Apps for timewasters?
Posted: March 3, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »Apps are for timewasters?
Looking through the lists of free apps, the top 10 generally are what you would expect with YouTube, Adobe, Netflix, eBay and Facebook all knocking around the most downloaded list. What is more interesting is the top 10 paid app list. Even though the amounts are nominal, it is still a considered purchase. While the names may change, the subject matter is pretty constant. Games and timewasters (or timekillers depending on how you view the world) crowd out any serious business contenders. Angry Birds, Bejeweled, Tap Tap Revenge and iFart seem to be where we want to spend our valuable money and time.
So how much time is that exactly? A recent presentation by Mary Meeker showed that 60% of activity on Smartphones is beyond the traditional communication functions (SMS, Email and Voice Calls) you would expect on a mobile device. This 60% of time is made up of Web browsing/Web apps/Social/Games etc.
Before you get upset at the state of society and humanity, spending all their time on frivolous pursuits, remember that like with the internet, this is just the first wave of development where usage is more novelty based. It took time for the internet to become regarded a serious business tool.
Last week it was announced that Smartphones are outselling PCs and with the fast rise of tablets (over 100 tablets were unveiled at CES 2011) we will see rapid enterprise take-up because of their useful form factor. Microsoft still makes most of its profit selling software to the enterprise and with iPad and Android adoption threatening that revenue stream you can see why their Nokia deal made sense. Bloomberg reported that the RIM Playbook will run Android apps demonstrating they clearly see the same threat. And just the other day it was announced that Motorola have announced the acquisition of Three Laws Mobile who provide security management solutions for enterprise customers with Android devices and Samsung are working with Sybase and Cisco to ensure that their tablets are more enterprise friendly.
You can bet there is a lot more going on than is being reported. Roll on Wave 2!
