There is also a very social aspect to the way that iPhone users compare and share Apps – you'll frequently see iPhone users showing off their latest find.
The device is made social, not by the technology or the network but because it is a show-off gadget where people trade informations on apps when they meet. This will remind you of wall papers and ringtones.
This is the starting point of Appsfire. Just the starting point
ps: some good tips also in that post on how to make a successful app
I've just finished reading the very impressive report prepared by Morgan Stanley on the future of the Mobile internet (save an hour in a quite room). This is a must read for whoever is part of the mobile industry. It includes real key data on mobile devices, metrics, companies business figures..
The report is naturally focusing on the iPhone/iTouch case which is the game changer in that industry.
What is really compelling in that report, and that is the underlying fact of this whole presentation, is how the mobile internet is getting us, users, used to consume differently the web thanks to new devices, infrastructures and mainly the app ecosystems
When on the computer the starting point is a search engine for the mainstream: namely Google, on the mobile our starting point are Apps. (For now ) Namely Apple
Google knows it and that's why they need to catch up on Apple, including creating their own device. Google can't afford not to become the entry point
This is what lead them on the computer to create a browser and an OS. In order to remain the entry point.
But how do you deal with that with Apps, which are slicing the web in a convenient user friendly way? How many of us start really use Google on their iPhone vs the rest of the Apps?
Apple is winning the App war (read the mobile web war) for now. Not Google.
PS: one surprising missing point in Morgan Stanley's presentation is the notion of discoverability of apps. It is and will be a critical issue that no one is addressing correctly (including Apple) and that will condition the development of the mobile internet as an ecosystem
