Overview of the Apps Industry Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Overview of the Apps Industry - Research Paper Example The apps business is well beyond entertainment and gaming apps. It is a flourishing software industry which unveils opportunities for technology seekers who introduced innovation blended with the Internet. The apps stores, particularly Apple Stores, Nokia Ovi and Android markets, are gaining popularity among users. So, the word â€Å"apps† is no longer limited to Smartphones. Various Internet giants like Google and Microsoft have initiated apps stores for their offerings. Apps industry is the result of collaboration between third-party developers and companies for designing, enhancing and trading apps via different sources like smartphones, tablets, social media platforms and others linked with the web. It has tremendous growth potential which can be unleashed using innovation and continuous improvement in features (Stevens 58-74). It can be rightly said that Apps business will set the foundation for Internet’s future model. Apple’s Apps store became an inspirati on for other players in the smartphone industry and was followed by virtual markets like Nokia Ovi Store, Google Android market and Samsung apps (Appling and Pappalardo, 2010). Even outside the smartphone platform, the biggest online retailer Amazon is influenced by the progress of apps store and might introduce it for its Kindle development. APPS INDUSTRY HISTORY: The origin of smartphone industry initiated in 1993 with the invention of IBM Simon. However, 2007 marks the advent of Apple iPhone which gave rise to the smartphone apps market, commonly referred to as â€Å"apps†. The Apple smartphone was a symbol of aesthetics which combined touchscreen display with web browsing in one package. Apps industry has developed over the years beyond smartphones and the mobile apps industry is highly fragmented among several players. The apps stores owned by OEMs by a combination of product, platform and store include Apple apps store and the like. Google’s Android and Microsoft market are the platform providers used on third-party handsets like HTC and Samsung (Allen, Graupera, and Lundrigan 57). There is a difference seen in market dominance of the brands in various countries. For example, US market resists in adopting Nokia system so it was unable to attain dominance in the region, unlike the world market. The prominent carriers are AT&T, Sprint Nextel and Verizon whose integration with the hardware manufacturers is very crucial. The carriers set sales conditions for hardware vendors. Traditionally, the telecommunication carriers subsidized smartphones in order to drive demand from consumers who, in return, sign a contract. This provided a great insight that consumers are eager to purchase expensive high tech machines on lower prices. The collaboration can result in sales rise for hardware manufacturers as well as subscription contracts for the carriers. PERFORMANCE TRENDS: The apps market predominantly consists of four major players: Apple, Blackberry, Nokia Ovi, and Android. Since the apps market has emerged, more than 300,000 apps have been developed and downloaded over billion times. App stores are becoming a norm for mobile apps download for smartphones nowadays. They are penetrating in the market very swiftly with 2.4 billion downloads being done in 2010 (Global stats, 2012).