Phone
With more than 35,000 applications now available for the iPhone, consumers are more discerning about what apps they download. A new version of the iPhone operating system due for release in the next few months will have users clamoring for even more sophisticated programs, said Chris James, who runs SnapDat Networks Inc., an iPhone app company in New York.
“The early apps that came out had a distinct advantage because there werent a lot of them to compete for attention,” said James, a former Wall Street trader. Now, “you better have a high-quality app or dont even try.”
Sales of mobile programs industrywide may exceed $25 billion by 2014, with games being the largest category, according to a report this week from Juniper Research in Basingstoke, England. Apple has sold more than 37 million units of the iPhone and iPod Touch, which also runs iPhone apps. The company doesnt break out sales from the App Store.
For developers, Apple serves as a gatekeeper, reviewing every program before including it on the App Store and deciding which ones to promote. Developers get a 70 percent cut of each program sold, with Apple retaining 30 percent. Free programs are distributed at no cost.
Anything Goes
“Anything goes right now,” said Sean Lyons, whose Los Angeles-based startup, HK Apps, created a $2.99 program that delivers jokes that start with the words “Yo Mama.” Creating a future hit may not be so easy as users demand more features, he said. “Apple is trying to put the better programs out there.”
For apps that arent free, prices start at 99 cents. The costliest program, as of yesterday, is a $900 mobile video surveillance app called iRa Pro. It lets people view live video from hundreds of security cameras.
Apple, based in Cupertino, California, rose 69 cents to $125.83 yesterday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have jumped 47 percent this year.
Apples vetting process for apps fueled debate last week after the store began selling “Baby Shaker,” a 99-cent program that let users vent their frustration by shaking on-screen infants.
The company removed the program after a child-welfare group, the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation, called it “horrific.” Apple apologized, saying the application was “deeply offensive” and should never have been offered.
Yo Mama
Apple doesnt provide many details about the vetting process. In March, when it unveiled a software upgrade for the iPhone, the company said 96 percent of programs get approved. Of those, 98 percent are accepted in seven days or less.
Lyons, 23, spent a week recording 320 jokes for his “Yo Mama Extreme: Voice Edition.” The program reads jokes aloud when people shake the iPhone. Among the offerings: “Yo Mama has so much hair on her upper lip, she braids it!”
Users have downloaded thousands of copies of “Yo Mama Extreme” since its release in March — even though six other developers began selling similar programs at the same time, Lyons said. Sales have been brisk enough to convince Lyons and his partner that creating iPhone apps could be a full-time job.
Complex Applications
Still, he knows that creating a future hit may not be so easy. “Were working on more complicated applications,” Lyons said.
The updated iPhone operating system, called OS 3.0, will add more than 100 features, likely spurring a flood of new apps. One feature will let the iPhone connect to accessories, ranging from blood-pressure monitors to FM radio tuners. The phones will also be able to link up over a wireless connection, so users can play games or beam data to each other.
“The new iPhone OS 3.0 will enable developers to create even more compelling apps,” said Natalie Kerris, an Apple spokeswoman.