A systematic review of the use of mobile technology to promote physical activity is proposed in this paper. The number of apps aimed at healthcare available in commercial stores is strongly and constantly increasing: the underpinning idea, common to most apps, is to exploit mobile and social features in order to push and encourage healthy behaviors according to guidelines.
Focusing on physical activity, the authors first identified a number of target apps, which have been analyzed and scored; then, the key features have been extracted and classified in five main categories: (1) measuring and monitoring, (2) information and analysis, (3) support and feedback, (4) adaptation, and (5) social. Such features have been contextually analyzed and correlated with external information (for example, the rating of the apps that implement them).
I found this paper readable and informative. I appreciated above all the fact that it is suitable for a wide audience, including people with a minor technical focus. The methodology adopted looks convincing and the statistics provided are useful to support further research. This is definitely a robust work.