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I think the killer app in mobile are the devices themselves. They're all being sold as a package: web, e-mail, music, video, store, camera, etc. The apps are ve
by jsz0 16y ago
I think the killer app in mobile are the devices themselves. They're all being sold as a package: web, e-mail, music, video, store, camera, etc. The apps are very important too but my guess is most people are mostly looking at the core functionality of the device. You don't really have to sell people with third party apps anymore though a lack of apps can still be a liability just because it weakens the package. It's not like the old days where hardware was somewhat useless to the average person without killer apps. SmartPhones come packed with a ton of functionality before you ever install a third party app.
To that extent I agree with the author of this article. Apple views third party apps as an accessory. They are going to do everything possible to protect what they think really matters: stability, reliability, good end user experience, easy OS upgrades, easy syncing/backup with iTunes, etc. I don't think there's much evidence to suggest Apple wants to play the Microsoft role and attempt to dominate the applications as well. After more than 3 years Apple has released very few paid applications for iOS and they haven't really undercut third party app makers by integrating a lot of additional features into the OS that would be better served as third party apps. They don't even bundle iBooks on their devices so it exists (more or less) on a level playing field with Kindle and the B&N reader.
- lotharbot 16y ago> "my guess is most people are mostly looking at the core functionality of the device." Once a device has an exclusive killer app, people start to treat that app as part of the device's core functionality. Apple views apps as an accessory. Would it trouble them to see consumers begin to treat a third party app as a core system component? The author seems to think so. (He has no evidence, though.)
- stcredzero 16y agoWhat's keeping Skype/Truphone from becoming the primary outbound call mechanism on the iPhone?
- joe_the_user 16y agoApple eliminating them if that happens?
- stcredzero 16y agoI mean by usage, not executing code. The consequences already occurred: AT&T charging Skype for 3G calls.
- notauser 16y agoOff the top of my head... Technically: You can't intercept calls from the dialer on the iPhone. You can build a look-alike replacement which is pretty good, but you will never be able to do things like intercept tel:// URIs. Call quality/security/battery life trade offs are harder because you don't have access to a lot of the hardware acceleration features. Cellular networks are designed to prioritize (GSM) voice over data, especially for latency, ensuring that GSM voice is better quality. 911 requirements (especially for 'primary' voice services) are very strict, expensive and really hard to do well without access to carrier-level information and deep handset hardware control. Non-technically: If it became a competitive necessity carriers could drop prices like a rock. The marginal cost for AT&T to route a call is much lower than it is for VoIP carriers due to volume. They can adjust their pricing structure (e.g. by raising monthly fees) to compensate. Someone else derives a lot of profit from the platform you are trying to undercut, and they have control over approvals for that platform.