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Author: Horace Dediu

Analysts scrambling to update models as app download rates explode

Analysts at Yankee Group recently boosted their forecasts for what they call a mobile app “gold rush,” saying that revenue from U.S. downloads alone would reach nearly $1.6 billion in 2010 and would hit $11 billion in 2014. Only six months ago, their analysis indicated that U.S. downloads would bring in far less — about $4.2 billion in 2013.

link: Studies Forecast Rapid Growth in Mobile Apps – Digits – WSJ

These attempts at forecasting are fraught with errors.

For the record, I’ve blown my estimates on this multiple times. The growth of the iPad will put another wrench in the works. I wonder how these “mobile” forecasts will change when the platform consists of a music player, a phone and a pseudo-computer.


Google thinks trying to predict the stock market is illegal

There are many, many things that Google could do, that we chose not to do… One day we had a conversation where we figured we could just try to predict the stock market. And then we decided it was illegal.

link: MacDailyNews

This is so insane that I have to assume he was mis-quoted.


Nexus One: 135k Units Sold

Despite the fact that the Google Nexus One is the most advanced Android handset to date, and enjoyed substantial buzz leading up to its release, the launch has been overshadowed by lower than expected sales.

link: Initial Sales of Original iPhone, Droid, and Nexus One Compared – Mac Rumors

On the heels of the 71% cut in estimates this should not be a surprise. Nor should it be given Rubin’s stated goal:

Rubin hopes his company can sell, at the very least, 150,000 Nexus One devices.

link: Google’s Mobile Chief Andy Rubin on the Google Phone & the Androidification of Everything – GigaOM


Tim Bray hates the idea that hardware guys can kick software guys around

Tim Bray Throws His Hat Into The Android Ring Because He Hates The iPhone

Sorry Tim, get used to it. Your idea that software writers should have the right to put their software on anybody’s hardware is coming to an end. That is a privilege not a right.

No vendor has the right to put their product on the shelf of any retailer in the world. It takes a lot of hard work and no small amount of luck to have your product distributed. The software world will be no different.


7000 companies were created just to make apps

An estimated one in five iPhone developers are companies founded specifically to create applications for the iPhone, according to the latest Flurry Smartphone Industry Pulse survey. That represents the second-largest category of developers behind only preexisting online companies, including giants like Google, Facebook and eBay. Those established brands take up 22 percent of the iPhone developer share.

link: AppleInsider | Startup developers represent one in five on Apple’s App Store

Flurry argues that with 75 million units sold, the platform is reaching a critical mass where major brands being to take a dominant position in terms of position and sales rank.

This argument is suggesting that the platform will be a sustaining technological improvement to existing industries such as traditional media, online media, retail and traditional gaming.


App Store vs. Facebook as Platforms

Since the App Store launched in July 2008, 35,000 unique companies have released applications, which translates to 58 new companies launching apps each day. This appears to be the largest amassing of 3rd party developer support by any development platform in such a compressed timeframe. For example, comparing the number of applications created for the Facebook platform to the App Store over their respective first 9 months, Apple boasted 25,000 apps to Facebook’s 14,000. Comparing respective growth in apps after 14 months, Apple had widened its gap to 85,000 apps over Facebook’s 33,000. At the App Store’s 18 month mark, reached this January, the number of iPhone apps was reported to have exceeded 140,000 compared to 60,000 we estimate Facebook had reached over the same number of months. Apple now leads Facebook with over twice as many available applications. We believe the difference in growth rates can be attributed to the App Store providing better monetization possibilities for application developers than Facebook. Developers, like all rational companies, pursue markets where the path to revenue generation is clear.

link: Flurry Smartphone Industry Pulse, February 2010


iPad Sales Estimates: How did they stack up?


Deagol counts about 120k iPad units were pre-ordered on the first day. How do we judge this performance?

The problem will be in using some comparable as a measure of reference. This is a problem because first, there is no equivalent product in history, second, there are few similar products that are pre-ordered and sold without user samples being available, and third it’s being sold through a very limited channel (on-line Apple Store). Lastly, the number includes only delivered units vs. reservation for pick-up.

Nevertheless, the figure is intriguing. One class of comparable products might be new smartphone products from companies that were launching on new platforms.

One example is the Android G1–the first Android device. It sold 663k units in the launch quarter. Another is the Nokia 5800, Nokia’s first touch capable device. It sold 536k units in the first quarter (up to 1 million in the first 3 months). Sony Ericsson’s first Windows Mobile device was the X1. It sold 237k units in the first quarter of sales. The first Sense UI HTC device (the Diamond) sold about 1 million units. The RIM Storm, RIM’s first touch device sold 1.6 million units. Finally the iPhone which sold 1.1 million units in the first full quarter of sales (about 1.4 million if we include the weekend sales that fell outside the first quarter).

The iPad does seem to be doing rather well relative to these products. Again, their figures were for a full 90 days of sales and were sold through physical retail channels in a variety of geographic markets.

I will be surprised if the number of units sold in Apple’s CQ2 don’t exceed 1 million. (Apple will book all these sales only on delivery which means they won’t appear in CQ1 sales figures). This will probably mean better performance with a new platform than Nokia, Google, Sony Ericsson or HTC and perhaps better than the iPhone.

(data source: Canalys).


Korean Regulations Stifle Mobile Games Market

South Korea is considering banning access to the Android Marketplace to its residents if Google continues to offer game apps that are not approved by the country’s regulator

link: Korea may block Android Market due to game laws | Electronista

Currently, South Koreans have a choice of two Android-powered smartphones that have access to the Android Marketplace, and more are due for release this year. There are about 4,400 games on the Android Market available to South Koreans, with all of them needing to be rated.

Apple has gone around the South Korean laws by not offering any gaming apps at its App Store for iPhones and iPod touch devices. South Korean developers put up locally approved games under the entertainment category in the App Store, however. Many South Korean iPhone owners create a second account outside of South Korea that does grant them access to games on the App Store as well.