September 2009

Windows Mobile Marketplace: Coming Soon

September 29, 2009 by Ken

Ellen wrote last week about how Apple changed the mobile world with the iTunes App Store. I’m looking forward to seeing the impact of the Microsoft mobile software store, Windows Marketplace for Mobile, which is scheduled for release on October 6.

First of all, I’m very hopeful that it will be a big success. Microsoft will be including it on all the new Windows Mobile 6.5 devices, as well as making it available for download on WM 6.0 and 6.1 units. I believe that’s the single most important factor in an app store’s success.

I’m very pleased to see that Microsoft is allowing developers to submit trial versions of their software to Marketplace. Letting users run demo versions of applications before they buy is not only important to them, but can also make a big difference in the quality of the apps available, and the price they sell for. I know that people don’t object to paying reasonable prices for software - we wouldn’t be here if they did. But I also know that it’s much harder for someone to pay for an application if they haven’t had the chance to try it first. Allowing trials in the Marketplace will undoubtedly help prevent the “race to the bottom” that plagues iTunes.

I know the Windows Mobile Marketplace won’t initially have the number of apps that iTunes does, but I don’t think that’s a problem, either as a developer or an end-user. As a developer, I’m frustrated by how hard it is for our apps to be seen among 75,000 apps; as a user, I’m frustrated by how hard it is to find what I’m looking for. Of course Microsoft needs enough apps to appeal to the wide variety of their users, and I hope the developer community will provide them. The ideal scenario would be that the Windows Mobile Marketplace gets the magic number that makes the store compelling without being overwhelming. I think there’s a good chance of that happening.

Like Apple, Microsoft is reviewing all apps submitted to the Windows Mobile Marketplace, and apps have to be approved before they’ll appear. And like with Apple, there have been problems in the review and approval process. The good news is that Microsoft is improving their process, and implementing changes suggested by developers. Once again, I’m optimistic. This doesn’t seem like the old Microsoft.

As Ellen wrote in her earlier post, mobile developers no longer have the problem of users not knowing they can buy software for their smartphones. Everyone knows “there’s an app for that”, and we’ve seen proof that users of every smartphone want apps for their phones. I think the Windows Mobile Marketplace button on the new Windows Mobile phones has the potential to get a lot of attention. And that will help us all.

The Apple Difference

September 21, 2009 by Ellen

I recently found some notes and tasks from March 2008 - 18 months ago - and it really brought home to me how Apple has changed the mobile software world.

Our biggest problem at that time was that people didn’t know they could buy programs for their smartphone or PDA. Apple’s fixed that one - even people who don’t own a mobile device know “there’s an app for that”.

Availablility of apps is a huge factor in how new mobile devices or operating systems are judged. When the Pre was released, the sparse app catalog was mentioned in nearly every review. Same for the Zune HD. Imagine - if you can - a review mentioning “not many apps” in a review for a new device two years ago. It just wouldn’t have happened.

New mobile platforms and devices are big news. And any changes to the iPhone, iPod Touch or iTunes are huge news.

Mobile app developers are now a market by themselves. There are literally dozens of sites with iTunes App Store ranking tracking, tools and stats plug-ins. There are several providers of paid, in-app, mobile ads. Mobile developers’ blogs - at least some of them - get attention from major sites. There’s even a book coming out called Starting an iPhone Application Business For Dummies. (Don’t believe me? Here it is).

I used to spend about 20 minutes each morning reading enough mobile sites to keep up with any news and changes. Now it’s more like 90 minutes, and I’m sure I’m not reading half of what I should be.

We’re selling software for prices that we wouldn’t have even considered 18 months ago. While desktop app prices haven’t changed, the “99 Cent” pricing model of the App Store places mobile app prices at about 5% of what they used to be.

I am inundated with calls and emails from people who want us to put our apps in their stores, outsource our development to them, or buy ads on their sites. (Guys, here’s a hint. If you send me an email and I say I don’t want a phone call, I mean it. If you leave me alone, I’ll keep your info on file. If you call anyway, I’ll toss it.)

Mobile developers’ expectations of software distribution have completely changed as well. While we used to accept a distributor taking a commission of 60% of an app’s price (not happily, but we did accept that, having no good alternatives), 30% is now a de facto standard. And audience numbers that would have made us pretty excited in the past now seem pretty minor.

New mobile operating system and hardware releases are coming - and expected - at a much faster pace than ever before. What used to be considered a reasonable amount of time between hardware and OS upgrades is no longer acceptable.

Did all these changes happen because of Apple, and the success of the iTunes App Store? I think so. I can’t prove it, but we’ve been doing mobile software development - successfully - for over 12 years. The changes in the mobile world over last 14 months are nothing like anything that happened in the past.

Am I fan of every change? Of course not. But overall, I know that we as mobile developers have many more options than we ever have before. There’s a lot more potential for success, though I know that means that there’s also a lot more potential for failure.

What Apple’s changes have put in motion isn’t going to go away. I fully expect the next year will bring more and more demands on mobile developers, and more and more changes - big ones - in the mobile market. I expect we’ll see some of the established big companies fail, and some new ones succeed. Being smart and lucky won’t be nearly enough.

I predict interesting times.

eWallet for iPhone with Copy!

September 18, 2009 by Marc

eWallet for iPhone now lets you Copy your passwords and other information directly from the card face and FlexView. With this new update, you can tap and hold on any Card Face or FlexView text, and eWallet will pop up a Copy button. Click the button and the information from that field gets copied to the clipboard.

From there you can paste the information into Safari, Contacts, other cards, or any other application on the device that supports copy and paste!

You can get the new version by checking for updates under Applications in iTunes on your desktop or from the App Store on your iPhone and iPod touch!

Leftovers

September 17, 2009 by Ellen

One thing about developing software for mobile devices ….

… you end up with a lot of old stuff.

Before I donate anything I can and responsibly dispose of the rest, does anyone want any of it? We’ve got docks and chargers, old PDAs and phones, cases and sleeves, folding keyboards, and a few other odd items. I don’t know what works and what doesn’t, but if anyone’s interested in any of this for some reason (maybe trying to make some interesting art out of old electronics), send me a reply here or on Twitter. I think it’s all pretty useless, but maybe someone else won’t.

NewsBreak Lite Free from Total Access

September 8, 2009 by Marc

I was excited to see that NewsBreak Lite is now available for free from Microsoft’s Total Access service for Windows Mobile. NewsBreak Lite is the free version of our NewsBreak feed reader/podcast grabbing software. The app is great and the price is right so if you have a Window Mobile device you definitely want to grab a copy.

If you aren’t familiar with the Total Access service, here is the official blurb from MS:

Total Access is your guide to all the things you can do with your Windows Mobile phone. Make your phone unique with free ringtones, games and themes, find helpful software and other extras that further enhance your phone, and get premium help and support from user forums, so it’s easier than ever to get more done on the go—that’s Total Access.

It’s a pretty cool service for Windows Mobile users. Definitely something you want to check out even if you already have NewsBreak (or RSSHub which is the HTC branded version of NewsBreak.) They have a ton of great stuff and are adding more all the time.

The Myth of "Not My Problem"

September 2, 2009 by Marc

I’ve read some really interesting comments regarding the problems in the AppStore. One thing that came up a few times, however, is something like this: “Who cares? This sort of stuff has no impact on the consumer.” I’m posting today to explain why this is a myth - problems with the AppStore that developers are having directly and negatively impact the consumer.

If you’d like to hear why a silly icon rejection is a big deal to you, read on…

I’m not going to frame this with a lot of color text - let’s get right to the point.

1. No Features For You! Apple is preventing you, as a consumer, from getting upgrades and features you deserve. Right now, users of eWallet can’t use Copy & Paste because Apple delayed our update over an icon.

2. New Features OR AppStore Compliance Updates: You Choose This sort of stuff eats up developer time which in turn cheats you out of better products. Instead of focusing on things that will actually benefit our customers, we’re messing around playing AppStore acceptance games.

3. Diminishing Returns No matter how good a platform or outlet is, developers will only take so much. At some point the system become onerous enough that it makes more sense to focus on other markets. This is the long term cost of this sort of thing – and at some point there WILL be a powerful competitor.

4. Too Risky for Good Products Illogical, petty, and ever changing acceptance requirements will cause developers to think twice before making a major investment in an iPhone application. If you don’t know whether your app will even get in, you reduce your initial investment to protect yourself. That means you, as a consumer, end up with apps that don’t hold a candle to what a developer might have risked in a more stable environment.

None of these are speculation – in every case I’ve seen it happen in the AppStore already, or in the case of #3, I’ve seen it happen on other platforms. And remember, the problem they are talking about isn’t just about us – this is affecting numerous developers.

So yes, these little and seemingly silly issues have a VERY REAL COST to the consumer. It’s easy to think “Meh, not my problem.” but in the end (as always) the consumer is the one who pays the price.