Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Microsoft, Symbian and Others Announce 'App Stores'

skellener said:
All these stores are lame. I'd rather visit the developers own site and pay them directly and download the app. Looks like things are becoming more closed which is a bad thing.
Click to expand...

assuming you were even aware of the developers site.

that's the point you are missing. To anyone in business, how do you get the word out to a huge number of people so the small percentage that do buy actually adds up to something that pays you well for all the work you are doing. That is what the app store does.

I come across ideas that I was not aware of and by the time I find them, they have already died in the womb from lack of attention.
 
Last but not least...

Apple rarely does anything first. The iPod was not the first hard disk player. The iPhone wasn't the first mobile phone. The App Store wasn't the first mobile applications store.

The difference is that Apple does things better by focusing on the things that matter to most people. Message board posters (including me) whine about little problems with Apple computers, but this is because Apple makes products that elicit emotional reaction. For better or worse, people really do love their iPhones.

Of course, the other companies don't get this emotional connection, so they "compete" by adding multiple options and advertising and a thousand other little things that indirectly elicit their own emotions: frustration, confusion, and sometimes even anger. This is why most other application stores don't do nearly as well.
 
rockosmodurnlif said:
PalmGear

I was buying apps for my Treo from there before iTunes was even a store.
Click to expand...

What's your point? :confused: I hope you can see the difference between a store that sells apps and an integrated app store. I don't think anyone has claimed that Apple is the first company to create a store to sell mobile applications.
 
GenNovE said:
I’ll say it again apple is EXCELLENT @ MARKETING & simplifying interfaces. 80% copy-20% innovation. Now flame on me as if I just insulted your mother.
Click to expand...

Impossible, my mother has made a killing with Apple stock having bought it before the iPod took off. :)

I think all these arguments about how Apple is not innovative and just rips off ideas that other companies failed at is pretty amusing.
 
When Android begins springing up on other handsets and computing devices, this argument will be moot.

Apple wanted to create quality products much like BMW does with cars. Microsoft is the dominant operating system because of it's flexibility toward hardware. This may change, but for 20 years, it's proven successful.

Apple wants a quality smartphone. The iPhone wasn't the first smartphone, nor the first touchscreen phone, nor the first phone with an operating system, nor the first media hyped phone, nor the first phone with an applications store, nor the first phone with iTunes, nor the first music phone and certainly not the first phone built for gaming. It is successful though.

I assure you, the ultimate goal for Google with Android isn't cell phone domination, but Microsoft domination. Android will find it's way onto the desktop for cheap. And Android will not be tied to hardware. Apple has a strategy for quality, which I have enjoyed for years. Exclusivity on AT&T (which is a terrible company for many reasons; wiretapping, lousy customer service, high fees etc) and resistance to support diversified design are making Apple lose it's luster in my opinion.

I own a G1 and I use T-Mobile. Both have been fantastic. T-Mo even unlocked my phone knowing that I won't leave them, whereas AT&T would jail you over leaving. I am a long time Apple fan, and I have been a huge Apple supporter for years. I have converted many, many friends and family members.

Apple has refused to diversify and has become this company, like the robots in Asimov's world, that does what they feel is best suited for us. Look at their acceptance of the multi-button mouse. Anyone with accessibility issues using an iPhone? For an influential company like Apple and all their resources, it is shameful that a single device is what's best for EVERYONE. Especially shameful because Apple was once the frontrunner in accessible design.

I hope Android gives Apple a run for their money. Heck, I hope they all do, Apple needs all the competition it can get. As much as I admire and respect Jobs, I believe now is a good time to hand the reigns over to a new, much younger leader. Do yourselves a favor and be a little more critical. There are other people out there with less money, bigger needs and less opportunity. If Apple ignores this, they will repeat their 90's collapse.
 

Attachments

  • photocopy redmond.jpg
    photocopy redmond.jpg
    42.8 KB · Views: 71
Everyone needs to remember that the App Store isn't Apple's innovation. The App Store emulates what Installer.app did back in the early jailbreak days, before Apple stepped in and copied it. If it hadn't been for that, official apps would be downloaded and imported using iTunes, just like games were on old iPods.
 
Surrix said:
Everyone needs to remember that the App Store isn't Apple's innovation. The App Store emulates what Installer.app did back in the early jailbreak days, before Apple stepped in and copied it. If it hadn't been for that, official apps would be downloaded and imported using iTunes, just like games were on old iPods.
Click to expand...

Meh, somehow I doubt that. App Store on the iPhone is pretty much just like the iTunes app on the App Store. Which existed before Installer.app did I believe.
 
miketcool said:
When Android begins springing up on other handsets and computing devices, this argument will be moot.

I hope Android gives Apple a run for their money. Heck, I hope they all do, Apple needs all the competition it can get.
Click to expand...

I think Android is more of a competitor for Windows Mobile. They are both competing to be primary OS for the hardware only companies that compete on price. As you pointed out, Apple is looking to be the integrated, BMW-like solution for the customer with a little more to spend.

As much as I admire and respect Jobs, I believe now is a good time to hand the reigns over to a new, much younger leader. Do yourselves a favor and be a little more critical. There are other people out there with less money, bigger needs and less opportunity. If Apple ignores this, they will repeat their 90's collapse.
Click to expand...

Your comparison to the 90s problems makes little sense. Those problems were based in part on the things you are proposing. Most analysis of "beleaguered" Apple's problems includes the licensing of the OS to low priced clones and an over-diversified product lineup that tried to serve too much of the market.

If fact, the resurgence of Apple is based on a philosophy that includes ignoring the low end of the market. Why would any company oust their CEO after the best quarter in the history of the company?
 
Porco said:
How many of these app stores will be mac friendly I wonder..
Click to expand...
Why would they need to be Mac friendly?

You could download the app directly to your phone and install from the device.

Prometheus2000 said:
Wow, getting of the plane, paying like $100 in data roaming for a lanquage mp3 and a silly map.

Can't wait...
Click to expand...

(1) Wifi - its free - no data charges
(2) People should have a data contract if they plan on downloading via cell phone data connection. Exactly the same for a iPhone user ( who may not have taken the data contract option)
 
Nym said:
It's not about getting it first. It's about getting it right.
Click to expand...

I think this is too general. There are several examples of people doing it first and even though future iterations did it better, that first interaction defined the habits and satisfaction expectations. For many users, this means that they will shop where they receive the most satisfaction.

If these stores work as well and offer generally good stuff, I wouldn't be surprised to see these bloom in their respective silos.
 
cubedweller said:
No. They saw how successful the Installer.app distribution model was and copied it. (Or, according to some here, collaborated with the developers of Installer.app to create their own 'App Store') Either way, the idea was not unique and was definitely not an in-house Apple creation.
Click to expand...

So iTunes has nothing to do with the instant success of the Apple apps store and this other model they copied is as successful and popular as iTunes?
 
jackfrost123 said:
WOW, getting off the plane and what have the phone know you are in Uruguay and get you learn Uruguayan MP3
Click to expand...

They actually speak Spanish in most of south America - including Uruguay with the notable exception of brazil (where they speak Portugese). Urugauyan doesn't exist.

Btw Handango has about 20000 Windows Mobile apps. But I don't think they all work on every phone.

millar876 said:
Apple, the trendsetters yet again. anyone remember the WWDC banner a couple of years back, "Redmond - Start your photocopiers" seems a bit like that again
Click to expand...

Remember, Apple copies microsoft too sometimes ;). Fast user switching and command-tab are two examples.
 
Stella said:
Why would they need to be Mac friendly?

You could download the app directly to your phone and install from the device.
Click to expand...

Backup. And there are people that would prefer to browse an app store on a computer with a full-size screen and a faster connection.
 
DavidLeblond said:
Meh, somehow I doubt that. App Store on the iPhone is pretty much just like the iTunes app on the App Store. Which existed before Installer.app did I believe.
Click to expand...

Uh, what? ..."App Store on the iPhone is pretty much just like the iTunes app on the App Store"? If you're speaking of the "iTunes Music Store" for the iPhone then I believe you are mistaken; Installer.app was released for jailbroken phones before Apple gave us the ability to download music on the fly.

If you don't mean the iPhone ITMS.app, then I have no idea what you're talking about.
 
BaldiMac said:
...
Click to expand...

true but i am referring to the comment. the app stores should only loose value if they suck, not because they are not centered around Macs. there are other system's out there.

Plus, even as other systems arrive to compete with the iPhone, 3rd parties may just do a better job at offering web based app stores that allow everyone with which ever system they use to benefit, not locking everyone into the iTunes/iThis/iThat system.

And how did that other poster just assume that a web based system would be any less effective than the App Store? The only reason anyone would think that is because they've never experienced anything else. The close-mindedness of it all hurts.
 
Digitalclips said:
So iTunes has nothing to do with the instant success of the Apple apps store and this other model they copied is as successful and popular as iTunes?
Click to expand...

What are you talking about? I made no mention of iTunes; I'm sure the success of iTunes, iPod, iPhone, Mac, Leopard, etc. all played a role in the financial success of the App Store.

I'm talking about a over-the-air distribution model that ended up being the App Store. This idea was not unique to Apple in the slightest. They took the idea from the jailbreak community, who proceeding that, took it from the countless other package managers for *nix systems.

I'm not saying that the App Store isn't great; I love it and use it all the time. What I'm getting at is Apple wasn't the first and the App Store wasn't even their idea, yet lots of people on this forum seem to think that all these other companies are "copying Apple." This simply is not true.
 
cubedweller said:
I'm talking about a over-the-air distribution model that ended up being the App Store. This idea was not unique to Apple in the slightest. They took the idea from the jailbreak community, who proceeding that, took it from the countless other package managers for *nix systems.

I'm not saying that the App Store isn't great; I love it and use it all the time. What I'm getting at is Apple wasn't the first and the App Store wasn't even their idea, yet lots of people on this forum seem to think that all these other companies are "copying Apple." This simply is not true.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think the App Store is quite a bit more than a package manager. They also have to handle payment distribution (from 7 different regions, and many different currencies), business contracts, etc etc... no small feat. Of course, they already had the infrastructure for all this... iTunes. As plenty of people have pointed out.

I don't think they "copied" Installer.app. Hell, my 5 year old flip phone had the Brew app store on it. The thing that makes the app store special is that Joe Developer can submit any app he wants within reason and get paid for it without having to handle payments. People are getting hung up on the idea that the App Store is simply an app on the iPhone or in a section of iTunes. That simply isn't so. As a developer myself, while it can be a pain to submit apps to the store, it's quite a bit easier than handling it all myself.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back