Mobile apps
Mobile applications, also called mobile apps, are software applications, usually designed to run on smartphones and tablet computers. They are available through application distribution platforms, which are typically operated by the owner of the mobile operating system, such as the Apple App Store, Android Market, and BlackBerry App World. Some apps are free, and others have a price. Usually they are downloaded from the platform to a target device such as an iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android phone, but sometimes they can be downloaded to less mobile computers such as a laptops or desktops. For apps with a price, generally a percentage, 20-30%, goes to the distribution provider (such as iTunes), and the rest goes to the producer of the app.[1]
The term "app" has become popular, and in 2010 was listed as "Word of the Year" by the American Dialect Society.[2]
Mobile apps were originally intended for productivity: email, calendar and contact databases, but public demand caused rapid expansion into other areas such as mobile games, factory automation, GPS and location-based services, banking, order-tracking, and ticket purchases. This in turn created a large subculture of different online magazines to review these new mobile applications.[3] This was due to the large amount of apps in the apps store which made internal navigation more difficult.
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[edit] Distribution
[edit] Apple App Store
The Apple App Store opened on July 10, 2008, and as of January 2011, reported over 10 billion downloads. As of June 6, 2011, there are 425,000 third-party apps available, which are downloaded by 200 million iOS users.[4][5]
[edit] BlackBerry
Apps for the BlackBerry mobile devices are available through the BlackBerry App World application distribution service. It opened in April 2009, and as of February 2011, was claiming the largest revenue per app: $9,166.67 compared to $6,480.00 at the Apple App Store and $1,200 in the Android market. In July 2011, it was reporting 3 million downloads per day and one billion total downloads.[6]
[edit] Android Market
The Android Market is an international online software store developed by Google for Android devices. It was opened in October 2008.[7] In May 2011, Google announced that there are 200,000 available apps,[8] with 10 billion apps downloaded and installed as of December 2011.[9]
[edit] Windows Phone Marketplace
The Windows Phone Marketplace is a service by Microsoft for its Windows Phone 7 platform, which was launched in October 2010. As of January 2012[update], it has over 60,000 apps available.[10]
[edit] Amazon Appstore
The Amazon Appstore is an American mobile application store for the Google Android operating system. It was opened in March 2011, with 3800 applications.[11]
[edit] Ovi Store
An app store for the Nokia phone was launched internationally in May 2009. As of April 2011 there were 50,000 apps, and as of August 2011, Novia was reporting 9 million downloads per day. In February 2011, Nokia reported that it will be using Windows Phone 7 as its primary operating system, but the Ovi store will still be available for Symbian phones, while the Ovi store will be merged into the Windows Phone 7 platform.[12]
[edit] See also
- Google Apps
- List of digital distribution platforms for mobile devices
- Mac App Store
- Mobile application development
- Mobile application management
[edit] References
- ^ Siegler, MG (June 11, 2008). "Analyst: There’s a great future in iPhone apps". Venture Beat. http://venturebeat.com/2008/06/11/analyst-theres-a-great-future-in-iphone-apps/.
- ^ "» “App” voted 2010 word of the year by the American Dialect Society (UPDATED) American Dialect Society". Americandialect.org. 2011-01-08. http://www.americandialect.org/app-voted-2010-word-of-the-year-by-the-american-dialect-society-updated. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
- ^ "Game Apps". Game-apps.co. http://www.game-apps.co/. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
- ^ "10 Billion App Countdown". Apple. 2011-01-14. http://www.apple.com/itunes/10-billion-app-countdown/.
- ^ Rao, Leena (July 7, 2011). "Apple's App Store Crosses 15B App Downloads, Adds 1B Downloads In Past Month". TechCrunch. AOL Inc. http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/07/apples-app-store-crosses-15b-app-downloads-adds-1b-downloads-in-past-month/.
- ^ Eric Zeman (February 28, 2011). "BlackBerry App World Generates Highest Revenue Per App". Bacononthego.com. http://bacononthego.com/2011/02/28/blackberry-app-world-generates-highest-revenue-per-app/. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
- ^ Chu, Eric (13 February 2009). "Android Market Update Support". http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2009/02/android-market-update-support-for.html.
- ^ Lawson, Stephen (17 March 2009). "Android Market Needs More Filters, T-Mobile Says". PC World. http://www.pcworld.com/article/161410/android_market_needs_more_filters_tmobile_says.html.
- ^ Barra, Hugo (10 May 2011). "Android: momentum, mobile and more at Google I/O". The Official Google Blog. http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/android-momentum-mobile-and-more-at.html. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ^ "Windows Phone Marketplace passes 60,000 published apps". All About Windows Phone. http://allaboutwindowsphone.com/flow/item/14097_Windows_Phone_Marketplace_pass.php. Retrieved 23 Jan 2012.
- ^ "Amazon Appstore: Android". SigitArinto.com. 2011-03-22. http://sigitarinto.com/2011/03/22/amazon-app-store/. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
- ^ "Nokia and Microsoft Announce Plans for a Broad Strategic Partnership to Build a New Global Mobile Ecosystem". Microsoft News Center. Microsoft. February 11, 2011. http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2011/feb11/02-11partnership.mspx. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
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