342-504: A browser. Hybrid apps are built using web technologies such as JavaScript , CSS, and HTML5 and function like web apps disguised in a native container. Most mobile devices are sold with several apps bundled as pre-installed software, such as a web browser , email client , calendar , mapping program, and an app for buying music , other media, or more apps. Some pre-installed apps can be removed by an ordinary uninstall process, thus leaving more storage space for desired ones. Where
399-552: A growing number of mobile applications available at app stores and the improved capabilities of smartphones, people are downloading more applications to their devices. Usage of mobile apps has become increasingly prevalent across mobile phone users. A May 2012 comScore study reported that during the previous quarter, more mobile subscribers used apps than browsed the web on their devices: 51.1% vs. 49.8% respectively. Researchers found that usage of mobile apps strongly correlates with user context and depends on user's location and time of
456-405: A major publisher of science fiction and fantasy books, started to sell e-books DRM-free by July 2012. One year later the publisher stated that they will keep this model as removing DRM was not hurting their digital distribution ebook business. Smaller e-book publishers such as O'Reilly Media , Carina Press and Baen Books had already forgone DRM previously. Online distribution is changing
513-541: A mobile device's screen size for a user's hand. Mobile UI contexts signal cues from user activity, such as location and scheduling that can be shown from user interactions within a mobile application. Overall, mobile UI design's goal is primarily for an understandable, user-friendly interface. Mobile UIs, or front-ends, rely on mobile back-ends to support access to enterprise systems. The mobile back-end facilitates data routing, security, authentication, authorization, working off-line, and service orchestration. This functionality
570-432: A reader can hold multiple books depending on the size of its hard drive . Companies that are able to adapt and make changes to capitalize on the digital media market have seen sales surge. Vice President of Perseus Books Group stated that since shifting to electronic books (e-books), it saw sales rise by 68% . Independent Publishers Group experienced a sales boost of 23% in the first quarter of 2012 alone. Tor Books ,
627-485: A result, most businesses develop apps for multiple platforms. While developing native apps, professionals incorporate best-in-class user interface modules. This accounts for better performance, consistency and good user experience. Users also benefit from wider access to application programming interfaces and make limitless use of all apps from the particular device. Further, they also switch over from one app to another effortlessly. The main purpose for creating such apps
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#1733084934095684-560: A retailer is the Canadian music chain Sam the Record Man ; the company blamed online distribution for having to close a number of its traditional retail venues in 2007–08. One main reason that sales took such a big hit was that unlicensed downloads of music were very accessible. With copyright infringement affecting sales, the music industry realized it needed to change its business model to keep up with
741-634: A type of digital distribution platforms. The term "app", short for " application ", has since become very popular; in 2010, it was listed as " Word of the Year " by the American Dialect Society . Apps are broadly classified into three types: native apps, hybrid and web apps. Native applications are designed specifically for a mobile operating system, typically iOS or Android. Web apps are written in HTML5 or CSS and typically run through
798-422: Is gog.com which has a strict non-DRM policy while most other services allow various (strict or less strict) forms of DRM. Digital distribution is also more eco-friendly than physical. Optical discs are made of polycarbonate plastic and aluminum . The creation of 30 of them requires the use of 300 cubic feet of natural gas , two cups of oil and 24 gallons of water. The protective cases for an optical disc
855-438: Is app wrapping . But there also are some disadvantages like copyright infringement or the loss of warranty rights. Functionality, productivity and user experience are particularly limited under app wrapping. The policies of a wrapped app can not be changed. If required, it must be recreated from scratch, adding cost. An app wrapper is a mobile app made wholly from an existing website or platform , with few or no changes made to
912-471: Is a paid service, while the B144 website serves millions of customers free of charge. Along with the worldwide adoption of the technological progress and more extensive use of the Internet and the cellular networks , it became clear that there is a need for an accessible web platform that will be able to provide its users with an immediate and free response. As a result, in the beginning of the 2000s Bezeq launches
969-472: Is also essential. Mobile UI considers constraints and contexts, screen, input and mobility as outlines for design. The user is often the focus of interaction with their device, and the interface entails components of both hardware and software. User input allows for the users to manipulate a system, and device's output allows the system to indicate the effects of the users' manipulation. Mobile UI design constraints include limited attention and form factors, such as
1026-414: Is an alternate approach to security. Rather than controlling an employee/s entire device, containerization apps create isolated pockets separate from personal data. Company control of the device only extends to that separate container. Especially when employees " bring your own device " (BYOD), mobile apps can be a significant security risk for businesses, because they transfer unprotected sensitive data to
1083-517: Is generally used to describe distribution over an online delivery medium, such as the Internet , thus bypassing physical distribution methods, such as paper , optical discs , and VHS videocassettes. The term online distribution is typically applied to freestanding products; downloadable add-ons for other products are more commonly known as downloadable content . With the advancement of network bandwidth capabilities, online distribution became prominent in
1140-416: Is made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a known carcinogen . A general issue is the large number of incompatible data formats in which content is delivered, possibly restricting the devices that may be used, or making data conversion necessary. Streaming services can have several drawbacks: requiring a constant Internet connection to use content; the restriction of some content to never be stored locally;
1197-426: Is meant to off-set the security risk of a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) work strategy. When an employee brings a personal device into an enterprise setting, mobile application management enables the corporate IT staff to transfer required applications, control access to business data, and remove locally cached business data from the device if it is lost, or when its owner no longer works with the company. Containerization
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#17330849340951254-514: Is possible to offer native apps securely through enterprise mobility management . This enables more flexible IT management as apps can be easily implemented and policies adjusted at any time. Digital distribution Digital distribution , also referred to as content delivery , online distribution , or electronic software distribution , among others, is the delivery or distribution of digital media content such as audio , video , e-books , video games , and other software . The term
1311-453: Is primarily used to distribute "Windows Store apps"—which are primarily built for use on tablets and other touch-based devices (but can still be used with a keyboard and mouse , and on desktop computers and laptops ). Mobile application management (MAM) describes software and services responsible for provisioning and controlling access to internally developed and commercially available mobile apps used in business settings. The strategy
1368-747: Is supported by a mix of middleware components including mobile app servers , Mobile Backend as a service (MBaaS), and SOA infrastructure. Conversational interfaces display the computer interface and present interactions through text instead of graphic elements. They emulate conversations with real humans. There are two main types of conversational interfaces: voice assistants (like the Amazon Echo ) and chatbots . Conversational interfaces are growing particularly practical as users are starting to feel overwhelmed with mobile apps (a term known as "app fatigue"). David Limp, Amazon's senior vice president of devices, says in an interview with Bloomberg, "We believe
1425-425: Is to ensure best performance for a specific mobile operating system. A web-based app is implemented with the standard web technologies of HTML , CSS , and JavaScript . Internet access is typically required for proper behavior or being able to use all features compared to offline usage. Most, if not all, user data is stored in the cloud . The performance of these apps is similar to a web application running in
1482-524: The Amazon Appstore and F-Droid . Usually, they are downloaded from the platform to a target device, but sometimes they can be downloaded to laptops or desktop computers . Apps can also be installed manually, for example by running an Android application package on Android devices. Some apps are freeware , while others have a price, which can be upfront or a subscription . Some apps also include microtransactions and/or advertising . In any case,
1539-464: The 21st century, with prominent platforms such as Amazon Video , and Netflix 's streaming service starting in 2007. Content distributed online may be streamed or downloaded, and often consists of books , films and television programs , music , software, and video games. Streaming involves downloading and using content at a user's request, or "on-demand", rather than allowing a user to store it permanently. In contrast, fully downloading content to
1596-784: The App Store has 650,000 available apps to download as well as 30 billion apps downloaded from the app store until that date. From an alternative perspective, figures seen in July 2013 by the BBC from tracking service Adeven indicate over two-thirds of apps in the store are "zombies", barely ever installed by consumers. Microsoft Store (formerly known as the Windows Store) was introduced by Microsoft in 2012 for its Windows 8 and Windows RT platforms. While it can also carry listings for traditional desktop programs certified for compatibility with Windows 8, it
1653-473: The Google Play Store surpassed 50 billion, of the over 1 million apps available. As of September 2016, according to Statista the number of apps available exceeded 2.4 million. Over 80% of apps in the Google Play Store are free to download. The store generated a revenue of 6 billion U.S. dollars in 2015. Apple 's App Store for iOS and iPadOS was not the first app distribution service, but it ignited
1710-574: The IPs you signed, your art direction would not change, and so on. Now it's the opposite extreme: we can put something up on Steam, deliver it to people all around the world, make changes. We can take more interesting risks.[...] Retail doesn't know how to deal with those games. On Steam [a digital distributor] there's no shelf-space restriction. Since the 2000s, there has been an increasing number of smaller and niche titles available and commercially successful, e.g. remakes of classic games. The new possibility of
1767-403: The Internet without knowledge and consent of the users. Reports of stolen corporate data show how quickly corporate and personal data can fall into the wrong hands. Data theft is not just the loss of confidential information, but makes companies vulnerable to attack and blackmail. Professional mobile application management helps companies protect their data. One option for securing corporate data
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1824-497: The above, the term "digital distribution" is also used in film distribution to describe the distribution of content through physical digital media, in opposition to distribution by analog media such as photographic film and magnetic tape (see: digital cinema ). The rise of online distribution has provided controversy for the traditional business models and resulted in challenges as well as new opportunities for traditional retailers and publishers. Online distribution affects all of
1881-601: The app economy creates revenues of more than € 10 billion per year within the European Union, while over 529,000 jobs have been created in 28 EU states due to the growth of the app market. Mobile applications may be classified by numerous methods. A common scheme is to distinguish native , web-based, and hybrid apps. All apps targeted toward a particular mobile platform are known as native apps. Therefore, an app intended for Apple device does not run in Android devices. As
1938-478: The cellular networks as well as of the domestic operator, allowing to retrieve both private and business contact information. At the same time, an additional service for business clients was launched – the B144 Business Guide. The B144 Business Guide is a search engine and a database of Israeli companies which is maintained and updated by Bezeq on a daily basis, in accordance with the information received from
1995-487: The content owner directly or from third-party services. YouTube , Netflix , Hulu , Vudu , Amazon Prime Video , DirecTV , SlingTV and other Internet-based video services allow content owners to let users access their content on computers, smartphones, tablets or by using appliances such as video game consoles, set-top boxes or Smart TVs . Many film distributors also include a Digital Copy , also called Digital HD, with Blu-ray disc , Ultra HD Blu-ray , 3D Blu-ray or
2052-557: The day. Mobile apps are playing an ever-increasing role within healthcare and when designed and integrated correctly can yield many benefits. Market research firm Gartner predicted that 102 billion apps would be downloaded in 2013 (91% of them free), which would generate $ 26 billion in the US, up 44.4% on 2012's US$ 18 billion. By Q2 2015, the Google Play and Apple stores alone generated $ 5 billion. An analyst report estimates that
2109-712: The digital distribution stimulated also the creation of game titles of very small video game producers like Independent game developer and Modders (e.g. Garry's Mod ), which were before not commercially feasible. The years after 2004 saw the rise of many digital distribution services on the PC, such as Amazon Services , Desura , GameStop , Games for Windows – Live , Impulse , Steam , Origin , Battle.net , Direct2Drive , GOG.com , Epic Games Store and GamersGate . The offered properties differ significantly: while most of these digital distributors do not allow reselling of bought games, Green Man Gaming allows this. Another example
2166-483: The explosion in number and variety of apps made discovery a challenge, which in turn led to the creation of a wide range of review, recommendation, and curation sources, including blogs, magazines, and dedicated online app-discovery services. In 2014 government regulatory agencies began trying to regulate and curate apps, particularly medical apps. Some companies offer apps as an alternative method to deliver content with certain advantages over an official website . With
2223-430: The form of a pre-recorded message, similar to the way it works today. At the same time the infrastructure of the call center was upgraded as well, making the operation of additional services possible, such as "a call completion service" that connects the customer to the demanded phone number. The 144 call center service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and every day of the year except Yom Kippur . The call center
2280-425: The mobile revolution and was opened on July 10, 2008, and as of September 2016, reported over 140 billion downloads. The original AppStore was first demonstrated to Steve Jobs in 1993 by Jesse Tayler at NeXTWorld Expo As of June 6, 2011, there were 425,000 apps available, which had been downloaded by 200 million iOS users. During Apple's 2012 Worldwide Developers Conference , CEO Tim Cook announced that
2337-518: The next big platform is voice." The three biggest app stores are Google Play for Android , App Store for iOS , and Microsoft Store for Windows 10 , Windows 10 Mobile , and Xbox One . Google Play (formerly known as the Android Market) is an international online software store developed by Google for Android devices. It opened in October 2008. In July 2013, the number of apps downloaded via
B144 - Misplaced Pages Continue
2394-400: The online 144 directory. The website offered services similar to 144, free of charge, although still based on the previous technological solutions. In February 2007 Bezeq announces the opening of the renewed 144 and 1344 call centers, both of them eventually united under the B144 brand. The most prominent feature of the united website was that for the first time it included phone numbers of all
2451-472: The platforms (although these issues can be overcome with mobile device detection). Mobile application development requires the use of specialized integrated development environments . Mobile apps are first tested within the development environment using emulators and later subjected to field testing. Emulators provide an inexpensive way to test applications on mobile phones to which developers may not have physical access. Mobile user interface (UI) Design
2508-424: The rapidly changing technology. The step that was taken to move the music industry into the online space has been successful for several reasons. The development of lossy audio compression file formats such as MP3 could take 30 MB for a typical 3-minute song and bring it down to 3 MB without any serious loss of quality. Lossless FLAC files can be up to six times larger than an MP3 while, in comparison,
2565-427: The required destinations. Later the service was upgraded to be able to provide required phone numbers manually, using cards. During the 1980s, the first computerized systems have been used to enable an automatic search for private and business phone numbers. In the middle of the 1980s, the call center's number was changed from 14 to 144. In the 1990s a computer system was developed to deliver the required phone number in
2622-537: The revenue is usually split between the application's creator and the app store. The same app can, therefore, cost a different price depending on the mobile platform. Mobile apps were originally offered for general productivity and information retrieval, including email, calendar , contacts, the stock market and weather information. However, public demand and the availability of developer tools drove rapid expansion into other categories, such as those handled by desktop application software packages. As with other software,
2679-426: The rise of music streaming services . In 2017, physical formats overtook downloading again for the first time in six years, but despite the vinyl revival and CDs holding its own, the physical formats account for only 11% revenue as of 2023, while streaming services are dominant with 84% of the US industry. Many traditional network television shows, movies and other video content is now available online, either from
2736-510: The same look-and-feel in different mobile operating systems. Developing apps for mobile devices requires considering the constraints and features of these devices. Mobile devices run on battery and have less powerful processors than personal computers and also have more features such as location detection and cameras. Developers also have to consider a wide array of screen sizes, hardware specifications and configurations because of intense competition in mobile software and changes within each of
2793-451: The same song might require 30–40 megabytes of storage on a CD. The smaller file size yields much greater Internet transfer speeds. The transition into the online space has boosted sales, and profit for some artists. It has also allowed for potentially lower expenses such as lower coordination costs, lower distribution costs, as well as the possibility for redistributed total profits. These lower costs have aided new artists in breaking onto
2850-404: The scene and gaining recognition. In the past, some emerging artists have struggled to find a way to market themselves and compete in the various distribution channels. The Internet may give artists more control over their music in terms of ownership, rights, creative process, pricing, and more. In addition to providing global users with easier access to content, online stores allow users to choose
2907-540: The software does not allow this, some devices can be rooted to eliminate the undesired apps. Apps that are not preinstalled are usually available through distribution platforms called app stores . These may operated by the owner of the device's mobile operating system , such as the App Store or Google Play Store ; by the device manufacturers, such as the Galaxy Store and Huawei AppGallery ; or by third parties, such as
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#17330849340952964-400: The songs they wish instead of having to purchase an entire album from which there may only be one or two titles that the buyer enjoys. The number of downloaded single tracks rose from 160 million in 2004 to 795 million in 2006, which accounted for a revenue boost from US$ 397 million to US$ 2 billion. Downloading peaked in the US in 2012, after which it started falling due to
3021-487: The structure of the video game industry . Gabe Newell , creator of the digital distribution service Steam , formulated the advantages over physical retail distribution as such: The worst days [for game development] were the cartridge days for the NES. It was a huge risk – you had all this money tied up in silicon in a warehouse somewhere, and so you'd be conservative in the decisions you felt you could make, very conservative in
3078-461: The telecom companies. The Guide allows searching for businesses, persons, focus groups, governmental and non-governmental organizations, while the search results may be filtered by location, reviews rating, availability and more. Since 2009, the B144 service is also available in the form of a mobile application that was developed to enable a quick and intuitive search for businesses, people and maps. In 2011 Bezeq has added an advanced map system as one of
3135-466: The traditional media markets, including music, press, and broadcasting. In Britain, the iPlayer , a software application for streaming television and radio, accounts for 5% of all bandwidth used in the United Kingdom . The move towards online distribution led to a dip in sales in the 2000s; CD sales were nearly cut in half around this time. One such example of online distribution taking its toll on
3192-473: The underlying application. The "wrapper" is essentially a new management layer that allows developers to set up usage policies appropriate for app use. Examples of these policies include whether or not authentication is required, allowing data to be stored on the device, and enabling/disabling file sharing between users. Because most app wrappers are often websites first, they often do not align with iOS or Android Developer guidelines. Alternatively, it
3249-440: The website's features. Since 2012, the B144 service uses Waze app as a navigation help tool: a feature that provides the users with arrival instructions to the required destination. B144 Digital is Bezeq's B144 digital marketing agency which offers digital advertising for small and medium businesses in Israel. Mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on
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