Is iPhone Leading the Way in Smartphone Evolution?

The Apple (AAPL) iPhone’s Application Store is considered an innovative step forward in creating a true convergence device. Although mobile apps are not new, from the T-Mobile G1 to the Blackberry Bold, everyone is hopping on the bandwagon.

But are iPhone owners really interested in mobile applications any more than other Smartphone users, or is it just hype? To find out, I looked at some survey data from Compete’s new Smartphone Intelligence product.

Source: Smartphone Intelligence

• Smartphone owners are more likely to bypass applications altogether: 34% of Smartphone owners have not added an application to their phone, versus just 7% of iPhone users.
• iPhone users are more likely to have added a number of different applications to their device: 72% had more than five applications on their phones, compared to only 23% of other Smartphone owners.

So why are iPhone owners adding more applications? It may be partly who they are; the device attracts young, tech savvy consumers. But part of the application appeal may be how easy it is to find and add them to the iPhone. Google (GOOG) and Blackberry are now both trying to emulate Apple’s App Store success with their latest Smartphones by opening their operating systems up to developers and creating their own marketplaces.

But will non-iPhone users eventually embrace applications to the same degree? Quite possibly. As Smartphone customers replace their devices, they’ll be looking at a variety of new models featuring convenient applications marketplaces and a diverse collection of content from many developers. Bigger screens and wi-fi connectivity, which make both entertainment and information-related applications richer, will likely become standard in high-end phones.

The evolution of the mobile phone into something more than just a communications device will reach a whole new level. But for now, the iPhone is leading the applications rush.

Comments

[typopolice:]

is the sky blue?

2008 Nov 20 11:29 AM

[BJMC:]

Your title is beyond doubt!

The Blackberry Storm has been available in the UK a little earlier than in the US.

Read this:-

www.mortgagebrokers4lo...

Dead in the water. Suggest..you know what!

2008 Nov 20 11:36 AM

[Buffeted:]

A better question is can the unity of iphone and app store platform design i.e. contextual experience of the iphone/app store be effectiveley copied by the competion, since this is clearly the path other smart phone makers have decided embark upon? Here's perhaps an even more interesting question: Are we mistakingly comparing a hand held computer (iphone has an osx computer operating system) with smart phones? How is the consumer interpreting the device? Is the Apple iphone+app store headed the same direction as the ipod itunes "story" in the sense of reaching some deeper, emotional attachment or "experience" in the consumer that others devices dont? If the answer to the last question is a yes, the competition is appears simply outmatched, for the time being.

2008 Nov 20 11:51 AM

[Timeline St...:]

I can't wait to get on the Blackberry App Store. I heard that they will have a Cost Accountant's Guide to GAAP Principles, and a Chilis and Applebees locator! Now if they only had an app which allowed me to change the TV channel in my favorite sports bar, I would be all set.

(For those of you with no sarcasm radar, the preceding paragraph was....sarcasm. Of course iPhone Apps are leading the way. For one, no one owns an Android phone, so why would there be an App Store gold rush like with iPhone? Second, Blackberry App Store doesn't even exist yet, and when it does, it will probably be as boring as the corporate types who use the Blackberry. Think of a Palm Centro App Store but with more cost accounting applications, like Depreciation Scheduler or Capacity Utilization Calculator. Yuck.)

2008 Nov 20 12:21 PM

[jack dee:]

It is nice to see a US company finally compete in the phone market. Who knew that the US could even make a good phone.

Now can they compete and win three years from now, that is the real question. There are deep pockets out there, and they are not going to just bend over and smile.

2008 Nov 20 12:34 PM

[BJMC:]

Good question - great post. My answer - Yes!

Apple has lured the would be competition into, well, competing. The iPod analogy is spot on.


On Nov 20 11:51 AM buffeted wrote:

> A better question is can the unity of iphone and app store platform
> design i.e. contextual experience of the iphone/app store be effectiveley
> copied by the competion, since this is clearly the path other smart
> phone makers have decided embark upon? Here's perhaps an even more
> interesting question: Are we mistakingly comparing a hand held computer
> (iphone has an osx computer operating system) with smart phones?
> How is the consumer interpreting the device? Is the Apple iphone+app
> store headed the same direction as the ipod itunes "story" in the
> sense of reaching some deeper, emotional attachment or "experience"
> in the consumer that others devices dont? If the answer to the last
> question is a yes, the competition is appears simply outmatched,
> for the time being.

2008 Nov 20 12:45 PM

[well:]

first off bjmc baught some options and ur trying to play analyst,, that piece on that url looks like it was written by some junkey,,,loser... and timboM ill surely miss your sober comments after the battery dies in ur iphone.. other than that its always amusing to see apple lovers write endless articles about iphone vs black , when in reality we're getting slammed with constant economic downturn headlines

2008 Nov 20 02:51 PM

[Timeline St...:]

You Blackberry owners sure are battery-obsessed. Could be that Blackberry batteries are 2X as likely to fail as iPhone batteries.

news.cnet.com/8301-103...

Perhaps the real reason is that the battery is the emergency power-down switch on your Blackberry. When it freezes, you just pop the cover and out with the battery.

You didn't spell check your message, did you?

On Nov 20 02:51 PM lcpcp wrote:

> first off bjmc baught some options and ur trying to play analyst,,
> that piece on that url looks like it was written by some junkey,,,loser...
> and timboM ill surely miss your sober comments after the battery
> dies in ur iphone.. other than that its always amusing to see apple
> lovers write endless articles about iphone vs black , when in reality
> we're getting slammed with constant economic downturn headlines

>

2008 Nov 20 05:42 PM

[BoiseCalling:]

Now if only Apple could buy the Big Three and start creating cars that can compete globally.

2008 Nov 20 05:43 PM

[SamCast:]

You are comparing apples to oranges. Count the number of applications available for iPhone and those available for other Smartphones. Maybe 100 to 1. And compare the interface that iPhone provides vs lets say a Windows Mobile device. The fact that 66% of other smartphone owners have gone through the pain of downlaoding applications speaks much about how interested they are in applications. Give these 66% an easy to use app store and they would go bonkers.

2008 Nov 20 08:42 PM

[applesauce:]

Samcast is right, you cannot compare oranges or lemons to Apple. They are so far ahead by the time competitors catch up they will be on the next generation at Apple. My kids will only use apple computers and phones and I suspect as the demographics age this will get stronger. At $ 80 per share with $ 25 bill in cash it is a steal.

2008 Nov 21 09:35 AM

[mollytjm:]

it's obvious that smartphone makers are still playing catch up with the iPhone...do you really think Apple doesn't already have something more wonderful on board? NOTHING will blow Apple out of the water as long as they remain as innovative and $ loaded as they are. the iPhone has an OS, which no other smartphone has. I think we'll see a true pocket computer in the very near future...and it will come from Apple, which is a stock steal right now.

2008 Nov 21 10:39 AM

[KenC:]

How is it possible that 7% of iPhone owners haven't installed an app? Are those still in boxes waiting to be given as gifts? Are those in inventory sitting on store shelves? Inquiring minds want to know! I have over 90 apps downloaded for my iPhone.

2008 Nov 21 01:43 PM

[Timeline St...:]

That's not a better question. That's a more jumbled, harder-to-understand question that seemed to be created by a word generator.


On Nov 20 11:51 AM buffeted wrote:

> A better question is can the unity of iphone and app store platform
> design i.e. contextual experience of the iphone/app store be effectiveley
> copied by the competion, since this is clearly the path other smart
> phone makers have decided embark upon? Here's perhaps an even more
> interesting question: Are we mistakingly comparing a hand held computer
> (iphone has an osx computer operating system) with smart phones?
> How is the consumer interpreting the device? Is the Apple iphone+app
> store headed the same direction as the ipod itunes "story" in the
> sense of reaching some deeper, emotional attachment or "experience"
> in the consumer that others devices dont? If the answer to the last
> question is a yes, the competition is appears simply outmatched,
> for the time being.

2008 Nov 22 12:24 AM