Apple, the iPhone, and the App Store...

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The iPhone phenomenon is hard to hide from. The underlying success of this device is not due to its innovative operating system or its pretty looks, but rather the iTunes Applications (App) store.

Article Snapshot

• iPhone has revolutionised the mobile phone market
• Much of its success has been attributed to the iTunes Apps store
• Key selling point: "An App for everything"

The iPhone phenomenon is hard to hide from. Over the past decade we have seen the huge success of Apple’s portable music player, the iPod, so it isn’t really surprising to see that the iPhone would be received by consumers in the same manner. The underlying success of this device is not due to its innovative operating system or its pretty looks, but rather the iTunes Applications (App) store.

The iPhone, to put it simply, is a great leap forward in mobile devices. The operating system is user-friendly and the design is aesthetically pleasing. By itself, it's what most phone users want and need. That said, there are other touch-screen phones on the market with a number of superior features, phones with better cameras, less restrictions and that are less expensive...so what makes it so good? Why did the iPhone revolutionise the mobile device market? Simply put...it was the introduction of the App Store.

The App Store

Apple's 1^st generation iPhone had the looks, but for users wanting 3rd party apps, it meant "jailbreaking" the phone (installing another operating system that mimicked the original OS, but allowed for 3^rd party apps to be installed), which was, of course, frowned upon by Apple. So what was the wise thing to do? Let developers create their own applications that would be sold on the iTunes App Store. This became the phone’s key selling point - “an app for everything”. And that’s exactly the case, as there is literally an application for everything. With the inclusion of the 3G chip in the 2^nd and 3^rd generations of the phone, it meant that not only was high-speed Internet browsing available, but Internet-reliant applications would change the way people used their phones.

The App Store also opened up the doors for aspiring game and application developers enabling them to have their products distributed without having to be approved by big named publishers. Businesses are being created all around the world with the sole purpose of creating iPhone-based applications and it’s proving to be a very profitable market. One single operation iPhone developer is said to have made a simple application that saw $800,000 in revenue in the first 6 months of the App Store’s operation. In Australia, applications can be offered as free downloads, or priced between $1.19 and $999.99. Developers get 70% of the revenue made from these sales, completely eliminating middle man publishers, you can see why iPhone application development can be a very profitable business.

Does it do everything?

At first, the iPhone’s credibility as a capable enterprise-ready device was questionable, with many analysts saying that its email capabilities were limited, and that the Blackberry brand was still the better option. But as the phone’s operating system began to see regular updates such as push notification, comprehensive Microsoft Exchange integration, and the app store started seeing more and more applications from big-name companies like Cisco, Sales Force etc, the iPhone began to emerge as a very promising business-capable device. To give you an idea of what applications are available to your business, here are just some from the ever-growing pool of apps:

• Remote desktop apps: Let you control your PC or Mac when you’re out of the office or your home
• Document viewing: Applications that let you view documents on-the-go
• CCTV and IP camera apps: You can monitor live feeds of video from cameras in secure locations such as your home or workplace, right on your phone
• Unit/Currency converters: Important when needing to do quick conversions, especially overseas
• Stocks: A default application on the iPhone, but other 3rd party products are also offered that allow you to monitor your investments
• Mobile Banking: Web-based applications designed specifically for your iPhone, to make online banking fast and safe for your mobile browser
• Finance/Budgeting Apps: Keep track of personal and business finances while you’re out and about

These are just some of the thousands of applications available to businesses who have harnessed the technology of Apple’s hand-held device. Other applications are available for specific industries which are actually changing the way they operating. A fantastic example of this is seen in the case study and video of the Doylestown Hospital in America, which shows the use of an application tailored to a specific industry. The fact that the applications used by the doctors in the hospital have improved their patient’s quality of life proves that the potential of these kinds of applications are endless, and they can truly be created for something great.

Shortcomings

The iPhone does, however, have its short comings.

The first generation of the iPhone lacked the basic essentials - MMS, video, landscape keyboard despite its small, non-tactile keys, and some other basic key features seen on other competitor’s phones. OS 3.0 covered some of these issues, bringing the iPhone's standard features up to the level of the most basic mobile phones, but there are still some missing features that prove that it still has a little way to go, like the exclusion of flash - a big no-no for website browsing.

The App Store also has some negative aspects, such as the star rating system. An application can be reviewed by the people who have downloaded it, but often people may accidentally give it one star (out of a possible 5), but actually give it a good written review. This unfortunately happens a lot of the time. Other times, people tend not read the instructions given by the developers, so when the app doesn’t work from the word go, they give it a low rating.

The App Store then displays this average rating quite clearly to the potential consumers, and applications with high ratings do very well, those with low ratings tend to not do so well. To Apple's credit, many improvements have been made to this system such as version ratings and only allowing people who have downloaded the app to rate it. As Apple began to relax its approval restrictions, more and more applications began to flood the store. Currently, there are over 65,000 applications available, which can make finding the right app rather difficult.

We love you iPhone

The iPhone changed the way phones will be designed. The App Store changed the way phones will be used. No longer are mobile phones just simply portable phones, they are multimedia devices that we carry with us every hour of the day. They tell us the weather, they guide us around streets, they show us where the closest cinema is and what time the next movie is showing, tell us when the next train is coming with real time data – all these functions were almost non-existent just over a year ago.

Businesses are starting to see the benefits of the iPhone, with its expanding capabilities and the increasing catalogue of business applications. Development companies are appearing in large numbers, a phenomenon by itself, allowing for developers to be as creative as they wish without having to go through publishing companies and reaping the rewards of their own individual talent.

But with this great technology also comes a cost – physical interaction is becoming less and less the norm. We spend so much time on our phones already, with applications it's just another excuse to avoid social interaction with those around us. We never seem to “switch off”, having the compulsion to constantly check work emails, or check the cricket score every five minutes, even when out with friends. With the invention of SMS messaging, you no longer had to explain yourself to the person whose appointment you failed to attend, now, with the iPhone it’s even easier to make excuses...yes, there’s even an app for that too.

Some handy resources for your iPhone:

• Developing Applications – A very good video on the potential of iPhone applications from a developer’s point of view
• Get the most out of your iPhone - Apple’s resource for all you need to know about your phone

Some of Brightlabs’ favourite apps:

• Analytics Agent Pro – Access Google Analytics data
• FTP On The Go – Make website changes on the go
• Jaadu VNC – Control your PC or Mac from your phone
• Bloomberg - A powerful resource for all your financial information needs
• Air Sharing Pro – Take documents with you on your iPhone (PDF, Excel, Word etc)