Apple’s App Store has passed the 100,000 app mark within 16 months
Congratulations are in order for Apple; Apple’s App Store has passed the 100,000 app mark within 16 months. This is no small achievement considering that the concept of an app store along with the product life of the iPhone has been a few short years in comparison to some industry giants such as Nokia, Palm, Samsung, LG, and Sony Ericsson.
The number is milestone considering the tough review that most apps go through when submitted to Apple. With a wait time of weeks to months, Apple’s iPhone is a consumer success along with the App Store that created a massive storm of developers moving into to develop apps.
However, the competition is heating up with Google’s acquisition of specialist social media and web design companies. Clearly, the Android Marketplace seems like it will get a revamp to ensure that it can compete with the integration of iTunes-App Store. The social media will probably integrate with Google searches ensuring that the developers and Marketplace both receive webtraffic.
Secondly, Palm’s holding a conference soon in an effort to attract more customers to its webOS. Interestingly enough, Palm has a number of high-quality apps that have been developed by specialist firms already available. As mentioned previously in the blog, Fandango has its own version available for webOS, which helps build customer trust in the platform itself. The Palm Pre and Pixi will help spread the word of webOS, provided Palm markets them aggressively on Sprint’s network.
Palm’s Pre has been touted as one of a series of rival phones that has the potential to remove the iPhone from the top spot in smart phones. However, the Pre has had a painful birth into the smart phone era with lawsuits from Apple along with launch issues ranging from availability to pricing problems. Nonetheless, this has not stopped the Pre team from steaming ahead at full speed to help with the development of apps for its webOS.
Initially, Palm felt to ensure build quality of its apps, it would be handing over its SDK, Mojo, to a few select developers that Palm selected. A smart move considering that a majority of the quality developers are working for the iPhone platform or moving towards Google’s Android platform. By releasing to selected developers, Palm provides them with a strong first mover advantage which may help in retaining key long-term developers that would eventually help Palm establish a credible developer base.
Looking over at the website, http://www.palm.com/us/products/software/mobile-applications.html, the overall feel is similar to the Android Marketplace along with clear well-defined categories. Screenshots are available for each of the apps listed. Interestingly enough, most apps have been produced by strong content or service providers which are a good way of ensuring the build quality of the apps. An example being the Fandango app which mirrors the real life service for movie fanatics; such apps help build the base for other apps to be developed with equal quality since a high standard has been established.
The overall range of apps is impressive while the depth of apps is lacking when compared to the number of apps developed for the iPhone and Android-compatible phones. However, these initial offering shows how Palm plans on maintaining a strong quality focus on its apps and enticing customers with apps developed professionally. It also signals other professional developers of the importance that Palm is giving to its initial developers.
Palm is holding a conference in December 2009 to help boost the app development process and lure developers to its platform. Previously, Palm thought SDK release exclusivity to certain developers and the concept of being a serious competitor to the iPhone would be enough to generate a large developer base. Unfortunately, the impetus that Google’s Android platform has been garnering is now growing evermore popular and receiving significant financial and marketing support. Palm was left out in the dry in terms of the anticipated enthusiasm and consumer attention it needed.
Apple has had a reputation for being rather draconian when enforcing its copyright over technologies, logos, or similarities in their products. However, the tables seem to have been turned now with Nokia suing Apple for technology infringement on mobile technology.
Nokia claims that the technology that was pioneered in the iPhone was already present in Nokia cellphones and being developed by Nokia. Apple basically used the ideas pioneered by Nokia to build the iPhone without giving due credit and signing an agreement with Nokia.
Nokia’s lawsuit directly takes a shot at all versions of the iPhone; effectively forcing Apple to deal with Nokia’s claims promptly. Experts estimate that Nokia invested close to €40 billion in research and development for the technology now used in the iPhone. Nokia has an agreement with major handset manufacturers that allows them to use Nokia’s R&D in their phones.
Nokia claims that Apple has not signed this agreement and will be penalized for their blatant misuse of the technology. Apple has not responded as such, but Apple’s shares did drop slightly upon Nokia’s press release.
This situation again brings up some interesting scenarios for Nokia. Assuming that the €40 billion in research and development can be validated and the technology directly linked to Nokia, Apple will be in a difficult situation. The profit margins on the iPhone may end up becoming the property of Nokia if the lawsuit is successful. The overall popularity and growth of the iPhone has placed Nokia in a financial quandary since the Finnish handset maker posted its first loss in a decade this quarter. The move seems rather petty considering that the lawsuit will most likely cost Apple a significant amount of money to deal with the lawsuit or an out-of-court settlement but could be a boon for Nokia. At this point, it seems that royalty payments to Nokia would probably be the most cost-effective manner with a fixed sum while Apple signs the agreement on technology standards.
Hot on the heels of the new iPhone 3GS, Palm released the Pre, another intensely anticipated phone. Within hours of it being released, the usual community of developers had already flashed the firmware and created another homebrew application scene for the Pre. Eagerly anticipating the potential growth in the applications but more importantly media support with iTunes, the Pre managed to access iTunes in a manner that Apple calls illegal, developers call questionable and consumers call “unique”. Resultantly, a slew of corporate press releases and open threats ensued between Apple and Palm.
The core issue that Apple is contesting with Palm is that the Pre accesses iTunes by mimicking the software identity of a standard iPod. Apple has openly claimed that this means is illegal. Palm’s response is that Apple’s rather draconian actions will hurt consumers overall as they will be denied a “seamless synchronization experience”. After trading many barbs and considering that former Apple employee, Jon Rubinstein, is now currently the CEO of Palm; tensions are running high. Apple’s response has been to immediately block the Pre from syncing with iTunes, while the Pre development community has refused to update iTunes and resultantly began looking for hacks to bypass the new update. (continue reading…)
Launched on June 6, 2009, Palm Pre is a smartphone with a multi-touch screen and a sliding keyboard. It is designed and marketed by Palm, Inc.
It is well known that a group of people who originally worked on the iPhone at Apple were the ones who created the Pre. For that reason, it should come as no surprise that the innards of the Palm Pre are actually pretty similar to that of the iPhone.
Palm took the time to create a rather awesome introduction video to play for the user when they first turn on the phone. Apple’s iPhone doesn’t currently do this, but it will be interesting to see if they eventually add something like this.
The iPhone is well known for its App Store offering users a wide range of applications that can be installed on the Apple mobile device. Similarly, Palm Pre has access to the Pre App Catalog but it offers limited apps.
iPhone has an edge over the Pre at some areas while the Pre seems to be as competitive in terms of features and functionality. Now we will leave the rest for you to decide on which one is better and why since much of the decision boils down to personal preference.
