The New York Times: Apple may become the Microsoft of the smartphone industry[Copy link]
Sohu IT Translation The New York Times online version wrote yesterday that the emergence of the iPhone App Store has subverted the smartphone industry and created great competition for other mobile phone manufacturers. Although developers have complained about Apple's application approval process, and as the number of applications grows, developers are in urgent need of exploring new ways to make money from applications, but Apple may still become the Microsoft of the smartphone industry. The following is the full text of the article: The Microsoft of the Smartphone Industry Ian Lynch Smith pointed out with joy that several games developed by the Freeverse software company he founded, including Moto Chaser (racing), Flick Fishing (fishing game), Flick Bowling (bowling) and Skee-ball (pitching), are all popular downloads in the iPhone App Store. He said that Skee-ball earned the company $18.The iPhone App Store has evolved from a vast catalog of innovative apps to a platform that analysts say is rapidly changing mobile computing and telephony. It has shifted industry goals, tested developers' patience, boosted sales of the iPhone and iPod Touch, and forced Apple's competitors to drastically revamp their product lines and business models. It has even threatened Apple's own products. Today, smartphones have become the Swiss Army Knife of the digital age, driven in large part by Apple's iPhone, which launched in 2007, and the iPhone App Store, which launched last year. Together, they have brought with them a plethora of jaw-dropping features and tools, including email, text messaging, video, images, maps, GPS navigation, media, books, music, games, mobile shopping and even the ability to remotely unlock your car. "Apple has changed the way people think about what a phone can do," said Katy Huberty, an analyst at Morgan Stanley. "Apps have made the smartphone revolution a thing that hasn't happened in consumer technology for a long time." Huberty compared the emergence of the iPhone and its App Store to the role that AOL played in promoting the Internet in the 1990s. But she also said that even bigger changes are coming. "The iPhone is different. It's changed our behavior. Apple wants to be the Microsoft of the smartphone." The software distribution model of the future Apple's mobile application model is very popular, with a large number of independent developers writing applications for the iPhone, and the iPhone App Store currently has more than 100,000 applications. Apple recently said that the total number of downloads from the App Store has exceeded 2 billion. Major manufacturers including Research in Motion (the manufacturer of the BlackBerry), Palm (the manufacturer of the Pre), Google (developer of the Android mobile phone system) and Microsoft (developer of the Windows Mobile system) are watching and are eager to replicate the success of the iPhone App Store. Because of the popularity of iPhone apps, the cities of New York and San Francisco have even opened up city data to the public to encourage software developers to create hyperlocal apps for computers and phones. Philip Schiller, Apple's head of global product marketing, said: "I absolutely believe that this is the model for the future of software development and distribution. The concept of anyone from an individual to a large company being able to create software is extremely innovative. It's a breakthrough and it's the future that every software developer can see." Apple keeps most of its internal operations secret, which is a strategy that maintains the company's mystery and creates huge public interest in its product releases. However, the App Store relies on countless outside developers to drive it. Apple is unfamiliar with this and occasionally a little uneasy. This also makes Apple very supportive of developers. Large telecom operators usually try to avoid working with software developers. However, developers have recently been very dissatisfied with Apple's opaque and authoritarian application approval process, although Apple does not think so. Schiller said: "I think generally we have done a good job." For Apple, the approval process must be so demanding. The company takes what it calls "consumer trust" very seriously, arguing that consumers believe that iPhone apps will not harm the platform, steal personal information or include illegal content. Schiller said that most apps make it through the approval process, and most of the ones that require close scrutiny are due to bugs and defects in the code. "We take feedback very seriously, whether it's good or bad. Some developers do complain, but that's a small minority," he said. Apple receives more than 10,000 app approval requests each week. Most are approved and appear in the App Store within two weeks. This also leads to another problem, that consumers cannot quickly and efficiently find apps that they don't know about among 100,000 apps. Despite this, Peter Farago, marketing director of mobile industry analysis firm Flurry, said that Apple's App Store is still better than most competitors. Farago also said that the days when mobile app developers had to negotiate with large operators to release mobile apps are gone. "In the past, developers had to spend six months to establish partnerships with operators, and maybe spend $250,000 to build infrastructure, and in the end they only got 50% of the sales revenue," he said. And this was limited to a limited number of mobile platforms. "Apple has led to a healthier developer community and given everyone a chance to make money," he said. Apple takes 30 percent of every iPhone app sold, with the developer getting the remaining 70 percent. App approval issues Although the barriers to entry for software developers have been greatly reduced, Farago admitted that "new issues have emerged." Developers now face app approval issues. Sometimes an app won't be approved for months, or will be blocked for months. And as big companies get involved in iPhone app development, small-scale developers are beginning to worry about being squeezed out of the market. FreedomVoice Systems, based in San Diego, can't wait to launch an iPhone version of its phone software. The company submitted the app last year and excitedly waited for approval. And then it has been waiting until now. "We waited 396 days and Apple never contacted us. The app has been sitting in the iPhone App Store for more than a year, waiting for approval," said its CEO Eric Thomas. Thomas said he understood that Apple would still have the final say on whether to approve his app. The problem is that Apple won't tell developers whether it rejected an app or if there were other issues. At least developers can make adjustments. It's a very strange and unfriendly move. Smith founded Freeverse Software in 1994 and also developed games and desktop applications for computers. But like other software developers, the company shifted its focus to the iPhone as the iPhone became more popular. But that doesn't mean it's necessarily a quick way to get rich. "We were like a freshman doing a side project," he said. "We thought that because the barriers to entry for developers were low, everyone could get involved." Software developer Cerulean Studios experienced this firsthand. Co-founder Scott Werndorfer once received a call from an Apple employee. "He didn't say much, just said our app would be approved that afternoon. We knew what it meant to deal with Apple. They want everything to be perfect, and you have to play by their rules." Expanding Monetization Some developers have taken other approaches to get around Apple's policies, doing what they want and releasing iPhone apps quickly. They develop apps for jailbroken iPhones and iPod Touches. Jailbroken iPhones can install any software they want. Apple says this is illegal. "Developers are just tired of Apple's app approval process and are moving to jailbroken iPhones or other platforms, like Android," said one industry insider. As the iPhone App Store matures, the question of expanding revenue streams has emerged. Having a large number of apps is not enough to remain profitable. Bart Decrem, CEO of startup Tapulous, recalls the early days when all you had to do was develop a great game. The company launched its first iPhone app in 2008, which quickly became a popular download and became the most popular free iPhone app of the year. Decrem said success is not as easy or quick now that so many companies are competing in this market. Big companies like Electronic Arts have also entered the iPhone app development process. The company recently released an iPhone app for its hit game Rock Band. "The opportunity is still there, but the stakes are higher," said Dickram. Tapulous is currently working with record companies and artists to launch special versions of the Tap Tap Revenge game for famous artists. "Simply selling apps is not a very promising model," he said. It is not clear how concerned Apple is about the problems in its App Store. The company's App Store policies have attracted much criticism, and even the Federal Communications Commission has criticized Apple for refusing to approve Google'sThe matter is still under investigation. Critics say they doubt Apple can maintain a fair market, especially when developers offer products that could compete with Apple's current or future product lines. Apple's success in running the App Store is due to the iTunes division. "We use most of the iTunes technology for the App Store," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of iTunes. "But it's completely different. We need to approve all apps, but we don't need to approve every song." Apple executives point out that it is important to ensure that third-party apps run smoothly and provide a high-quality experience for users. "Our goal is very simple, which is to provide the best platform for mobile apps. We know we're not perfect, but we're the best by far, and we want to keep getting better," Schiller said. Apple said it has added staff to review apps and is trying to improve and simplify the process of communicating with developers. Competition is getting fiercer The success of the iPhone App Store was a surprise to both Apple and its competitors. That success has now led to the rise of a new digital ecosystem. Nowadays, a large number of software enthusiasts, from individuals to established companies, have been involved in iPhone application development. And all smartphone manufacturers are trying their best to make their platforms more attractive and profitable to realize the user enthusiasm for the iPhone platform innovation. This is not difficult to understand. Although Apple does not disclose the specific financial data of the iPhone App Store, analysts estimate that it brings more than $500 million in profits to Apple and developers each year. RIM recently held a BlackBerry Application Developer Conference in San Francisco. The company said at the conference that it will make several changes to its mobile phone operating system, including allowing advertisements and e-commerce behaviors in applications to enrich the types of BlackBerry applications. RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie said that he is more concerned about the functions of BlackBerry applications rather than their number. He said: "We are more interested in other aspects, including changing applications, changing user experience, providing great prospects for the entire BlackBerry ecosystem and bringing revenue opportunities." There are currently more than 3,000 BlackBerry applications. Balsillie said that in any case, smartphones and their applications have opened up a new world. "The phones of the future will be smartphones," he said. "There will be more services, more ways to generate revenue and consume. Growth is inevitable. The question is who will innovate in the right direction to create value and ultimately grow." Palm is about to launch an application store called App Catalog, which the company hopes will attract developers to create applications for smartphones such as the Pre. Because Palm's WebOS mobile operating system uses the same programming language used to develop websites, this means that developers are already familiar with the programming languages that can be used to develop mobile applications. So far, Palm has provided more than 500 applications, which is slightly less than the iPhone. Many analysts believe that this is the reason why Palm phones are not attractive to consumers. Like RIM, Palm also said that it does not need a large number of applications to compete. "Two years ago, the iPhone delivered on everything people wanted from a phone," said Ben Galbraith, co-director of developer relations at Palm. "Phones and their apps were the future of computing. But the market is saturated with apps, and if you're ranked 50,000 out of 200,000 apps, how do you survive?" Palm said it has a more streamlined app approval process, where developers can apply for Palm App Catalog candidates and wait for approval, or post apps directly on third-party websites. That will help avoid the kind of conflict between Apple and developers. Meanwhile, Microsoft, which has been criticized by analysts for its slow progress in the smartphone market, also said it would focus on enforcing the quality of its app store. Microsoft launched its Windows Marketplace mobile app store in October, which now has more than 800 apps. "Our strategy is to look at how to provide the best user experience holistically," said Victoria Grady, Microsoft's head of mobile strategy. Many developers and analysts believe that Google's Android mobile phone system will become Apple's strongest competitor. Unlike Apple, Google does not have an approval process, and any developer can develop apps for the Android Marketplace. There are now more than 14,000 Android mobile apps. "We're doing everything we can to open the platform to developers and consumers," said Eric Chu, Android platform manager at Google. "We think that's the key to Android's differentiation, that apps are no longer limited to a particular phone." He said the growing number of Android phones is providing more opportunities for developers to make money. "This time last year, we had only one Android phone. Now it's growing, and so is the developer ecosystem," he said. Apps not only provide business opportunities for companies, but the availability of an app store can make the difference between a company's survival in a make-or-break market. Apple has another advantage: The iPhone provides a unified, standard platform for developers. "When we develop an iPhone app, we know how it works when we test it, and that's how it's going to work on every phone," said David Lieb, co-founder of software company Bump Technologies. "That's not the case with other smartphones, which have different screen sizes, processor speeds, hardware specs, etc." However, the competitive landscape is taking shape, and the Apple App Store phenomenon shows no signs of slowing down. Market research firm IDC predicts that the number of iPhone applications will triple next year, driven by the growing popularity of smartphones. Analysts say that in the meantime, Apple's App Store will continue to disrupt the smartphone industry and threaten competitors that fail to offer the same rich applications. Morgan Stanley analyst Huberty said: "The mobile phone industry used to operate in a model where mobile phone manufacturers launched new products, some of which became popular that season, and some did not. But with the emergence of mobile applications, everything changed. The mobile phone industry has shifted from a product game to a platform game." Craig Moffett, an analyst at investment research firm Sanford C. Bernstein, said: "When people look back on history in the future, they will see the iPhone as a turning point in the mobile phone industry. The iPhone will be seen as the first true handheld computer.""People will look back on the iPhone as a turning point in the mobile phone industry," said Craig Moffett, an analyst at Bernstein. "The iPhone will be seen as the first true handheld computer.""People will look back on the iPhone as a turning point in the mobile phone industry," said Craig Moffett, an analyst at Bernstein. "The iPhone will be seen as the first true handheld computer.""People will look back on the iPhone as a turning point in the mobile phone industry," said Craig Moffett, an analyst at Bernstein. "The iPhone will be seen as the first true handheld computer.""People will look back on the iPhone as a turning point in the mobile phone industry," said Craig Moffett, an analyst at Bernstein. "The iPhone will be seen as the first true handheld computer."
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