Competition For the App Store Is Mounting 136
MojoKid writes "Right now the only real 'competition' to Apple's App Store is the Android Market. Presently, anyone using an Android-based phone can download applications from the Android Market, which first started offering free applications in October '08. A drawback to Android application developers, however, is the fact that the potential Android Market user base is fairly small right now, as there is presently only one Android phone available, the T-Mobile G1. However, in the coming months we're also going to see more app stores come online for additional smartphone platforms. Nokia will officially launch an app store for its Symbian OS-based smartphones at Mobile World Congress on Monday. Microsoft is also getting in the game for smartphones that run the Windows Mobile OS, with Steve Ballmer delivering the keynote speech at Mobile World Congress as well."
Third-party app stores are coming, too! (Score:5, Interesting)
It will be interesting to see which model wins out after all of the industry players have their say in this growing application space - whether manufacturer-supported app stores (presumably) integrated with the devices themselves will continue to dominate, or whether third-party app stores like Xpressed will be able to find a footing, especially among developers targeting their apps across multiple platforms.
Microsoft might have a chance, but... (Score:3, Interesting)
I can see MS making an app store, but the rub is to get people to be using Windows Mobile based smartphones. So, the key is to get Nokia, LG, and other cellphone makers who are using JVMs on their low end phones to move to WM as the OS of choice. These are the cellphones that people obtain for free with a one or two year service contract, such as Motorola RAZRs. The trick is to get the phones out there in volume. I don't know if this can be done, though.
Once WM is very common, as opposed to now where it pretty much is in a limited selection of phones, both Microsoft, and the WM app makers would benefit. Windows Mobile is a decent platform to write code on. It does require signed code for smartphones for the most part (less with PocketPC devices), but app makers can buy their own certificates and do the distribution themselves.
Re:Call me... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Not because there's only 1 (Score:4, Interesting)
I for one extremely dislike virtual keyboards. It's quite clumsy to type on them, unless you have a stylus, and even then I'd prefer Graffiti. I don't mean Graffiti-like method, I mean Graffiti; both Graffiti2 from Palm and Letter Recognizer from MS are bad. Transcriber may be interesting ... if I only wanted to enter English text. In full. All the time.
I use acronyms, I use Croatian language, I use programming language keywords and variable names. I don't enter plain English text.
Graffiti is the best entry method to date, seconded by physical keyboards of any format.
Re:Just give it up... (Score:1, Interesting)
For instance, whenever asking someone why they have X brand audio device instead of Apple, the answer is "Apple is too expensive", "it doesn't play OGG", "Apple sucks".. Sure, Apple likes to maintain tight control on everything they sell. Sure, Apple likes profits, but who doesn't these days?
Once Apple realises that they can make even more money and have greater market share by reducing prices (maybe drop the price of every computer by $1000, and every audio device/phone by $200), then their marketing will be that much more effective. The problem with Apple vs. Microsoft is justifying spending $2000 on an OS. That's all you're doing. Any Apple machine can be found in Microsoft land with similar specs for 1/4th the cost.
Re:Microsoft might have a chance, but... (Score:2, Interesting)
Once WM is very common, as opposed to now where it pretty much is in a limited selection of phones, both Microsoft, and the WM app makers would benefit
Same question I posed to the guy who said things would change once Android gained market share: what circumstances are going to change that will cause WM to gain market share?
Also, OS X is in a very limited selection of phones. Ditto Android. I can name those phones, as can probably all Slashdotters and I suspect a decent number of people on the street who don't even have smartphones could, too. What phones run WM? Uh... I think some Palms do. Other than that, I have no idea. And my life doesn't seem less rich and fulfilling for not knowing.
Re:Just give it up... (Score:2, Interesting)
Back to the topic though, the iPhone would be awesome, and certainly less made fun of, if Apple would get off of their high horse about their products.. But the customer attitudes probably fuel this.
The key is to charge (Score:3, Interesting)
The reason why the App Store has taken off so phenomenally is because they handle commercial applications. This means that any geek who can knock together a mobile application is tempted to do so by potential profits. Think about it, write an app, get it approved, and then instantly make it available to millions of iPhone users who are only a click away from paying you. That's a huge advantage for Apple - because those geeks will be writing their applications for the iPhone and not the other platforms. This is why there are so many applications for the iPhone already. Apple were really smart here. If you look at the numbers, there are more 99c applications than free applications, and taken as a whole, free applications are a minority.
Android Market is soon going to be rolling out support for paid applications in much the same way as the App Store. Once this happens, you'll see a similar surge in the number of applications available for Android. It won't be as pronounced as the App Store's curve, because Apple have a head-start now, but it will certainly put Android in the game. Although the iPhone has the client numbers, Android has the developer numbers simply because you don't need a Mac to develop Android applications.
Re:Third-party app stores are coming, too! (Score:3, Interesting)
Well, if Apple ever wants to upgrade its iPhone's display resolution for play with the form factor, hopefully the API can handle that easily enough without most apps having overlapping elements and the like. But I'm sure that apps will eventually have compatibility icons for which versions of the iPhone its guaranteed to work with (when there are more versions in the future).
Truth be told, I'm surprised Apple doesn't ship an App Store with regular OS X computers by now. It would basically be their version of a repository, so reduce possibilities of malware by going to 3rd party sites plus I know enough people who have problems installing Apple programs (yes, they are that computer illiterate). It would make the newbs completely comfortable with buying, downloading, installing, and deciding whether to have the icon in the dock (with a checkmark) in one shot. Plus, it probably would drive some extra life into developing for the Mac - especially if developers don't have to bother with their own website and can expect decent payback.
I've just ditched my 3rd Windows Mobile (Score:4, Interesting)
The worst of these is Windows constant delivery of messages to the user. On a desktop the "you have unused desktop icons" bubble is annoying - on a Windows mobile device, a bubble that takes the user focus away from, say
is a serious barrier to usage.
The other thing that finally caused me to switch to a Crackberry (which is fantastic) was that it would crash on receiving a call occasionally - brilliant. It was the HTC Tytan if anybody cares.
Re:Only one Android phone? So what (Score:3, Interesting)
There is only one iPhone, but with some 12M users plus iPod Touch owners as well is a much larger customer base. We've been looking at support for mobile smart phones recently and hands down the iPhone became the priority 1 application to develop for followed by a generic mobile version of our site for everyone else.
Re:Not because there's only 1 (Score:3, Interesting)
People who don't live in sunny California who have to wear gloves for part of the year. It's actually been the deciding factor around our Toronto office when coworkers have been picking their new smart phone. Most have been opting for non-touch screen phones, or the Blackberry Storm. The inability to use the iPhone without hassle while you're on the go has ruined its chances of entering the business market.
What Policies? (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm interested what the policies are on all the different app stores. I know everyone here hates Apple's restrictive policies, but I do appreciate how I can download any app from their app store and not worry about it breaking my iphone, spreading viruses, changing system defaults, or worse (like stealing passwords).
What approval processes and policies do these other stores have?
Re:Just give it up... (Score:2, Interesting)
Apple made a net profit of $1.14bn (£683m) in the 3rd quarter last year, compared with $904m for the same period the year before, and their market share has just topped 10% for their whole product base.
How exactly are they, killing the company??
Re:Third-party app stores are coming, too! (Score:3, Interesting)
Handango is currently severely broken, now that it requires you to specify which mobile device you are using, even if all that is relevant is what version of the OS you are using.
I should be able to specify that I want to see All applications compatible with Windows Mobile 6 PPC (as opposed to Windows Mobile Smartphone which ironically refers to phones without touchscreens (i.e. what most people would call dumb-phones)), including the applications that require the presence of a phone.
As it is right now, if I go to select my device it is listed in the system under two different names (same phone hardware, but different branding, and small case-only differences). Both of these are include only a subset of all compatible software Handango sells, and more annoyingly both names for the same phone do not result in the same list of applications.
Re:Not because there's only 1 (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't mind the thickness, as I vastly prefer the tactile response of the slide-out keyboard vs. the on-screen only iPhone.
As far as the camera, I haven't taken the first picture, I have a real camera for that.
The headphone jack dongle doesn't particularly bother me though, I do admit, I'd like to be able to charge the phone and listen to tunes at the same time.
As far as the battery, you're right on. The phone should last at least twice as long per charge.
Though you didn't mention it, some people take issue with the little blackberry-esque trackball. Personally I love it. Again, it's the tactile response I like. It's great for browsing the web and I also think it works well for games.
For the overall design, it isn't the greatest but I've seen much worse on some Windows Mobile devices. It's just the bar was set so high by the iPhone, it's hard to come up with something to top it. As a side note, the bend in the bottom where the trackball and buttons are, is perfect for protecting the trackball when your phone is in a case so I think it was better to put it there than to just leave the phone straight, aesthetics be damned. Some may disagree.
Re:Just give it up... (Score:3, Interesting)
Apple is running back-to-back-to-back record quarters, in spite of the economy. Yeah, Apple is definitely on its last legs...
Re:Microsoft might have a chance, but... (Score:3, Interesting)
Once WM is very common...
After about ten years with Microsoft pushing CE/WM and using whatever resources it could to gain adoption and marketshare, if it's not very common by now there's no chance it ever will be. I could be wrong, but I don't think so in this case - there's no sign of anything amazing in the pipeline from Microsoft, and the upcoming cuts to their staffing are all but killing development in many areas.
If Microsoft couldn't do it by now, what makes you think they'll ever do it?