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Competition For the App Store Is Mounting
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."
The company I work for launched a public beta of our third-party app store this week, called Xpressed (the site is brand new, so feedback is welcome). Unlike the app stores mentioned in this article, it's a true "third-party" app store meaning that we're unaffiliated with any device manufacturer or carrier, and so we plan to support any and all phones out on the market that allow applications to be downloaded and installed from non-proprietary websites. Right now this pretty much means most of the Java-based phones on the market (several hundred current phones, plus the hundreds more old and obsolete devices).
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.
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.
No, there's only one iPhone too... the drawback is that no one wants a G1, because it's a cheep plasticy lump of crap.
And how long before the malware stores pop up for the unsuspecting?
That's at least one benefit to a manufacturer run app store.
The company announced some months ago its own version of the App Store for BlackBerry, the BlackBerry Application StoreFront
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.
http://wiki.debian.org/DebianOnFreeRunner
Some of my favourite people are from th US; Vonnegut, Chomsky, Bill Hicks.
I don't really have a dog in this fight - my brother owns an iPod Touch and I have a Blackberry Curve - but it doesn't seem to me that there's much competition on any front for Apple's App Store. For most of the smart phones I wouldn't even consider buying software (I don't think my Curve delivers an experience that I want - I would rather use other portable devices to do what software could do).
The one thing that may be able to mount a challenge is the DSi's app store - but here in Japan where the DSi is already out, I am not really getting the impression that it is a must have feature.
Until someone is even mildly successful in the area, no one competition is really "mounting" for the app store.
"There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter," Jeeves, (Jeeves and the Impending Doom)
There is only one iPhone, but App developers haven't stopped producing. I like the G1 better than the iPhone since it includes a slide-out keyboard and still packs in all the other features of an iPhone. Once the G1 has been around for longer and Android gets more market share I expect the Android Market to go head to head with the App Store.
A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over. -Benjamin Franklin
"Outside the US, it it just a matter of time before Symbian and other platforms join PalmOS as interesting historical tidbits."
Ever seen some sales figures? Symbian currently is the OS on around 50% of all 'phones sold (and 40% of all smart phones) around the world. Thats more than the nearest 4 competitors combined (and that includes apple).
The US market is very limited and isolated in some senses because US patent laws restrict what can be sold in the US. In the free world we have the ability to buy 'phones which offer equivalent functionality and not pick 'phones based on who has the most patents.
Al Sutton
Apparently you have never used an S60 phone. It already has the basic mechanisms in place in the download section in the main menu. All Nokia has to do is market the server side to developers.
Mart
"I know I will be modded down for this": where's the option '-1, Asking for it'?
Apple's biggest cock-up is restricting carrier choice. I own an iPod touch and the platform is excellent, I'd love to have an iPhone but the UK Operator 02 has notoriously bad reception in my area. For business use we have established contracts and call rates as well as supporting infrastructure to reduce the cost of our calls from office to mobile. We are not going to change all that simply to get a new phone. We pay around £300 for our SmartPhones, hardware cost is not really the issue.
Jason
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.
You mean as opposed to the several dozen different phones Apple has on the market? Way to end a horribly fragmented run-on sentence with a cringe inducing logical fallacy, buddy.
Just to clarify, I'm not anti-Apple; I'm anti-Jobs. His wishes to keep Apple extremely exclusive are what is killing the company. I have an iPhone. I don't see how anyone could use the device if it weren't jailbroken due to the number of things you can't do with it (On the iPhoneOS vs. Android issue: who gives a damn?) due to Apple's restrictiveness. You can't even sync an iPod Touch or iPhone using Linux anymore unless you jailbreak, SSH in, and change a config file to revert to an old DB version that doesn't have their hash check.
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 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.
Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
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.
-- For evil to triumph it is enough that good men do nothing.
I am hesitant to download free stuff to me mobile that hasn't been checked for malware.
How about free as in freedom?
My Sig: SEGV
I think the previous poster was trolling. If not, then they are just engaging in wishful thinking if they believe Apple can drop prices hundreds or thousands of dollars and make it up in volume.
Show me another machine with the specs of the MBP that is as thin and cool.
This is exactly what starts yet another in the unstoppable chain of price and feature comparisons between Apple and other vendors and it is pointless in the extreme. No one here is going to do a comprehensive look or be able to find machines that are truly comparable not only in bullet point features but in hardware reliability, included support, and integration all of which are important to the value of the end product.
There have been studies performed on this topic already. I wish I had a good one handy. The best was the Consumer Reports one, but you need a subscription. In any case, the verdict is in. Macs cost more than the average PC by about 15%, which is to say about the same amount as other "premium" vendors like Sony, but Apple manages to win on reliability and support every year by a significant margin. (It's up to the individual to decide if that is worth it to them and hey, props to Dell for the massive improvements to their laptop reliability in the last year.) Apple undercuts other vendors a little bit on the low end and overcharges a bit more on the high end and on upgrade parts.
Now people need to get over it. Whether you are a fanboy or a hater, just give it up. Digging up prices and stats online, once is useless. You can't get a large enough sample size to be useful, you can't properly compare features that don't show up in the marketing literature, and your results will vary widely based upon when in the release cycles you make the comparison.
Please never, ever, ever, ever again ask someone to show you another machine that compares to MacFoo from Apple. It just leads to another long, pointless thread.
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?
Killing the company??
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??
- Dan
The App Store is the most important thing the iPhone has going for it. I have a Blackberry through work and enjoy using it (because it's free!), but getting apps is such a pain in the ass that the only thing I've installed is the Google package.
It would be nice if desktop OSes had an easy way to find and install new programs as well. Oh wait ... BSD and Linux do have such a place! How has Apple not jumped on that?
No sig for you. YOU GET NO SIG!
Apple doesn't have a monopoly, you are quite free to buy a phone from someone else.
Watch those corners
Apple is running back-to-back-to-back record quarters, in spite of the economy. Yeah, Apple is definitely on its last legs...
Any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.