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Mobile Applications - what lies ahead?

Posted: Wednesday 5th January 2011 / Mobile Apps, Innovation, Caboodle Media

2010 was an exciting year for development in mobile technology, with major advances in both hardware and software. Apple’s iPhone and iPad along with Google’s Android and Microsoft Windows Phone all prove just how large the market currently stands.

Trends have been forming over the recent years which give us an indication what lies ahead. Mobile users are increasing daily, and there is unlikely to be any slowdown in the foreseeable future. It is anticipated that by Q2 2012 there will be more smart phone users than PC users.

The number of users accessing the Apple’s App Store increases every day. Each submission of a new app is checked by Apple for quality to ensure the apps are bug free and do as they claim to do. The Android development team has a similar application retail store called Market, although not as developed and lacking the strong market share of the App Store.

Many are expecting a business app store to be launched during 2011. This would provide revenue streams for businesses that have information to offer their mobile users. Many competitors of all niches are in the market to make money and have the same amount of ability to swoop in.

Currently, the number of development companies producing apps for each mobile platform is limited. There are a growing number of technology companies showing interest and moving into the mobile arena and this will become the next intensively developed piece of technology following digital television and the Internet. Over time, the mobile app development market will become highly competitive, just like the web design industry has today.

Each application developed potentially is a new brand and therefore it is essential to create a memorable design with a planned marketing strategy. With so many applications available it will be difficult to publish your app and expect the sales to fall into place.

The current trends points towards larger applications becoming popular through various marketing techniques for example developing a small website for your app explaining how it works and what the core features are. This can be spread by bloggers and social networking communities to increase level of interest.

This is a much easier opportunity for the average business since mobile apps require much less marketing and management. The only downfall comes that your audience must be using the correct device running your software.
We already have access to e-mail and most documents on our mobile devices. Cloud storage apps are getting more and more popular and will continue to grow into 2011. The ability to store and share any type of content via the web is phenomenal. This isn’t to mention the effect of mobile accessibility. Application interfaces have allowed for cloud data to be accessed from mobile applications anywhere with an Internet connection.

These few predictions for the coming years should come at no surprise. Those who have been studying the mobile market have seen how quickly the boom began and the direction that we are heading and with Christmas just behind us, new smart phones and tablets have entered the homes of many new users, so the market will just continue to grow and grow.

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