A report studying the spread of location-based applications released by Skyhook Wireless has revealed a disturbing trend in mobile application stores–especially the iPhone App Store.
“There are over 50, 000 App Store apps, and this massive number is often referenced as a sign of the tremendous growth of the App Store. But, it is important to understand that bulk apps make up much of this volume,” said Skyhook in a press release. Catch that bulk apps part? Yes, that would be the disturbing trend.
In essence, a variety of app development companies are creating template-based apps that trade-out information based on the target market. It’s especially prevalent in travel and local search apps. For instance, Molinker has 852 (!!!) travel apps available in the iPhone App Store, yet each has the same interface and functionality. The only difference would be the information available if, for example, you’re in Shanghai as opposed to Hong Kong.
While I understand developers are still playing with monetization strategies to make a buck from their offerings, I can’t help but wonder how this hurts the LBS application industry. Sure, Molinker has found a great way to pump out a zillion $0.99 apps with relatively little work (I’ve emailed the company to see how well this strategy is working out), but where is the innovation? How does this move the LBS industry forward? It doesn’t, especially when 1/3 of the iPhone’s LBS apps are mass-produced in this way. And applications like these serve to flood the market, pushing down prices and causing great applications to lose out–or not be developed in the first place.
Personally, I think there is more innovative stuff being done with Android. Mobilizy’s augmented reality Wikitude browser, SPRX Mobile and Layar, the ShopSavvy real-time shopping application…the list goes on. And while some may question the ability of these companies to generate a return on investment, I would argue that whether or not any of these companies fold, at least they are moving the LBS industry into the future.
Anyways, on to the next thing now. Where are some of the niches LBS developers could tap into currently? Here’s a few spots I would look:
- Nokia, despite its massive investment in “social location” and its $8.1 billion acquisition of NAVTEQ, is still short on LBS apps in its Ovi Store. Only 23 are available with a paid/free ratio of 43/57. Of the app stores currently available, the Ovi Store has the lowest ratio of LBS apps to total apps.
- Apple’s iPhone App Store, despite my issues with it at the moment, is primed for something new: think shopping apps and enterprise apps for industries like health & medical. Niche and innovative.
- Palm’s App Catalog only has 9 LBS applications and they’re all free. The Palm Pre SDK isn’t publicly available yet, so this store is a toss-up. Especially because the phone is only available on one US carrier, and even when Verizon releases it making it two, it’ll be pushed out by the carrier’s own app store launch.
- Android’s just getting started and some of the most forward-thinking LBS apps are available via its Android Market. Lot’s of untapped potential here, in my opinion.
- Blackberry’s App World has 79 LBS apps now and development is slowing–only 14 new ones in the last month. However, the average Blackberry LBS app costs $11.70–hugely expensive compared to every other app store. Apple’s average LBS app price is the second most expensive, and it’s only $3.47. Even though Blackberry has a bit of an “enterprise” reputation, there is a huge untapped “non-enterprise” user base of Blackberry users that would use cheaper LBS apps.
Skyhook has released the entire report on its Location Revolution blog. It’s a good read and has plenty of colorful charts and numbers if you’re into that sort of thing.
