App Stores are the New Deck
Andrea Trasatti wrote that Everyone wants an App Store these days.
Yes, very true.
I was talking about this with Brian Fling at Mobile 2.0.
Apple, Google, BlackBerry. The number of independent vendors. Next, network operators…
App Stores are the new Deck. But a very deep deck. A searchable deck. A deck-catalog.
The new deck gives or moves the power to the subscriber/end-user, who can search (discover) and decide what application (content) to install or ignore, and even say which applications are great, OK or bad thus having a direct influence how a given application will do on the store/market.
The new deck makes developer’s life much easier and with better returns.
Next, future mobile stores will go beyond local/native applications and also offer web applications, widgets, and other types of mobile content.
ceo
November 12th, 2008 at 5:52 am
App stores are not limited to mobile world. Every Linux distributor use his ‘app store’ system (apt, yast…).
This is one reason why application installation on linux is since a long time much easier then in windows (compare “apt-get search|intall myapp” to “where is the web site of the vendor, download, execute the setup …”).
I wonder since years why MS doesn’t include an app store into Windows to ease software distribution. Now that app stores become popular I’m sure MS is working on such a feature for one of the upcoming windows versions…
November 12th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Enrique, thanks for this post.
We believe that the app store is just one part of a larger Mobile Developer ecosystem, that includes the actual store, the beta testing, the tertiary distribution of app stores back through carrier decks, the phone OEM’s, the platform developers, dev tool suppliers like Tira, Device Anywhere, Flurry, etc. Carriers are picking up on this, and so are linking to off deck app stores that have an ecosystem attached. Please see this article in MocoNews for more info: http://www.moconews.net/entry/419-interview-getjar-is-everyones-app-store
So, yes, vertically app stores like iTunes, GetJar, etc. are deeper because they provide better search, onboarding, cataloging, and monetization and generally a better end user experience than carriers can offer; but the more important trend is the HORIZONTAL extension of the app store into a broader ecosystem that incorporates synergistic services that complement app store success. See this post in Mobile Marketer for more info: http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/opinion/columns/2040.html
November 17th, 2008 at 7:15 am
[...] mobile OS wars are well and truly on. As are the app store wars; they are the new deck, it says here. In fact, carriers ought to hope they are nothing like the deck, which is a failed business model; [...]