The battle of the app stores

Do any of the other mobile application stores stand a chance against the behemoth that is Apple's App Store?

By Clare Hopping, 19 Aug 2009 at 15:53

However, it’s still not clear how many applications will be available at launch on the site, or whether they will just be duplicating those already available to download on sites such as Handango.

“Developers have only just begun to submit their applications for Windows Marketplace for Mobile, therefore it would be premature to commit to a total number of applications available when Windows Mobile 6.5 launches later this year," he said.

“Windows Marketplace for Mobile will not aggregate all available applications, but rather provide customers with a single source for purchasing quality tested applications,” he explained.

Palm Pre

Representatives from Palm declined to comment on what Palm’s app store would look like, or what kind of applications will appear on the store, but we were told that more information would be released when the Palm Pre becomes available in the UK.

The Palm App Catalog was however, demonstrated at the D:All Things Digital Conference in May.

The demo showed off apps by Fandango, including an app that makes use of the Pre’s location based services and Palm Synergy to find cinemas near your location and allows you to buy watch trailers, buy tickets, add showtimes to your calendar and get directions to the chosen cinema.

Another app outlined was Pandora, which makes use of the Pre’s multitasking capabilities. It’s a media player that allows you to listen to music while running other applications. The song and artist information appears on the secondary app’s toolbar at the same time so you can always keep track of what you’re listening to.

Neither seem revolutionary compared to those available from BlackBerry, Google and Apple, but only time will tell.

Can the others catch Apple?

What has become apparent in the last year is that it’s no longer the device that matters, but what’s on that device in terms of applications.

The Apple App Store started a new trend, allowing applications to be downloaded from one place and it’s a huge success with more than 50,000 apps on offer and over one billion individual downloads.

However, it’s just a test of time before the other competitors take what they can from this revolution and catch up on Apple, especially with open source, less aggressive approval methods.

Click here to find out which is the best mobile platform for business, and here for our top ten mobile productivity apps.

For more mobile phone news and reviews, visit Know Your Mobile.

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VNC (remote) functionality on the iPhone

The iPhone also has some applications that achieve VNC functionality, bringing the desktop view of a computer onto the iPhone device. Remote Jr (www.remotejr.com) is one of these and my personal favorite - it actually allows you to remotely control a computer (be it Windows or Mac) using an iPhone using WiFi, 3G or EDGE connectivity. It allows you to pinch and zoom the constantly updated remote view, search files with integrated Spotlight, application launching and switching, typing, clicking, tapping, taking screenshots etc.

Honestly, I feel like RIM and other mobile platforms have a long way to go before they can run an app like that. The fact that Remote Jr works on both Windows and Mac not only goes to show developer dedication, but also the robustness of the iPhone platform. The iTunes App Store is indeed a jungle of apps, but their much debated approval process only slows down what could otherwise be an uncontrollable flow of apps into the store, risking flawed applications and overall drop of product quality.

By erlingormar on Thursday Aug 20

The "Other" app store...

Sadly, the article seems to omit the world’s 2nd largest app store: GetJar

Some interesting statistics for readers of IT PRO:

Founded: 2005

Total downloads to date: 550 million (2nd behind Apple) with an average 1.7 million every day from www.getjar.com and m.getjar.com

Content Library: 52,000 applications and mobile sites covering 1,600 different devices. All applications on GetJar are free to consumers.

Distribution: Global reach with downloads coming from over 200 different markets and 15 million consumers every month.

Partners: Sony Ericsson, 3 UK, Virgin Mobile and Vodafone among others offer applications to their consumers using GetJar.

Status: Private and backed by blue-chip investors Accel Partners (the same VC’s behind Facebook).

GetJar is the only app store of this list that is truly open and independent. By independent we mean that GetJar isn’t affiliated with any other platform owner or handset manufacturer. By “Open” we mean that consumers can find content for any handset on any platform regardless of whether it’s Java, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Palm or even Iphone (GetJar actually re-directs iPhone users to iTunes once they’ve selected there apps). Unlike some App stores that restrict certain content because it might conflict with their own agreements with carriers or their own music / map services, GetJar allows developers to place any content they like as long is it meets certain basic editorial guidelines (they own the IP, the application works, they have good marketing assets, the app isn’t offensive etc…). This means that developers like Google can promote their Maps or Google App applications without worry that the platform owner may take them down due to conflict of interest. Likewise, Skype is able to promote its Skype for Windows Mobile on GetJar and not worry about GetJar’s relationships with mobile operators.

What this all means is better consumer choice and also more downloads for developers and brand owners. Since consumers realize that the app they just downloaded is also available on many other handsets and platforms, they gladly share this with friends which drives downloads since over 30% of downloads come from word-of-mouth recommendations. GetJar’s mobile savvy consumers are also a prize target for brands: 75% of GetJar consumers are under the age of 25 and are over 50% are downloading content at least once a week. With those numbers it’s easy to see why brands like Fanta, Jack Daniels and Malibu are starting to embrace GetJar as a great way to reach consumers: http://www.getjar.com/products/26665/MalibuBowling

As for the app wars, we’ll let the readers make up their own minds. What we can say are the facts: GetJar’s downloads have grown from 18 million downloads a month to 40 million in just under 9 months. While others talk about initiatives GetJar is driving the market. Those are the facts….

Patrick Mork
VP Marketing
GetJar

By pmork on Thursday Aug 20

Store or Platform?

The question is not just about the store, but the software platform that supports the applications, and relatively few of the existing mobile OS offer the same capabilities to app developers as the iPhone OS - yet.

Android, for instance, has a programming model that makes it difficult to achieve the same level of performance as achievable on the iPhone, even with equivalent hardware. There is always a balancing act between creating something that is easily portable between different types of hardware, and being able to design and change both sides.

Of course, for most apps that's irrelevant - the speed of the Internet is more important that the speed of the phone.

As for GetJar - an insistence on free applications means it does not truly qualify as a store to me. There needs to be scope for both types of software.

By JulesLt on Tuesday Aug 25