Between wifi hotspots and cellular coverage, mobile iPhone app, iPad app, and Android app users typically enjoy widespread access to internet connectivity. Yet many scenarios still exist where connections are either impossible, too expensive, or simply not reliable enough to access online content.

Slow to nonexistent in-flight internet connections, wireless data plans with pricey global roaming, and smaller cities without access to 4G all come to mind. Even larger buildings often have dead zones where internet connectivity is less than ideal. 

At AppBurst, we focus on building mobile apps that alleviate the burden of having a stable internet connection. Our mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices all store a significant amount content on a user’s device for offline use -- a feature known as mobile app content caching. A mobile application’s data can therefore be accessed without an internet connection, enabling users to enjoy 24/7 access to content. 

We work with clients individually to determine which content is a must-have for offline use, as well as content best suited for “on-demand” access via the internet. First and foremost, after downloading and running the app for the first time, all files and content needed to effectively run the mobile application will be downloaded and stored on a user’s device. In other words, the content is cached and only updated when the app has a stable internet connection and one of the following events occur: our client has specified the old content is out of date or the cache time naturally expires and content needs to be re-downloaded. 

The content cached on a device enables users to access the most important content of the app offline, whether it be the conference agenda in mobile event apps, game guide for video game companion apps, or other relevant information tailor-made to your specific industry and organization.  

Additional items such as PDFs and other media can be pre-downloaded during the initial installation process or available as an “on-demand” option. In the latter instance, downloaded content will then be available for offline use after the user has selected to download the specific item from the app. Other features such as receiving RSS feed updates and sharing content via social media will naturally need internet connectivity, but a significant amount of content will always be available for users to access offline.

AppBurst continues to do everything technologically possible to create engaging mobile apps relying less and less on internet connections. To find out more about content caching and our entire lineup of mobile app solutions: