Mobile Applications and Widgets: Portable Applications on Mobile Platforms Third Edition
The state of the current market is defined through current market statistical data, financial and sales trends, user surveys, and assessing the impressions of news media outlets. Each of the top hardware and software platforms are reviewed and evaluated to provide a thorough understanding of the competitive landscape of the smart phone market. This research is an essential read for any organization directly or indirectly involved in the mobile marketplace.
Market Survey
As part of this research, a detailed survey was conducted addressing the following mobile application related factors:
Primary use of phone (personal, work, both, other)
Type of phone/OS used (iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Mobile device, Android, WebOS, Symbian, Linux, other)
Text entry method (keyboard, T9 or similar, On-screen keyboard, or both)
Primary navigation tool (touch screen, thumbwheel, roller ball, directional keys, optical pad, other)
Additional phone features (GPS, compass, motion/tilt sensor, camera [still or still and video], memory expansion slot, other)
Length of phone usage/possession (less than 3 months, 3-6 months, 6-12 months, 1-2 years, more than 2 years)
Service plan (branded plan to device, smart phone designed plan, generic plan, generic plan plus data, other)
Tethering ability (not allowed on plan, included in plan, added to plan, N/A)
Data usage (unlimited, per byte/MB/GB, don't know, N/A)
Length of service with operator (less than 3 months, 3-6 months, 6-12 months, 1-2 years, 2-5 years, more than 5 years)
Reason for choosing operator (coverage, cost, plans, devices, speed, quality, customer service, other)
Installed applications on current phone (yes or no)
Installing applications - how difficult (easy, average, hard, difficult)
Source of applications (manufacturer store, carrier store, third-party store, website, application author's source, wrote yourself, other)
Management of applications (on own device, software with device, third-party software, Web-based tool, carrier does it, command shell, other)
Applications or mobile websites (application run and save on device, mobile website run and keep on website, both, don't know, other)
Frequency of application usage (once a month, once a week, 2-5 times a week, once a day, 2-5 times a day, 5-10 times a day, hourly or more)
Favorite applications (1-2 applications, 3-5 applications, 6-10 applications, 10-20 applications, more)
Applications extend or enhance device (make existing features better, add new features to device, both, other)
Switching between applications (complete first task in application then switch, switch then complete first task, switch back and forth frequently, lose track of applications being used, other)
Length of application usage (more than on year, 6-12 months, 3-6 months, 1-3 months, several weeks, about a week, a day or two, less than a day, other)
How often applications purchased (only buy trusted, reviewed applications, mostly paid and a few free, half paid and half free, all free, other)
How many paid applications (0, 1-5, 6-10, 11-20, more)
Most spent on application (nothing, $0.99, $5, $10, $25, $50, more than $50, other)
Advertisement sensitivity (keep ads off, don't mind small ones, splash ad is OK only on startup, would be willing to have ad supported service, other)
Application upgrades (never, once but not good experience, up to once a month, always upgrade, never, other)
Plans to purchase new smart phone (never - don't ever want one, never - like the one I have, considering it, sometime in 3-6 months, before end of the year, in a year or so, when current plan is complete, when current phone breaks, when current plan expires, other)
Report Structure:
Detailed 128 report (see Table of Contents)
Mobile Application Survey results (14 page summary)
Research data including company financials, handset metrics, phone sales, and more
Questions Answered in Report:
Who are the top players in the mobile application space
Can the market support more than 2 or 3 top players?
What are the sales channels, or applications stores to watch?
Who is making the hottest smart phone hardware?
What happened to Microsoft and will they make a comeback?
Is Palm weathering their storm?
How will HP's purchase of Palm change their strategy?
Has Apple supplanted Blackberry's dominance in the business arena?
Is Symbian still holding strong?
What is Samsung's new play in the market?
How did Motorola pull off their comeback?
How are users really using Mobile Apps?
How often are they spending money on Mobile Apps?
Is try-before-you-buy really working?
Is there room for the up-sell after the initial purchase?
Should a developer concentrate on one platform, or diversify across them all?
- This research is a necessary read for all of the following: Wireless Carriers, MVNOs and other network providers, Mobile Handset and Smart Phone manufacturers and software developers, large and small software development companies entering or in the mobile space, advertising executives and potential advertisers, traditional bricks or e-commerce companies interested in mobile, any organization interested in monetizing their investment in the mobile space.
AdMob
Adobe
America’s Emergency Network
Antenna Software
Apple
AT&T
CoolTek
Danger Mobile
Darpa
DEC
Dell
Dexterra
Electronic Arts
FasTap
FireFox
FourSquare
GameLoft
Google
Handspring
Hewlett Packard
Intel
Land Rover
LG
LiMo
Marvel
MeeGo
Microsoft
MIT
Modu Mobile
Motorola
Nokia
OpenMoko
Opera
Palm
PopCap
QderoPateo
Qualcomm
RIM
SalesForce
Samsung
Sony Ericsson
Starbucks
Sun Microsystems
Symbian
T-Mobile USA
VeriFone
Verizon
Visa
- The reader will gain a keen understanding of the strength of the mobile application marketplace. While not uncommon in such a new technology growth sector, all of the current signs still show that this market's growth is still in its infancy and that it will not reach a growth ceiling for quite some time. Year-over-year, companies are reporting growth numbers exceeding their expectations, and despite floundering in other sectors of the economy, mobile applications have not only shown strength but significant growth over the last 3 years, with plenty of room for that trend to continue.
1 Executive Summary.. 6
2 Definition of a Mobile App.. 8
2.1 What Separates an App From a Bundled Device Feature?. 8
2.2 Examples of Current Mobile Apps. 8
3 History of Mobile Platform Programming.. 9
3.1 The First Widget. 9
3.2 Hardware Widgets?. 9
3.3 Hardware and Software Evolution.. 11
3.3.1 Hardware evolution. 11
3.3.1.1 The Smartphone revolution. 11
3.3.2 Development platform evolution. 12
3.3.2.1 Palm.. 12
3.3.2.2 WAP, WML, and HTML. 13
3.3.2.2.1 HTML and Mini Browsers. 14
3.3.2.2.2 Adobe, Flash, and SilverLight 14
3.3.2.2.3 JavaScript 14
3.3.2.2.4 AJAX.. 15
3.3.3 Development future. 15
4 Platform Architectures. 16
4.1 Platform Specific Development. 16
4.1.1 Symbian. 16
4.1.2 Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7. 17
4.1.3 Blackberry OS. 18
4.1.4 iPhone OSX.. 19
4.1.5 Linux. 20
4.1.6 Palm OS. 21
4.1.7 Danger Hiptop, SideKick. 21
4.1.8 Android. 22
4.2 Portable App Development. 23
4.2.1 J2ME Platform.. 23
4.3 Web Based Apps. 24
4.3.1 WAP/WML/XML. 24
4.3.2 HTML. 25
4.3.2.1 Browser Constraints by Platform.. 25
5 Key Development Concepts. 25
5.1 Size Constraints. 26
5.1.1 Compact Code. 26
5.1.2 Compact File Space. 26
5.2 Display Constraints. 27
5.2.1 Display Sizes and Standards. 27
5.2.2 Multiple Displays. 28
5.3 Input and Controls. 28
5.3.1 Input device types. 28
5.3.1.1 Keypad. 29
5.3.1.2 Keyboard. 29
5.3.1.3 Touch Screen. 29
5.3.1.4 Scroll Wheel 30
5.3.1.5 Thumb Sticks, Roller Balls, and Direction Pads. 30
5.3.2 Environmental Controls. 31
5.3.2.1 Motion and Orientation Sensors. 31
5.3.2.2 Light Sensors. 31
5.3.3 Peripheral Access. 31
5.3.3.1 GPS onboard and off 31
5.3.3.2 Bluetooth. 32
5.3.3.3 Infrared. 32
5.4 Network Access. 32
5.4.1 Connection Persistence. 32
5.4.1.1 Dial on Demand. 32
5.4.1.2 Always On. 33
5.4.2 Connection Types and Limitations. 33
5.4.2.1 Cellular Data. 33
5.4.2.2 WiFi 33
5.4.2.3 WiMax. 34
5.4.2.4 Bluetooth. 35
5.5 Processing.. 35
5.5.1 Platforms and Speeds. 35
5.6 Web App development. 36
5.6.1 Limitations of Web Based Applications. 37
5.6.2 A note about WAP/WML translators, compression gateways, and proxies. 37
5.7 Licensing.. 38
5.7.1 License Model Table by Platform.. 38
6 Markets. 39
6.1 Mobile Advertising.. 39
6.1.1 The Advertising Double Edged Sword. 39
6.2 Market Summary.. 40
6.2.1 Case Study RIM... 40
6.2.2 Case Study Apple. 41
6.2.3 Case Study PopCap Games. 41
6.2.4 Case Study Car Locator. 42
6.2.5 Platform Market Share. 43
6.3 Market Sizing.. 44
6.3.1 Predicted Mobile Sales. 44
6.3.2 Predicted Smart Phone Sales. 44
6.3.3 Predicted Mobile Application Sales and Revenue. 45
6.3.4 Recent Market Developments as Growth Indicators. 46
7 Market Sizing and Forecast.. 47
7.1 Smart Phone Market Performance. 48
7.2 Application Store Market Performance. 50
7.2.1 Handango Mobile Content 50
7.2.2 Apple App Store Mobile Content 53
7.2.2.1 Medialets App Store and Android Marketplace Analysis. 54
7.3 Individual Application Performance. 58
7.4 Recommendations for the Mobile App marketplace. 59
8 Smart Phone User Survey.. 60
9 Market Breakdown by Mobile Operating System... 73
9.1 Symbian.. 73
9.2 RIM Blackberry.. 74
9.3 Apple OSX Mobile. 76
9.4 Google Android.. 79
9.5 Windows Mobile and Phone 7. 84
9.6 Palm WebOS. 88
9.7 Samsung Bada.. 89
9.8 Emerging Platforms. 90
10 Mobile Application Examples. 91
10.1 SalesForce. 91
10.2 Dexterra.. 92
10.3 America's Emergency Network.. 94
11 Carrier and Vendor Adaptations. 95
11.1 Topology and Network Changes. 95
11.2 Policy Changes. 95
11.2.1 Open Network Movements. 96
11.2.2 Billing Plan Changes. 96
11.3 Infrastructure Hardware Changes. 96
11.3.1 Location Based Services. 96
11.3.2 WiFi Localized Service Hosting. 97
11.3.3 Network Monitoring Changes and Effects. 97
11.4 Handset Manufacturer Changes. 97
11.4.1 Integrating New Handset Features. 97
11.4.2 Evolving the Handset 97
11.5 Software Changes. 98
11.5.1 Mobile Browser Evolution. 98
11.5.2 Multiple Platform Mobile Operating Systems. 99
12 The Future of Apps. 99
12.1 Innovative Solutions on the Horizon.. 99
12.1.1 Context and Location Sensitive Applications. 99
12.1.2 Pay Point Solutions. 99
12.1.3 Swarm Data Mining. 100
12.2 Predictions for the Next Generation.. 101
12.2.1 Obsolescence of the Wallet 101
12.2.1.1 Digital ID.. 101
12.2.1.2 Electronic Signature. 102
12.2.2 Convergence of Portable Devices. 102
12.2.2.1 Geo Tagging Multimedia. 102
12.2.2.2 Geocasting, Personal Broadcasting. 103
12.2.3 Breaking the Phone Mold. 103
12.2.3.1 Unlocking and Starting Your Car 103
12.2.3.2 Authentication on a Computer and Elsewhere. 104
12.2.3.3 Remote Control 104
13 Summary.. 105
14 Index of Tables. 107
15 Image Credits. 108
16 References. 113
