Google Routes Around App Store On The iPhone... Others Can Too

from the app-store-or-the-web dept

I was just recently suggesting that the massive focus on "apps" and "app stores" may be a red herring, as eventually many of those apps can be built via the web (especially as HTML 5 moves forward), without having to go through any kind of app store approval process. So it's worth noting that, in fact, Google has done exactly that with its Google Voice app for the iPhone (doing so because of problems getting a client-side app approved by Apple). While the app is still rough around the edges, it should be a reminder that there are ways around the app store, and web-based apps have plenty of potential.

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App Store Overload? Kindle Gets An App Store

from the it-ain't-the-web dept

It's amazing how people see one semi-successful concept and suddenly everyone has to pile on. The iPhone's app store has certainly been a success -- much more in terms of making the iPhone more attractive than for most developers. But it has all sorts of people thinking that "apps" are in again, and we're seeing app stores pop up in a variety of different places. The latest is Amazon's Kindle, which hopes to make the ebook reading device more valuable with more apps.

It does make me wonder, though, if people are betting too strongly on app stores, and not recognizing why it works so well in some areas. I also wonder if focusing on apps and app stores is going to make people miss out on the fact that web-based apps (that don't need to go through any app store) may overtake client-side apps. We've already gone through this on the desktop, and one by one, web-based apps have come along that match (or sometimes exceed) the functionality of client-side apps, leading many to turn away from client apps altogether.

Separately, adding another app store to another device may only serve to confuse (or annoy) some users. If you have an iPhone and a Kindle, and there are the same apps on both, which are you going to use? It may depend on the app, but my guess is that in most cases the phone is going to win out over an ebook reader.

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Australian Operator Optus Deliberately Blocking Android Paid Apps

from the it-wants-a-cut,-apparently dept

A few folks have sent in the news that Australian mobile operator Optus appears to be completely blocking access to paid apps for owners of Android phones. Apparently people have been complaining about this for a while, and Optus has been mostly silent on the matter, only stating:

"Optus is currently working with Google to provide an Android application store to our customers, and we are optimistic it will be available soon."

Except, of course, it shouldn't require any permission from Optus at all -- which is leading to reasoned speculation that Optus is blocking access to paid apps in the Android app store because Optus wants a cut of the revenue. This is typical of mobile carriers who keep wanting to believe that they're the tollbooth everyone needs to pay. Instead, the more likely result is just to drive mobile phone users to other carriers.

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More Evidence Suggests That iPhone App Store Doesn't Really Sell That Much...

from the ain't-looking-so-good dept

Among people who really, really want to believe that there's a huge market out there for selling content directly, the iPhone App Store has recently become "Exhibit A." The thinking is that all you have to do is slap together that perfect Steve Jobsian user interface that just makes it so easy to buy, and people will start forking over their money. It was part of David Carr's argument when we debated newspaper micropayments. Except... there really isn't that much evidence to support even the claim that the iPhone App Store really sells that much. We were a bit skeptical of the early reports that people claimed offered "proof" that people would buy all sorts of apps. Then, earlier this year, we suggested that it was an early warning sign that so many apps on iPhones were never used at all or were used once and abandoned. Basically, that meant that people would test stuff out when they first got the phone, but sales would likely dwindle after that. More evidence was provided by an analyst firm that figured out how little money Apple was making from app sales (which is fine -- Apple is in it just to sell hardware, but it suggested that app sales weren't quite as amazing as people were claiming).

Newsweek is presenting some more evidence -- albeit anecdotal -- that the iPhone App Store isn't making very many people very much money at all. There are, certainly, a few folks at the top who are doing okay, but for most people there just aren't that many sales -- or the cost of getting those sales greatly outweighs the revenue that came in from them.

This isn't to say that the iPhone App Store is a failure. In fact, I'd argue it's been a huge success in making the iPhone significantly more valuable. But as evidence that there's a huge market out there of people willing to pay for content if it's just packaged up nicely? There's just not enough there to be convincing.

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CEA Announces Apps For Innovation Developer Contest

from the go-for-it dept

The Consumer Electronics Association has been building up its excellent Innovation Movement effort -- designed to help educate people (most importantly: politicians) to be aware that regulations can have a serious (and potentially negative) impact on innovation. The goal is to get people to really think through the potential impacts on innovation of any new legislation. Given how rarely anyone in DC seems to really think about how all the legislation they pass will impact innovation, this is an important effort.

As a part of that, CEA is now launching an Apps for Innovation Developer Contest. The goal is to get developers to create one of two kinds of useful apps:

1. Apps that illuminate with data how innovation and entrepreneurial activity are at work across America.

   Examples: An app that mashes up Federal Communications Commission broadband data over a Google Map to show the need for high-speed Internet deployment in rural areas. Or, perhaps an Apple iPhone app that uses Department of Commerce data to let people track how international trade agreements impact the U.S. GDP. Another option would be to create an app that measures the number of venture-backed start-ups in cities across America (hint: the National Venture Capital Association keeps that data).

2. Apps that will help the members of the Innovation Movement advance policy goals that support innovation.

   Examples: This could be an app that allows members of the grassroots movement to better communicate with members of Congress -- or perhaps its an app that allows members to see how members vote on various policies that protect or hinder innovation. Points are awarded for creativity!

There are a variety of prizes, including thousands of dollars and a free trip to CES in January. It's a cool program, and I'm thrilled that CEA asked me to be one of the judges in the contest. I'm hoping to see some really creative and innovative apps!

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NY Times Says No To Useful App Rather Than Improving Memory

from the backwards-thinking dept

I have to admit that, while I became a fan of Twitter a while back, it jumped up to a new level when I started using a client-side app called Tweetdeck. While the app has many problems (it is still beta), it allows you to make use of Twitter in a very different way -- laying out a series of groups and searches in near real time, such that it turns the stream of information into a series of very useful flows. From the perspective of trying to stay up on certain types of news, it's become the most important app on my desktop. There are many, many things I wish they would improve upon, with a big one being memory management. It sucks up memory like crazy. However, my solution was to go out and buy some more memory for my laptop. Apparently, the NY Times has gone in the other direction. Mathew Ingram points to an internal memo at the NY Times where it says that due to Tweetdeck's memory issues, the paper is asking employees not to use it anymore -- though, to their credit, it doesn't appear to be a demand, but a request. On top of that, the NY Times suggests that other apps can do the job. That may be true, but I've tested a bunch of different competing apps (hoping they could get over Tweetdeck's other shortcomings) but I'm back on Tweetdeck because those other apps have even more problems, but Ingram again explains the better solution: "I agree that Tweetdeck can be a memory hog, and can sympathize with the NYT-- but the solution is buy more RAM, not exclude Tweetdeck."

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One iPhone App Developers' Experience With iPhone App Pirates: Not Worth Worrying About

from the focus-on-providing-value dept

Tom was the first of a few to send in this account from the developer of the iPhone game iCombat on his experience with "pirated" versions of the app. Basically, he didn't try to block them, but put in a way to track authorized vs. unauthorized uses, and at a certain level pushed the unauthorized users to a splash page, asking them to purchase the game. His conclusion? Piracy really isn't a huge deal, and probably not worth wasting too much time trying to stop:

• The goal behind launching an app isn't thwarting pirates, it is getting users and generating sales so leave the "making a point" anti-piracy measures to the big guys. The competition is so fierce to get noticed in the App store that any attention is good attention....
• In most cases there is not a direct cannibalization of your sales by people using cracked copies - unless you have a high priced niche app the cost is negligible and the market is not zero sum....
• There is a ton of anger and energy spent thinking about pirates.... this energy should be put into creating better apps and focusing on the top line potential. In my case there are design issues that I should have focused on rather than trying to spoil the pirate's experience.

This is certainly the same general conclusion we've seen in other areas as well. Focusing on "piracy" rather than providing more value for your real customers almost always backfires.

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Want To Create A Simple App To Tell You Where Someone Is Calling From? You Can't, It's Patented

from the promoting-the-progress-yet-again dept

Someone who prefers to remain anonymous, sent me a story that I hear all the time these days. He was getting annoyed with not knowing who was calling his Blackberry, so he figured he'd write a simple app to do a standard database lookup in order to pull up the info that would at least let you know where the caller was from, based on area code. It's the sort of thing that software programmers do all the time: see a need, write a simple program to solve it.

Except for the patents.

As he started to write the app, he figured he should take a quick look around to see if anyone else had done so... when he came across the fact that someone had written that app, but thanks to a patent threat, it had been shut down. In fact, the patent holder, Cequent, has sued a few others who dared to create such a simple database lookup app themselves. The patent itself describes an incredibly simple database lookup... yet, now no one else is allowed to create such an app.

The purpose of the patent system was to create the incentives for inventors to invent products that likely would not have been created otherwise, in order to help "promote the progress." Yet, when it's being used to prevent an engineer from writing a simple app that could have occurred to anyone, based on a simple database lookup, doesn't it seem like there's a pretty big problem?

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Early Warning Signs: iPhone Apps Might Not Be As Popular As Believed

from the people-don't-use-them dept

While the iPhone App Store is being used by some as an example of people willing to pay for software, people might want to wait before declaring the store a complete success. New research is coming out suggesting that many apps -- both paid and unpaid -- don't get much usage after they're purchased. The further out you go, the fewer and fewer apps people use. While this may mean that Apple and some lucky developers are making money from users who spend on apps they don't use, this should actually be an early warning that the App Store and the various apps in there aren't really delivering the value that users are expecting. That doesn't bode well for the long-term sustainability of the system. If people feel they're spending money on apps that don't have much value, they're going to be a lot less likely to come back later.

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Fart Apps Prove, Once Again, That The Market Is The Best Decider Of Value

from the economics-101 dept

Over the couple months of existence, Apple's iPhone App Store has received a considerable amount of attention. The successful phone has created an exciting new platform for developers seeking to leverage the advantages of mobile devices. The only problem was, Apple has insisted upon managing the applications in the store - oftentimes without clear guidelines or enforced through NDA.

Apple was in the practice of individually deciding which applications to allow and which to ban, regardless of customer demand. The most curious and paternalistic of Apple's App Store policies was the ban on applications of "limited utility." As a result, developers weren't sure if their hard work would be deemed useful enough to warrant acceptance into the store. Yet, like so many centrally planned economies in the past, this policy failed and Apple began letting in silly applications. However, what may be silly to Apple's gatekeepers may actually prove to be valuable to consumers. Such is the case with a suite of applications that simply produce fart sounds. Dozen exist, and one developer of a fart application is reportedly making nearly $10,000 per day with his crass software. That is the beauty of free markets - consumers and producers can better decide what is valuable than any individual person or firm. The distributed intelligence and preferences are far more capable than Apple's gatekeepers.

Kevin Donovan is an expert at the Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Kevin Donovan and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.

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Berlin Metro Demands Removal Of Free iPhone Timetable App

from the wouldn't-want-people-to-know-when-to-take-a-train... dept

Every day, we wake up hoping that some bit of common sense will find its way into the world when it comes to copyright issues, and yet every day we seem to find out about more and more ridiculous situations. For example, the Berlin Metro system has ordered a 21-year-old student to stop distributing an iPhone app that helps travelers look up a train schedule. I've used similar apps for train schedules in the US, and they're quite useful. In fact, the convenience of them makes it more likely that I would ride a train. So what's the complaint? Copyright, of course, with a touch of jealousy thrown in.

The Berlin Metro people are claiming that the application somehow violates their copyright on the train schedule and map. It's unclear whether or not there's any substance to the copyright claim. While in the US you can't copyright facts (such as a train schedule), in Europe they do have "database rights," which allow someone to copyright a collection of facts. Perhaps a timetable might fall under such a definition, though it would still be ridiculous to stop this app from being offered.

But, based on statements from the folks at the Berlin Metro, it's clear that this is not just a copyright issue. It's a jealousy issue:

That is our copyright and Apple is one of the richest firms in the world.

This fits with the psychological theory that many people are upset at being better off if it means that someone else is in an even better position. In this case, the Berlin Metro is worse off, because fewer people will use the Metro (and pay for it) because it's not as convenient to get the information. But according to the Berlin Metro, that's fine, because Apple is too rich (even though this app doesn't make Apple any money). Logic, apparently, is not a strong suit of the folks who run the Berlin Metro.

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Can You Really Own The Idea Of Making Your iPhone Look Like Beer?

from the drink-up! dept

It's time to raise your glasses in a toast to ridiculous intellectual property lawsuits. Or, if you don't have a tasty beverage on hand, perhaps a virtual one, say, on your iPhone? Well, unfortunately for you, that may be a problem -- as the latest ridiculous lawsuit concerns two competing virtual beer applications, both of which make your iPhone look like the side of a full beer glass, that will "drain" the beer, as you tilt the iPhone. Cute, gimmicky app, right? Except if you're a pissed off developer who seems to think that only one person should be allowed to make such an app. A company called Hottrix that made such an app is suing the beer company Coors for an astounding $12.5 million for offering up a similar app of its own.

Hottrix's app, iPint, cost money, whereas Coors (perhaps implicitly recognizing how infinite goods -- the silly app -- can help sell more scarce goods -- beer) gave its app, iBeer, away for free. The Coors version was more involved, as it also included a "game" where you needed to guide a sliding pint across a bar into some waiting hands. Hottrix's lawyers claim that the idea of such a virtual beer glass is copyrightable -- which seems fairly questionable. Concepts can't be covered by copyright. It needs to be the exact implementation, and as long as the Coors version was different, then it's difficult to see the copyright claim. Hottrix also pulls out the bogus argument that iPint hurt iBeer's sales. That's simply incorrect. It wasn't Coors that hurt Hottrix's sales, it was Hottrix, for having a bad business model. Competition isn't illegal.

But, of course, Apple in its infinite (loop) wisdom, removed the Coors app after Hottrix complained, thus protecting Hottrix from its own business model mistake. And yet, Hottrix still wants $12.5 million from Coors for daring to come up with a similar idea. You have to hope this gets thrown out of court quickly.

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Apple Dumps Another Game For Being 'Too Similar' To Tetris

from the but-not-illegally-so dept

You can almost understand the reasoning behind Apple pushing the creator of a Tetris-like game called "Tris" to remove his app from the App Store. There's a decent chance that the game doesn't violate The Tetris Company's IP, but the "Tris" name could conceivably run afoul of the trademark. However, it's difficult to understand the reasoning behind Apple taking down another game for being "too similar" to Tetris. The game, called Shaker, has some similarities to Tetris, but is quite clearly a different game -- and with a name like Shaker isn't going to run into any issues on the trademark front (thanks to reader J. Locke for pointing us to the story). It's unlikely that The Tetris Company has any actual legal claim here, so it's rather ridiculous that Apple is using its dictatorial authority to just remove it. Does that mean that anyone who creates a similar app to someone else's App Store app can ask Apple to remove all competitors?

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Another Game Innovator Is Shut Down By Copyright Claims

from the can-I-get-an-encore? dept

Over the past couple months we have covered the tale of Scrabulous, the popular Facebook application which brought the traditional game of Scrabble to the online environment. After more than nine months of threats, Hasbro, the owner of Scrabble, finally created their own version of the game and, more importantly, sued the makers of Scrabulous.

Now, an eerily similar situation is taking place through the iPhone App Store. The maker of a Tetris-like game called "Tris" reports that due to legal action by the Tetris Company, he is going to remove the application from the App Store. Apple, he says, demanded he resolve the dispute personally or they would "take action." Although the developer believes he is on fairly firm legal ground, as a poor college student, he cannot afford the time or money to defend his application. He calls the approach "little more than petty bullying."

This scenario and Scrabulous are indicators of the increasing importance of the platform operators who have the ability to shut down applications (and in the case of Apple, even disable previously installed applications). The developers who are building on these platforms are beholden to gatekeepers which, more often than not, err on the side of over-enforcement.

Kevin Donovan is an expert at the Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Kevin Donovan and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.

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Eight $1,000 App Buyers Later, And Apple Pulls It

from the wrong-way dept

Two days ago we wrote about the "I Am Rich" iPhone application, which, for the staggering sum of $1,000, provided you with - get ready for it - a glowing red screen. Although it struck many as a complete waste of money, the application did not seem to be breaking any of the App Store rules and was upfront about its lack of utility. However, a vocal number of observers were shocked by what they saw as a dereliction of gatekeeper "duty" by Apple. Now, in response to the protests, Apple has removed the application without notifying or explaining to the developer why.

But before Apple could do so, 8 willing buyers downloaded the app. In contrast to those calling it a joke or insult, it seems that the application had found a market - the developer netted $5,600 in only a couple hours. Although one reviewer claims to regret buying the app (he thought it was "a joke"), one wonders if Apple should be playing nanny to iPhone owners who make $1,000 jokes, only to regret it. The App Store has only been around for a couple of weeks and, of course, there are going to be kinks to work out. But without clear rules, developers and buyers are going to become increasingly disillusioned with the system. When Apple decided to make it a gated community, they created a false sense of security. And by attempting to recapture that security, they are only moving further from the winning approach - openness.

Kevin Donovan is an expert at the Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Kevin Donovan and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.

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Is There Any Good Reason Why Apple Should Pull The $1000 iPhone App?

from the USSR dept

Someone has created a simple iPhone application called "I Am Rich" which sells for $999.99 and simply makes the screen grow ruby red and offers "a secret mantra." But more shocking than this apparent waste of bytes and money is a number of prominent blogs which are calling for Apple to block the application. This is ludicrous. If someone wants to part with a grand for a glowing screen, who is Apple to stop them? The application developer is honest and clearly states that there "is no hidden function." It is not malicious, pornographic, a bandwidth hog, illegal or a threat to privacy.

And do these pro-regulation bloggers really want to have Apple assume the role of a Soviet ministry - designating appropriate prices for applications? Should Steve Jobs and company really determine the price of Super Monkey Ball? One commenter suggests that this application is an "insult to all the well-meaning developers that Apple made wait/are still waiting to get into the iPhone developer program." The problem of slow approval is not a single application, but the way in which Apple is playing gatekeeper to the iPhone. Again, these complaints are asking Apple to decide which applications should receive priority review and approval - a slippery slope which places arbitrary values on applications. And by advocating that Apple makes the iPhone a more closed system, these opponents of the "I Am Rich" application may in fact be pushing Apple away from a business model that succeeds - openness.

Kevin Donovan is an expert at the Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Kevin Donovan and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.

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