Comments on: Carriers, App Store and Mobile Web: Six Factors for App Distribution Success

By: ppk

ppk — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 23:03:38 +0000

Excellent article, thanks.

I’d add one item to the App Store vs. Mobile Web comparison: compatibility (or maybe consistency); and it’s in favour of the App Store model.

A mobile web app must run on a lot of browsers on a lot of phones, and it will be very hard to get a consistent experience across all those platforms. That’s a problem that any closed app system doesn’t have and will work to its advantage – for the moment.

By: Markalope

Markalope — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:09:44 +0000

Consistent micropayment method(s) also will need to be carrier-agnostic. This is the true hurdle to mobile apps hat are not tied to a single carrier payment agreement, such as between Apple and AT&T. When I was working with a large Seattle-area maker of operating system and office software – there was much gnashing of teeth at the problems encountered with coming to an agreement on pricing for services that would be acceptable to each an all of the carriers – not to mention the wildcard of prepaid phone contracts. This single-carrier arrangement with AT&T, much disliked by users, may be one of the single strongest points of advantage to Apple’s success with the app store.

By: Jason Grigsby

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:49:03 +0000

@jer I don't think you can discount the importance of the iPhone design and form factor. If the distribution model was great, but the end user experience sucked, it wouldn't matter. RE: Micropayments. It isn't simply important that micropayments exist. It is that the payment system is built-in, readily accessible, and universal. No one has an iPhone that can't buy software using their iTunes account.

By: Jason Grigsby

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:46:36 +0000

@jer I'm talking specifically about getting applications approved for on deck distribution via carriers and getting those applications approved by the carriers for distribution. In particular a historical perspective on what it took to get approval rather than the current lay of the land. The funny thing is that these criticisms of the carrier model are so commonly cited and taken for granted, I don't have anything handy with specific numbers. I'll take a look around.

By: jer@nyquil.org

jer@nyquil.org — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:43:36 +0000

I’d be interested to see the same breakdown applied to all the other mobile app distribution platforms that predate iPhone. I’m not questioning the appeal or success of App Store, I’m just not sure that success can be pinned on the factors you’ve listed. If it were any of those factors, the platforms that predated iPhone ought also to have seen the same success, as they all have them. (Assume, of course that you define ‘micropayments’ as ‘paying with a credit card’)

By: jer@nyquil.org

jer@nyquil.org — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:33:11 +0000

Are you comparing iPhone apps to those of non-smartphones? I’m pretty sure that it doesn’t cost thousands of dollars, and that you don’t have to share revenue with anyone when developing a Blackberry app, a PalmOS app, a Windows CE app, a Windows Mobile app, etc. Which platform is it that your numbers and assessments refer to?

By: Jason Grigsby

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:31:03 +0000

@nate You're right. I refer to that as findability. I have five factors that I'll be blogging about soon for why someone chooses native development versus mobile web, etc. Findability is one of those five factors. Findability probably belongs on this list as well. I can't remember why I left it off of this list.

By: Nate Angell

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:23:58 +0000

Great analysis!

One factor I’m thinking about is what might be called “discoverability” (I’m sure there’s a better word): how users find, evaluate, and install apps.

It seems like the one-stop shopping model of the Apple App Store has an advantage in this area that the mobile web should also address to become a highly competitive alternative.