MobileBizBuzz

June 30, 2010

To Develop, Or Not Too Develop…That Is The Question

Filed under: Mobile App Dev,Mobile Apps — Tags: , , , — Mike @ 8:53 am

It’s generally recognized that part of Apple’s success with the iPhone is due to their focus on applications. The App Store was the first of a kind, and is still a leader in mobile phone applications with over 225,000 apps available.  Android has been coming on strong, but is still a distant second place with over 50,000 apps. No other smartphone platform even comes close to this type of application availability, including Microsoft and BlackBerry.

I’m sure most of the people who read this blog are not developers…that’s not our intended audience. But I think it’s instructive to understand what developers are thinking.  Recently a company called Appcelerator published a survey of developers and their view of the various platforms.  I’d recommend you at least read the overview.  They also have a pdf to download if you want more detail. As you read it, just remember that Appcelerator makes a cross platform development tool called Titanium. So they have a specific point of view that influences the questions they ask. They also have a specific type of developer that uses their tool. Regardless, the information is interesting.

The chart to the left is one of the most interesting segments of the survey. What it shows is a very focused interest in Apple and Android. Everything else is waning.  Pretty interesting stuff given BlackBerry is still the leading smartphone seller by far. However, they have lagged and continue to lag in the application development game. They also have not done much with novel handset delivery.

For those in the industry, we should pay attention to what the huge development community is doing. While developer acceptance has helped to boost Apple, lack of developer acceptance played at least some role in the demise of Palm.  Developers are not the only barometer of trends in the mobile industry, but they are one of the key metrics we should all be paying attention to.

May 19, 2010

Global Handset Sales Above Forecast – Apps?

Filed under: Mobile Devices — Tags: , , — Clint @ 8:05 am

Today’s Wall Street Journal article  reports on the rapid growth in the 1Q2010 mobile handset market, throttled by an increase of 49% in smartphone unit sales, totalling 54.3M devices.  RIM and Apple have now vaulted to the  #5 and #7 global handset volume list, where they continue to nibble away at Nokia’s massive market share.

Are apps driving the demand for these devices or are they more affordable or both?  Apple is setting the pace with approximately 200,000 apps available.  Meanwhile, RIM is lagging in this category with only 6,000 apps, but has the best mobile email in the industry.

RIM is up 1% while Apple is slightly down in their respective exchanges this morning.

May 12, 2010

Something Sneaky This Way Comes

Filed under: Industry News,Mobile App Dev,Mobile Devices — Tags: , , , — Mike @ 9:18 am

Release the Kraken! Scratch that. Just a minute here…um, uh…OK, let’s try this again. Look out for Android! I know, I know…that’s not nearly as dramatic as commanding the release of the mythical Kraken, but it’s certainly something those of us in the industry should heed.

If I were to ask almost anybody on the street what the most popular smartphone is today, I bet that 9 out of 10 people would say the iPhone. And why not? There are several reasons to think that:

  1. Apple has smartphone market share that is second only to RIM (BlackBerry).
  2. Apple invented the whole App Store concept as we all now know it, and it boasts over 200,000 applications.
  3. Apple ships a lot of phones. According to  Canalys, over 25 million iPhones were shipped in 2009 alone.

Now let’s change the question a bit. What if I were to ask what the most popular operating system is for a smartphone? Admittedly, the average person does not think about smartphones in this way, but the average application developer does. The answer to this question would not be too surprising for the most part. According to data just released by NPD Group, RIM still leads in this game with 36% of all smartphones sold in the US in the first quarter of 2010 running the BlackBerry OS. It probably also wouldn’t surprise anybody to know that Apple came in at 21% in the same study. Very impressive for a company that has essentially a couple of different flavors of the same smartphone. And remember, in the US Apple only runs on one carrier…AT&T.

There was a bit of a surprise in this most recent data though, and that was Android. Android is the open OS backed by Google. Like BlackBerrys, Android devices run on all the carriers and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Unlike BlackBerrys, Android devices are made by several manufacturers including the likes of Motorola and HTC. Here’s the surprising part…in the first quarter of 2010, 28% of all smartphones sold in the US were Android devices.  That’s right, there are now more Android devices being sold in the US than there are iPhones being sold in the US.  And guess what else. Android Marketplace (the Android App Store), now has over 50,000 applications listed on it.

Not only does Android have this type of momentum, but it has other things going for it:

  1. Many of the newest and slickest devices are Android devices. For instance, this summer Sprint and HTC will introduce the first WiMAX phone and it will be an Android device.
  2. AT&T just started offering Android devices in the last month or so. That means Android devices have lots of room to grow with AT&T subscribers.
  3. With Android 2.1, Android devices are starting to surpass some of the capabilities of the iPhone.

This doesn’t mean we should all sell our Apple stock. Far from it. So far Apple continues to innovate and make some interesting decisions in the market. Couple that with well designed devices, and a powerful brand, and Apple will continue to be a leader in the smartphone market. At least for the time being. But don’t count out Android. Android isn’t making as much noise as Apple, but they are quietly making their presence know in a big way in the market.

May 4, 2010

The End of an Era

Filed under: Mobile Apps — Tags: , , , — Mike @ 9:15 am

Last week witnessed the end of an era as Hewlett Packard announced its intent to purchase the beleaguered Palm. Engadget did a story with their take on the new Palm logo (seen at the right). I think there are three primary lessons the industry can learn from the demise of Palm.

The first lesson is nobody is big enough to not fail. Unlike in the financial sector, in the mobile handset environment no company, no matter what success they have had in the past is safe. It’s hard to realize at this point in time that Palm essentially invented what we all know as the smartphone today. Few in the industry would argue that point, but here we are 5-6 years later and Palm has been experiencing a descent into the depths for the past 3 years.  In 2004 it would have been as unimaginable to think Palm would fail, as it would be to think Apple would fail today, and yet here we are. Nobody is safe in this world.

The second lesson is to innovate or die. Palm, was once on the top of the heap with the most sophisticated, and yet easy to use, handsets on the market. They had a smaller, but no less enthusiastic following than Apple has today. I’m not sure why it happened, but somewhere around 2007 Palm quit innovating. Oh, I imagine in the labs they were working on new ideas, but they weren’t seeing the light of day. From the time they came out with the Treo 600, clear up through the Centro, there was nothing really new with the Palm handsets…a little more memory here, a smaller form factor there, and a few bells and whistles, but nothing significant to speak of. Unlike Palm, Apple just recently announced a completely new mobile device with the iPad. On the surface it might seem like a giant iPhone, but in fact at MacroSolve are already starting to develop entirely new business applications for the iPad. There’s no rest for the weary in the mobile handset market.

The final lesson is that applications are key to success. While Apple may have introduced the App Store concept, it is no longer unique to Apple.  Android already has over 30,000 applications on Android Market, and it’s market share is rapidly climbing. BlackBerry is struggling to get much traction with applications. Last I saw there were under 5000 apps in BlackBerry App World. That’s not much for an app store that has been in existence for just over a year. Interestingly, while BlackBerry is the clear leader in smartphone market share, their market share has been slipping over the last several months. While there are many variables that play into  market share in this market, I’d suggest the number and quality of applications available is one key variable.

So, if you’re a smartphone maker three things are worth focusing on:

  1. Don’t grow complacent no matter how great the accolades,
  2. Continue to innovate on new device ideas and capabilities, and
  3. Whatever you do, make sure you have a healthy, happy, and growing  developer community.

July 27, 2009

My PC is More Mobile Than Yours

Filed under: Mobile Devices,Mobile in SMB — Tags: , , , , , — Chris @ 10:22 am

iphoneI met with the owner of a restaurant last Thursday and had something completely unexpected happen.  The gentleman I met with has been in the restaurant business for quite some time, starting out with Subway, then rolling out his own pizza franchise concept, and now finally launching his own pizzeria.  I was there to do a little research for the product side of our business.  We talked for about an hour about several ways mobile technology could assist him in the operation of his restaurant, and also how it could help him be more in tune with his customers.

The discussion was very helpful to me, and I believe to him as well.  However, about midway through our discussion something completely unexpected happened.  This gentleman held up his iPhone that had been sitting on the table next to him throughout our discussion.  As he held it up he declared “This is my PC.”  His point was that he was not in the restaurant all the time, and he used his iPhone as not only the mechanism to help keep him in tune with what was going on his his restaurant, but also to help him access other information, make calls, visit web sites etc.  In every way, this little “phone” had become his primary computing device.

I have made mention of this trend in other previous posts, but in this case I got anecdotal confirmation straight from the horses mouth without any prompting from me.  This is not an advertisement for the iPhone, though it is a very slick device.  I am sure if asked others would say the same thing about their Windows Mobile device, or their BlackBerry, or maybe even the Pre now.  The point is that in fact, our phones are becoming much more than phones.  They are in many instances taking the place of our PC’s in the real world.

March 17, 2009

Blackberry: Rockin’ the Smartphone Market

Filed under: Industry News,Mobile Devices — Tags: , , , — Clint @ 8:18 am

Blackberry SmartphoneThe Smartphone market is one of the areas we closely watch as it serves as a bellweather for trends on how businesses are adopting mobility.  Within this market is Nokia, RIM/Blackberry, iPhone, Windows Mobile devices, HTC, Palm and others.  What makes these devices ‘smart’ as compared to a cell phone?  In simple terms they have an operating system that allows applications to be downloaded, a wireless data connection and usually a keyboard that accomodates a lot of typing.

A leading research firm, Gartner, just released its annual report on this market.  Of the 138 million devices sold in 2008, Nokia owns 40% of the market, followed by Blackberry (~20%) and then iPhone (~10%).  Nokia is losing market share, Blackberry is up 84% (quarter over quarter) and iPhone, a new entrant, is up 111%.   What is interesting here is that Blackberry is now a $12Billion company and this growth rate is incredible for a company that size.  Blackberry’s niche is serving the business customer, which are typically email fanatics.  iPhone serves a completely different segment, entertainment driven customers.

My take on this development is that businesses can cost justify a Blackberry as a business tool.  With a new application store called App World, we will likely see this trend continue.

If you would like more detailed information on the subject, Michael Mace’s blog has some very good statitistics and observations.

February 26, 2009

No Microsoft Smartphone Coming

Filed under: Industry News,Mobile App Dev,Mobile Devices — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Chris @ 2:24 pm
2009 Mobile World Congress

Steve Ballmer

After months of speculation and rumors about a new Microsoft smartphone, and months of Microsoft denying said speculation and rumors, Steve Ballmer finally made it clear that Microsoft will not release a smartphone.

Seems like a smart move as I really don’t hear a lot of people clamoring for one. Even so, many analysts and bloggers expected a 2009 release to compete with RIM/BlackBerry and Apple/iPhone.

Apple still has the device to beat and Ballmer seems to be happy to let them keep the current “mojo” in the consumer market. Ballmer’s strategy is to continue to build upon the Windows Mobile (actually now Windows Phones) platform and make it as compatible with as many devices as possible. Though not unique, this strategy is very different from Apple’s and RIM’s, whereby they both have a proprietary device and proprietary operating system. Stirring it up even more, Palm recently announced the Pre as well as a new mobile platform called webOS.

Historically, the proprietary device/OS strategy has worked for many mobile phone providers, but I believe this may be changing. From a business user’s perspective (me), the real value in “smartdevices” comes from the business applications (increasing productivity and reducing costs) that run on it. Highly restrictive access to the OS or having to develop across an endless sea of proprietary platforms makes it difficult for mobile application companies to create solutions that can run on every device. 

I would personally like to see a handful of the best OS platforms be able to run across all the devices – and carrier networks. But I won’t hold my breath just yet.

January 29, 2009

Presidential Smartphones

Filed under: Industry News,Mobile Devices,Mobile in Social — Tags: , , , , , , — Mike @ 8:52 am
Barack Obama - Barack Obama 'to be allowed to continue using BlackBerry in White House'

Photo: AP

I’m sure you’ve all read it, or seen it, or heard it by now. That’s right; President Obama gets to keep his BlackBerry. The latest story I read yesterday is right here. Being in the mobile business, I’ve probably heard this story from more angles than your average bear. But with all the angles I have heard, I think most folks are missing the point. The point isn’t that the president has chosen a BlackBerry (which obviously thrills RIM), nor that they are changing presidential procedures to deal with his mobile addiction, nor that the device will require some “super spy” type of security. The point is that the president can’t do without his smartphone.

In this aspect he really is a reflection of what is going on in our society. Even during a huge economic slowdown (or recession, or depression, or whatever you call it), mobile phones continue to become a part of the very fabric of our lives. In a story yesterday from RCR Wireless news, AT&T said it added 2.1 million new customers in the fourth quarter of last year. Verizon added 1.4 million new customers during the same time frame. That’s 3.5 million new subscribers with those two carriers alone, in 3 months, during the middle of some of the worst economic conditions in a very long time.

My kids reflect this same addiction. About a year ago I was looking at our family mobile phone bill, because of some additional charge that appeared. I’ll have to admit I rarely look it over as long as it is within normal operating parameters, but somebody had gone over on some service. I don’t even recall what the deal was now. Anyway, while I was looking into the detail I noticed my then 16-year-old son had sent about 7500 text messages for the month. My then 15-year-old daughter was not far behind with about 6000. I brought up the rear with about 700. As I recall my daughter said “That’s really weak, Dad.”

So what? What’s the big deal? I’ll tell you what the big deal is: we are changing the way we communicate as a society. First it was the land line telephone, then it was the cell phone, then it was email, then instant messaging, then social networking and text messaging. The point is that our society is increasingly communicating via mobile devices for their personal lives. The teens and 20-somethings of today are immersed in a mobile world. As more of them infiltrate the work force, more of how we communicate in business will change. And we won’t be able to pull out the old lines that we can’t do it that way because it isn’t professional, or it’s not secure, or it doesn’t leave the right type of audit trail. After all, the president is using it now, and to a certain extent that changes everything.

January 26, 2009

Online App Stores are Booming – What it means to Business

Filed under: Mobile App Dev,Mobile Apps,Mobile Devices,Mobile in SMB — Tags: , , , , , , — Chris @ 5:37 pm

For those of us that eat and sleep mobile (that’s our job, right?), it’s been interesting to follow how the big industry players are rushing to create online mobile application “stores”. Riding on the coattails of the successful iPhone App Store, Microsoft, Google, RIM and others are all jumping into the ring to compete head-to-head with Apple.

These industry behemoths are launching their online stores so end users/customers can find, buy and download applications and other content for their mobile devices. Plus, it provides a marketing outlet for the growing developer community to showcase and sell their wares. That’s great news for our industry as it shows strong interest and continued growth in mobility. Loosening carrier restrictions and opening platforms means just about anyone can develop, upload and sell a mobile solution to this growing market. Of course, if you’ve been paying attention you know that you’re not likely to find many strategic business applications on these sites.

iBeer ApplicationIt’s one thing to hack out some code utilizing the iPhone’s accelerometer to mimic a pint of beer and upload it to the App Store, but developing and successfully marketing a strategic business application (one that provides clear value and a quick return on investment) requires a different kind of business model. For many small and medium sized developers a great product is enough to build a list of local clients. But extending their product’s reach to the regional or national stage can be overwhelming due to prohibitive marketing and advertising costs, product support and training issues, sales channel complexities, mounting fees, distribution issues and more. Unfortunately, these big online stores don’t help with those issues because they simply aren’t designed to offer any more than just the application.

Since many business application developers struggle to effectively market their apps, potential customers have difficulty finding their products. The major search engines are too broad to be effective and most online sites are consumer-focused or too narrow. So where does Joe the Electrician (just couldn’t bring myself to say ‘plumber’!) go to find a bundled solution for inventory management, vehicle tracking and m-commerce for his business? Well, it’s not the iTunes App Store. Microsoft’s upcoming “Skymarket” store has potential, but only if the software is written for Windows Mobile  (it was going to be for version but maybe now for version 6.5 – which isn’t even out yet??). What about RIM’s new BlackBerry store (once it opens, of course)? Possibly, but Joe may need something more rugged than a shiny new BlackBerry Storm.

It’s obvious that this book is still being written – in fact, I think we’re only looking at chapter 1. And of course, as the next chapters come together, you’ll read about it here.

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