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Ten apps is all I need

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Re: Ten apps is all I need

#111

Post by Tyrannosaurs »

cageface wrote: post #83
Tyrannosaurs wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't disagree with what you say about the core experience and the danger of generalising from personal experience but there have been 14 billion app downloads. That's a lot for something which a lot of people seem to be suggesting is either irrelevant or niche. I think what you say may have been true in the past but I do think moving forward apps are playing an increasing role, even if it is just three or four for…

I suspect a lot of those 14 billion downloads are games. If my experience is at all typical then most users go through an initial frenzy of downloading "productivity" apps only to eventually erase or ignore most of them. Apple likes to tout its $2 billion in app sales but consider that's what one really big blockbuster film might make worldwide. Proportionally it's a tiny market.

But why are games not relevant? The question here is about whether an app ecosystem adds significant value to a platform for end users, the nature of that value (be it entertainment, productivity or whatever) is neither here nor there.

If you wish to say that $2 billion is irrelevant then we'll disagree on that (and it might be worth noting that in terms of box office receipts only one movie - Avatar - has ever made that in any case) but to put the scale in terms that relate to the mobile download market as opposed to some random unrelated market, sometime likely late this year app downloads will surpass iTunes music downloads (and to put that in context iTunes is the largest seller of music in the USA and has over 80% of the legal US music download market).

That 14 billion apps equates to over 60 apps for every iOS device sold (http://www.asymco.com/2011/01/16/more-than-60-apps-have-been...). If the suggestion that most people aren't really using third party apps is true then a small but significant number of people must be downloading hundreds and hundreds of apps each. While I'm sure that some people are doing that, I'm not convinced that enough are doing it to allow for a significant installed based doing nothing at all. Personally I consider myself a prolific downloader and I don't have two hundred apps.

One point of clarification which is worth noting - this figure is new app downloads, not updates. If I download Twitter then three updates that counts as one, not four.

For what anecdotal evidence is worth (not much) I don't know a single iPhone or iPod touch user who doesn't download and use third party apps and that includes people inside and outside of IT ranging in age from 10 to 40.

Re: Ten apps is all I need

#113

Post by Tyrannosaurs »

djjose wrote: post #98
cageface wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect a lot of those 14 billion downloads are games. If my experience is at all typical then most users go through an initial frenzy of downloading "productivity" apps only to eventually erase or ignore most of them. Apple likes to tout its $2 billion in app sales but consider that's what one really big blockbuster film might make worldwide. Proportionally it's a tiny market.

No need to guess folks. The Nielson report from last year has plenty of data on app usage on smartphone. Games are indeed on top. EDIT: url to report: http://www.slideshare.net/zebs/nielsen-mobile-apps-whitepape...

They are on top but the nature of the numbers doesn't necessarily make the case being put forward here.

Even if games were in some way irrelevant the statistic that they're on top is that 61% of smart phone owners reported using a game in the last 30 days.

But that's only marginally ahead of weather apps at 55% (and the Weather Channel 3rd party app was one of the most popular apps overall), maps at 50%, social at 49% (all 3rd party).

The overall picture is of a lot of people using a lot of apps, many of which are the core 10.

Re: Ten apps is all I need

#114

Post by kleiba »

dave1010uk wrote: post #65
kleiba wrote: post #60

I don't have a Smartphone, but I can relate to the basic notion very much. I mainly do desktop computing, and lots of it, but pretty much all I ever need are four "apps": the shell, a browser, an email client, and Emacs. That's what I use 95% of the time. Then a PDF viewer, OpenOffice.org, and every now and then the Gimp or Inkscape. So basically, 10 apps is all I need, too. But at the same time, if I scroll through…

FYI, as the N9 is based on Debian, most of the programs you mentioned should run on it. I use OpenOffice.org and The Gimp occasionally on my phone if I really need to (the 3.5" screen is not ideal but it works).

Cool! Is it possible to attach a screen, a mouse and a keyboard to a Smartphone? That should be fun...

Re: Ten apps is all I need

#115

Post by kleiba »

kleiba wrote: post #60

I don't have a Smartphone, but I can relate to the basic notion very much. I mainly do desktop computing, and lots of it, but pretty much all I ever need are four "apps": the shell, a browser, an email client, and Emacs. That's what I use 95% of the time. Then a PDF viewer, OpenOffice.org, and every now and then the Gimp or Inkscape. So basically, 10 apps is all I need, too. But at the same time, if I scroll through…

Thinking about it, I guess my way of counting was a bit unfair: when I say "the shell" I didn't say that I use it to run lots of other programs from it. So I should probably include lots of stuff under /bin and /usr/bin that I use all the time without thinking about them as separate from the shell. Or what about "ssh"... I guess, perhaps desktop computing - especially when you're a hacker - is more different from (casually?) using a Smartphone than I first thought.

Re: Ten apps is all I need

#116

Post by timknauf »

jimbokun wrote: post #96
jdietrich wrote: post #39

The iPhone had sold millions of units before the app store launched. A significant proportion of iPhone and iPad users have downloaded less than a handful of apps. I'm very much of the opinion that apps were more effective as a viral marketing strategy than as a truly attractive feature. People talk about apps, people show their friends, but most of the non-geeks I know don't actually use anything but the built in ap…

"and Angry Birds" I bet games is the big exception here. I bet many of the "non-geeks" referenced by you and others in this thread have downloaded a few games to their iPhone, and would be much less likely to switch to a competitor that didn't have the same games or games that were just as good. One more counter data point: at a party last Saturday in a room with a bunch of non-geek college kids, fiddling with their…

Don't underestimate the power games have to give a platform staying power. The prevailing sentiment in past discussions here has often been that games are interchangeable distractions, but there's a big portion of the public that is incredible passionate about their favourites and thus the platform on which they run. (We've been taken aback at the fan loyalty shown to some of our games, and this is stuff that's barely even troubled the lower reaches of the charts.)

Re: Ten apps is all I need

#117

Post by rimantas »

jdietrich wrote: post #39

The iPhone had sold millions of units before the app store launched. A significant proportion of iPhone and iPad users have downloaded less than a handful of apps. I'm very much of the opinion that apps were more effective as a viral marketing strategy than as a truly attractive feature. People talk about apps, people show their friends, but most of the non-geeks I know don't actually use anything but the built in ap…

> Android is catching up, but iPhone users still spend a > disproportionate amount of time using their phone's > browser.

Who knows, who knows. http://dvice.com/archives/2011/06/mobile-app-use.php I can only talk for myself, but I do spend much more time in apps than in browser: even to consume some content available via browser.

Re: Ten apps is all I need

#118

Post by frossie »

timknauf wrote: post #116
jimbokun wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"and Angry Birds" I bet games is the big exception here. I bet many of the "non-geeks" referenced by you and others in this thread have downloaded a few games to their iPhone, and would be much less likely to switch to a competitor that didn't have the same games or games that were just as good. One more counter data point: at a party last Saturday in a room with a bunch of non-geek college kids, fiddling with their…

Don't underestimate the power games have to give a platform staying power. The prevailing sentiment in past discussions here has often been that games are interchangeable distractions, but there's a big portion of the public that is incredible passionate about their favourites and thus the platform on which they run. (We've been taken aback at the fan loyalty shown to some of our games, and this is stuff that's barel…

Bingo. It is all very well to say "I and my business buddies only use 10 apps". Go have a look at a random teenager's iPhone and if they are not full of game apps I will eat my hat.

And yes there are a lot if kids with iPhones out there, either as full phones or without phone service. Where do you think all the previous generation devices are going?

In a family the app-store represents significant lock-in, both in collective $$ spent on apps and media, but also in the device hand me down chain. I bet there is a lot of pressure against one of the parents switching to an N9 all of a sudden.

Brand new smartphone users or company issues are (maybe) a different issue.

Re: Ten apps is all I need

#119

Post by dave1010uk »

kleiba wrote: post #114
dave1010uk wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FYI, as the N9 is based on Debian, most of the programs you mentioned should run on it. I use OpenOffice.org and The Gimp occasionally on my phone if I really need to (the 3.5" screen is not ideal but it works).

Cool! Is it possible to attach a screen, a mouse and a keyboard to a Smartphone? That should be fun...

Phones that support USB host (or USB on the go) could have a keyboard / mouse. I've done that with my N900. I don't think the N9 supports USB host out of the box but I bet some enterprising hackers will get it working. The N9 also has TV out (but not HDMI).

You could, alternatively, connect the keyboard / mouse via USB. Nokia's N8 has USB host and HDMI out but runs the Symbian platform. Here's a demo of the N8 connected to a TV & a keyboard / mouse: http://dailymobile.se/2010/10/07/nokia-n8-hdmi-bluetooth-key...

Re: Ten apps is all I need

#120

Post by smackfu »

jimbokun wrote: post #96
jdietrich wrote: post #39

The iPhone had sold millions of units before the app store launched. A significant proportion of iPhone and iPad users have downloaded less than a handful of apps. I'm very much of the opinion that apps were more effective as a viral marketing strategy than as a truly attractive feature. People talk about apps, people show their friends, but most of the non-geeks I know don't actually use anything but the built in ap…

"and Angry Birds" I bet games is the big exception here. I bet many of the "non-geeks" referenced by you and others in this thread have downloaded a few games to their iPhone, and would be much less likely to switch to a competitor that didn't have the same games or games that were just as good. One more counter data point: at a party last Saturday in a room with a bunch of non-geek college kids, fiddling with their…

Games to tend to be the easiest to port too. They have no expectations of having the platform look & feel. Angry Birds looks the same on Android and iPhone and not even the diehards complain.
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