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.
iPhone exclusivity may come to an end – AT&T executives
AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega released a rather controversial yet understandable statement regarding the exclusivity of the iPhone to AT&T’s network. He mentioned that the portfolio of phones and services extend beyond Apple’s iPhone. Surprisingly, it makes sense. Apple is still a very new entrant into the cellphone market in comparison to industry giants such as Nokia, Samsung, LG, Sony-Ericsson, and other Taiwanese competitors. Apple’s cult-like following and design elements are what have been the primary success factors for the phone itself.
Ralph’s statements are not necessarily shocking when placed in light of the new phones that have been developed to compete with the iPhone. The Palm Pre and HTC’s offerings alone offer technologies that are similar to the iPhone at price points that are extremely competitive. Apple has yet to develop a product that will overshadow the success of the iPhone. Firmware upgrades and improved wireless connectivity will only go so far in dealing with the competition that the iPhone faces. In addition to this, the exclusivity of the iPhone can only extend till the network supports the technology requirements of the existing AT&T network. With networks moving towards 5G capabilities, AT&T clearly needs to diversify to support the new phones that are being offered by competitors. As open technology standards move towards a standardized set of features on phones, Apple needs to remain ahead of the curve through it research and development.
Apple’s fortunes have been primarily focused on a cult-like fan following along with a matchless integration of the App Store and iTunes. Google’s recent capital expenditure on specialized technology firms which include SEO and social marketing specialists is indicative of revamping the Android Marketplace. With such firms onboard to revamp and develop new technologies, it seems that the Android Marketplace will soon be able to compete more efficiently and effectively in comparison to the App Store. This is a serious factor for AT&T to consider when the iPhone begins to saturate the smartphone market. By remaining excessively exclusive to Apple, AT&T may narrow its market unnecessarily missing out on opportunities to challenge other service providers in the United States. Resultantly, AT&T should begin revamping its product lines to address customers that require needs that are unable to be fulfilled by the iPhone.
Android 2.0 released; more features and improvements for developers
Google launched the newest version of the Android 2.0 SDK today to the public for development purposes. The new release offers a significant amount of tools for developers to help with app development along with increased support for the various phones that are being released in anticipation of the holiday season.
For users there are plenty of new features that will be used in their new high-end phones from HTC, Samsung, and Motorola. As a result, the attraction for Android phones will most likely sky-rocket and developers can create more sophisticated and detailed apps.
Below is a list of new features for users:
Contacts and accounts
· Multiple accounts can be added to a device for email and contact synchronization, including Exchange accounts. (Handset manufacturers can choose whether to include Exchange support in their devices.)
· Developers can create sync adapters that provide synchronization with additional data sources.
· Quick Contact for Android provides instant access to a contact’s information and communication modes. For example, a user can tap a contact photo and select to call, SMS, or email the person. Other applications such as Email, Messaging, and Calendar can also reveal the Quick Contact widget when you touch a contact photo or status icon.
Email
· Exchange support.
· Combined inbox to browse email from multiple accounts in one page.
Messaging
· Search functionality for all saved SMS and MMS messages.
· Auto-delete the oldest messages in a conversation when a defined limit is reached.
All of these new features are important considering that many of the phones are now the equivalent of personal media devices that plays multimedia files, surfs the Internet, doubles as Personal Digital Assistants and function as phones as well.
The Exchange support is vital for business users who often need to sync with secure company email servers to access their email. In addition, the improved support will help developers with business productivity apps to increase their customer base since companies will most likely require apps that secure connections and provide customized email support. The improved synchronization support helps cement the concept of phones being personal digital assistants and small netbooks that are capable of handling the demands of business professionals.
Improved phone contacts are necessary when most individuals have close to more than a hundred or so detailed contacts in their phones. Especially those that are in the business world often have detailed business cards dedicated to their contacts.
Camera
· Built-in flash support
· Digital zoom
· Scene mode
· White balance
· Color effect
· Macro focus
Camera support is important considering that many of the new Android phones have powerful cameras which require improved support as the phone cameras are slowly becoming acceptable means of capturing photos. Considering that the iPhone received camera support very late, it is good to note that Android has strongly started committing support to the camera features on its phones.
Android phones have been in development for a very long time by major manufacturers such as Samsung, Nokia, HTC and Motorola. With the growing anticipation of the high-end features such as touch screens and improved operating system stability, phone manufacturers and the Android team expects to see a boom in sales during the holiday season. An additional benefit for Google will be increased interest in its smartphone OS; a key element when growth is lagging behind the still-strong iPhone.
The situation is overall in favor of Android since the phones launched are significantly more powerful than the iPhone and support Adobe’s new Flash update. Considering that a majority of the web content available online is in Flash. This is a major incentive for developers as well who can view and develop their content so that it continues to span the Internet and their smartphones, and acts as a bridge between the two technologies.
The recent upgrades to the Android market will also be tested as users start purchasing phones in anticipation of uploading new apps to their phones. After following a similar structure to the App Store as created by Apple, Google hopes to bring a sense of familiarity to the storefront to ensure customer retention and interest in their Android platform.
Below is a list of phones that are expected to be released on T-Mobile’s network that will have the Android OS on them:
“T-Mobile Tap
No keyboard here, the T-Mobile Tap is a touchscreen phone with a focus on Web browsing and socializing. It support email, SMS, MMS and IM, and comes with GPS, Bluetooth and a 2-megapixel camera. Users can choose between berry and midnight blue finishes.
Nokia 3711
The Nokia 3711, which will arrive late-October-ish on the T-Mobile network in a shade called sable, is an economy-friendly feature phone with 3G Web browsing, built-in GPS, support for email and IM, a 2-megapixel camera with video and Bluetooth.
Google recently pushed out the release of a new SDK for Android (version 1.6) in September 2009, unfortunately, this left many of the traditional phones that run the Android platform fairly delayed in comparison to the projected release dates. However, there is good news for developers; the new release takes into account the varying new specifications of the new phones in terms of processor power, screen size, text-to-speech features, and a plethora of features that are standard on these phones.
The new release also deals with an improved ability to deal Web 2.0 features. There are a number of phones that plan to be released in the fourth quarter of this year with major carriers such as Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint. The high-end phones are coming from major manufacturers such as Samsung, HTC, and Motorola. However, the biggest probable focus for many carriers will be the improved CDMA support which gives Verizon and AT&T customers the ability to access some of these high-end phones. (continue reading…)
