Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Development
    • Mobile
    • Small Business

    Media Overhypes App Stores, Says Report

    By
    Michelle Maisto
    -
    November 16, 2009
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Apple’s App Store now offers more than 100,000 apps, and has facilitated approximately 2.2 billion downloads. Google’s Android Market is next in line, with an impressive 10,000-plus app offerings. Palm’s App Catalogue is nearing the 300-app mark, and Microsoft continues to tweak and update its new app store, Marketplace for Mobile. But is the value of app stores, to these players, being overhyped?
      A November report from Danish research firm Strand Consult raises this question, while suggesting that the attention the media has lavished on app stores might be better focused on value-added services.
      “In the world that Strand Consult does business in, we do not have many customers that can make a living from giving customers free applications for their mobile phones, and we are for example more focused on the $32 billion U.S. market for premium value-added services that exists today, than the many app store attempts we run into,” the firm explains in a statement on the report.
      It goes on to state that Handango.com is one of the oldest players in the market, focused on delivering apps to smartphones and PDAs. In October 2005, Nokia launched Preminet, now called “Download,” which is similar to Handango’s concept, except that it pre-installed the service on phones. From there, Apple essentially did the same, though with a more attractive user interface. The cash flow generated by Apple’s App Store, Strand States, is likely still limited compared to the global cash flow from content sales created on a model like that of the SMS market.
      “We believe that the path forward for premium value-added services is not to build App Stores,” writes the firm.
      “What we believe will create a market is a healthy business model combined with massive marketing of mobile services to the end users. The success of this strategy has already been proved by the ring tone and Java game market. In an app store the primary focus will be on the few services being marketed on the front page, and the path to success could be very long for most application developers.”
      The firm likens app stores to a bookshop, writing that the mobile industry doesn’t need booksellers, so much as people who “can educate users and teach them how to use mobile phones for other things than just voice and SMS.”
      Strand expects the value-added services market to “explode,” from the current $32 billion market it is, as more people purchase mobile broadband connections.
      “The big question is not whether there will be a market, or whether it will be huge, but rather who will dominate the market?” Strand writes. “We do not believe it will be app stores or other similar solutions one reads about in the media.”
      The report is available at the Strand Consult Website.

      Editor’s Note: The text has been change to reflect that Strand Consult is Danish, not Dutch.

      Michelle Maisto
      Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×