Detroit -- When Charles Walker wanted to beef up security at his Save-A-Lot grocery
store on the city's east side, he reached for his cell phone.
Walker, whose store had been burglarized several times, added a mobile surveillance
system to his phone. The application sends video from the store's security cameras
to Walker's phone, enabling him to keep an eye on things even when he's not there.
"I had so many break-ins at one time, I had to do something to see what's going
on," said Walker, who noted there have been no burglaries since he started using
the app in January. "If I feel uncomfortable or if I think something's wrong, I
can check it out on my phone before I walk in."
Security apps, covering surveillance, emergencies and privacy issues, are a promising
segment of the booming mobile application industry. And a handful of Michigan companies
are among those launching apps to help curtail crime from the palm of your hand.
Although the mobile apps industry is in its infancy, U.S. consumers so far this
year have spent more than $2.47 billion on apps for everything from social networking
to banking. That's up from $1.64 billion in all of 2009, according to an eMarketer
report on the industry.
"Everything mobile is a growing trend," said Amy Cell of Ann Arbor Spark, an economic
development group. "That's the way technology is moving."
eMarketer, an Internet research firm, attributes the massive growth to the popularity
of smartphones. About 25 percent of U.S. consumers now have smartphones, and that
number is expected to double by the end of 2011.
"Smartphones are helping push the market forward," said Noah Elkin, a senior analyst
at eMarketer.
While security or emergency apps can help at times, one security expert cautioned
that nothing is fail proof. Thomas Ryan, co-owner of Provide Security in New York
City, said there are devices -- although illegal -- that a hacker could use to block
your phone's communication abilities.
"If that person had a wireless jammer, all the security on the phone is not going
to save you," said Ryan, a government and military security consultant for 20 years.
"(Your) laptop wouldn't work, (your) cell phone, nothing."
But such challenges haven't stopped startups and other companies from jumping into
the market.
Detroit-based Mist Innovations Inc., which installed the mobile surveillance system
at Walker's Save-A-Lot, launched the application in 2006. Since then, the company
has sold the program to more than 20 stores in Metro Detroit and 36 nationwide.
Alarm.com, based in Vienna, Va., provides a similar application to more than 400,000
residential and small business customers, including about 4,000 in Michigan. Its
app can arm and disarm alarms, lock and unlock doors and turn lights on and off.
Mobile security doesn't end with surveillance cameras.
Fred and Marsha Newman, both University of Michigan graduates, launched an emergency
app, OnCall Defender, in July through their startup AMP LLC, based in Los Angeles.
The app allows a user to call for help with the press of a button. The system sends
the GPS location, a photo and other relevant information to assist emergency responders.
In the event of a false alarm, a user can cancel by using a password.
"Clearly, there's a global demand for this," said Fred Newman, who plans to release
the app in Canada, the UK, Europe, Southern Africa, Latin America, Australia and
New Zealand later this year. "Crime is universal."
Other apps guard your privacy.
Ilium Software in Ann Arbor has developed eWallet, which stores all of a user's
private information -- names, passwords, PIN numbers, credit cards, and bank accounts
-- and allows access with one password. The app keeps users safe from hackers, so
people can "stop choosing weak passwords just so (they) won't forget," according
to the company's website.
Thanks to the popularity of smartphones, mobile transactions have become more popular
and eWallet sales have jumped by 270 percent since 2005, the company said. Ilium
has sold more than 500,000 copies overall. "If your password is 123, that's a bad
password," Ilium spokeswoman Ellen Craw said. "People have to do everything they
can to protect themselves."