Friday, February 13, 2015

FamilySearch App Gallery Highlighted at #RootsTech (#RTATEAM)

Introducing the new FamilySearch App GalleryFamilySearch recently released an App Gallery. They really want you to know about it. They’ve explained it in three of the FamilySearch sessions I’ve attended and mentioned it in two others. One speaker hearkened back to Blackberry. Not very long ago, Blackberry had a huge share of the smart phone market, but no 3rd party apps. Along came Apple iPhones, which allow 3rd party apps. It wasn’t long before there were more than a million apps extending the basic capability of iPhones. Along the way, Apple had decidedly displaced Blackberry.

FamilySearch also allows extension by 3rd party apps. Over 60 applications have been certified. There are three new ones added every month and this is expected to rise to two a week. Just recently they certified their first game apps.

The FamilySearch App Gallery showcases all the FamilySearch apps. However, it works a little differently than the Apple and Google app stores. Visit the App Gallery to learn about apps. Visit vendors’ websites to obtain apps. Go to the App Gallery directly at FamilySearch.org/apps. Currently, you can also go to the FamilySearch home page, scroll to the bottom, and click the link in the box highlighting the App Gallery. I don’t know if that will be there long term, as those boxes seem to change. Maybe FamilySearch will fix the link in the site map.

FamilySearch has built the App Gallery in such a way that vendors can upload their own content. They control what is displayed in a framework defined by FamilySearch.

In the App Gallery, browse apps by category. Filter apps by platform, price, language, and FamilySearch compatibility. Just this week FamilySearch added user ratings.

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