Difference Between Widgets and Apps

Widgets vs Apps

Gone are the days when mobiles were meant just for talking. Today is the turn of smartphones and other mobiles that are internet based and make heavy use of widgets and apps. These are programs that make available tons of information as well as entertainment through internet on mobile phones. Many people remain confused by the differences between widgets and apps and think of them as being same. However, there are differences that will be discussed in this article.

Apps are abbreviation for applications that are developed for various uses. You must be aware of Adobe and Flash that are world famous applications used by websites to attract traffic. Similar programs are widgets that are mostly seen as part of apps though there are many standalone widgets also. The major difference between widgets and apps is that widgets can be run automatically from the home screen of your mobile without having to make a call

For example, if you have installed a widget of weather information in the browser of your phone, just a click will let you know all about the weather in your city without having to open any website which would take a lot of time. Similarly there are widgets that allow the user latest information about sports, share markets, restaurants and shopping world. This means a user not only saves on time but also money as otherwise he would spend on download of data. These widgets also help in saving battery life of your smartphone. Another advantage is the saving in terms of memory space in your handset.

Apps, on the other hand are applications or software that need to be installed on the handset and one needs to open them whenever one needs to enjoy their content. For example, Angry Birds is a game but is an app that one has to download by buying it from the Android app store. After downloading, the app resides in your phone and you can make use of it whenever you wish to enjoy it. You can choose to make a shortcut for the app on your home screen to click on it to run the app.

Summary:

In general, widgets are data feed managers such as those that deal with social networking sites, news, sports, weather etc. Widgets are standalone pieces of embeddable code. Apps are programs that you need to open while widgets are apps that are always running on the home screen. For example, a battery app needs to be run to know the back up time of your battery whereas a battery widget runs on the screen and you get to know the remaining power of your battery without having to click on any icon.