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2011 Mobile App Outlook – 11 Trends & Opportunities for mobile Apps to watch for


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Your mobile strategy will go beyond the iPhone and iPad

* In 2011, businesses will recognize that having an iPhone App does not constitute a real mobile strategy to achieve their goal of increasing reach
* With over 1 billion smartphones expected by 2013, this is a growing market with room for many other players (Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, Symbian, Samsung, etc.)
* Gartner has predicted that mobile App downloads will surpass 4 billion in 2010 and grow to 21 billion by 2013


Android fragmentation will be a major challenge for all

* Google has issued 7 releases of the Android OS (1.1, 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.01, 2.1, 2.2) in less than 2 years
* Older and lower performance Android devices experience performance issues
* OEMs like Motorola, Samsung, LG, HTC, Huawei and Sony Ericsson customize their version of Android for differentiation


Tablets will appear in every home and need Tablet Apps

* OEMs like Apple, RIM, Samsung, LG, HTC, Acer, Cisco, Dell, Motorola, OpenPeak, Viewsonic and others will all have their own tablets in 2011
* Distribution channels of tablets will diverse (OEMs, carriers, retailers) and many for consumers to choose from
* In 2010, Apple will sell over 10MM, Samsung over 1MM, while Gartner predicts over 55MM tablets to be sold in 2011


“# active users” will be more important than “# downloads”

* Most businesses today do not know what is happening inside their Apps, hence only report on the # of downloads
* Improved analytics will enable businesses to optimize Apps and the user experience
* Strategies to drive continued usage (which leads to revenue) will become more important than strategies to drive downloads

Social will differentiate the mobile App experience

* 35% of Twitter’s active users access the service through their mobile device
* 2 million websites online (not mobile…yet) have adopted the Facebook Like button
* Mobile consumption habits are different than online and social will play a role in providing a unique mobile experience


Mobile exclusive brands and content will have success

* New, mobile-only brands will be launched from traditional publishers
* Vertical focused content will be used to create greater user stickiness
* Mobile Apps leverage new distribution channels and as a result, new discovery options


Paid content will have limited success due to infrastructure

* Outside of iTunes, it is not easy to buy physical or virtual goods on your smartphone today
* Major infrastructure & billing improvements are required for mass adoption of paid content and micro-transactions on mobile
* Billing fees of ~30% are not going to work for major retailers and publishers who want to build a premium revenue stream from mobile consumption


Mobile Apps and mobile web will get hitched and play nice together

* OS makers are making it easier to launch Apps leveraging web technologies and skills
* Apps will heavily leverage mobile web in Apps as a means to scale utility/custom features cross-device
* The average user will not be able to tell the difference between a mobile website and mobile App eventually


Apps leverage NFC (near-field-communication) to become mobile commerce tools

* Android Gingerbread (recent release of the OS) supports an NFC API generating a lot of interest
* Retailers will leverage NFC in Apps to increase in-store purchase volume on a per customer basis
* RFID chips embedded in smartphones will enable devices to become payment tools in both the physical and virtual worlds


App security and threats will become important

* Unlike desktops, smartphones store in many cases more personal information that is easily accessible by Apps
* App distribution channels currently do not require security testing which will be an issue as the number of Apps available reaches 1 million
* Developers will need to use techniques such as spoofing, tampering, repudiation, information disclosure, denial of service, and elevation of privilege


Fragmentation across OS and device will grow exponentially

* OS: Apple iOS, Google Android, RIM BlackBerry, Windows Phone, HP Palm, Samsung Bada, Nokia Symbian, Intel MeeGo
* Device: smartphone, feature phone, tablet, smart TVs, automobiles, netbooks, browsers
* All large players who are not going anyway anytime soon will all have their own play to attract Apps to drive differentiation


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Kunal Gupta is the Chief Executive Officer of Polar Mobile (www.polarmobile.com). Polar Mobile provides an industry-leading Platform that enables top media Publishers around the world to launch mobile Apps cross-device easily and quickly.



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