iPhone Means Big Business for Developers- Of All Sizes

Since the launch of Apple’s App Store in July of 2008, more than 500 million apps have already been downloaded. As of January 2008, the average daily app download rate had surpassed the 5 million mark, up from 2.5 million the month prior. This has created substantial returns for many frenetically coding, garage-dwelling developers. Recently, Lim Ding Wen, a 9 year old boy from Singapore, created an application for the iPhone called Doodle Kids. To date, Wen’s application has garnered 4,000 downloads. Users create pictures by dragging a finger across the screen. Even celebrities are attracted to the iPhone fervor. Ben Stein recently released a game of his own, Ben Stein: It’s Trivial. The game features more than 1,200 trivia questions. uStream’s application announced a download volume of 113,000 in just 24 hours. It is this variety and juxtaposition of small developers to more seasoned players that makes this market trend so compelling.

To provide greater context, Apple’s App Store allows external developers to submit their own proprietary games and applications to this considerable distribution channel. While not all applications/games are accepted, many are finding a place in the app store. To date, the app store houses over 15,000 applications and counting.

There is much that accounts for the popularity of these apps and casual games. Let’s start with the device itself. The iPhone offers a rich user experience that heretofore exceeds that of any competing mobile device. The platform allows for exquisite graphic presentation and dynamic user interaction. The multi-touch user interface as well as the motion sensitive accelerometer make the iPhone a serious gaming platform.

The popularity of these apps is further aided by the functionality of the apps and games themselves. With the expansive capabilities the iPhone provides, users find apps that satisfy any variety of needs and games that are both pleasing to the eye and fun to play. More importantly, the cost point of many of these games and apps is well- more than affordable. Many apps require payment ranging from $0.99 to $5.00, while many others are free. Given the greater economic climate, this is critical to market success. It is safe to assume that many are seeking a reprieve from the rigors of a failing economy and simple, affordable pleasures will likely continue to grow in popularity. With the touch of a digital button, you can get lost in Sudoku for the day.
Arthur Ebeling is the CEO of Kami Media Technologies, www.KamiMedia.com. He has been featured through CNN, NBC, AOL News, Entrepreneur Magazine, and Success Magazine. He may be e-mailed at: ajebeling@kamimedia.com.

iPhone Gaming Featured on CNN

Ustream's iPhone App Downloaded 113,000 Times in Initial 24 Hours

Ustream’s iPhone Viewing Application has already achieved the top spot of the App Store’s Entertainment section just a couple of days beyond its launch. Ustream reports its download count resides at an astounding 113,000 within the first 24 hours of its availability. The application allows users to watch live and archived streams from Ustream.tv directly on their iPhone or iPod Touch.

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Ben Stein Launches iPhone Game

KIRKLAND, Wash., Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Griptonite Games today announced the release of Ben Stein: It's Trivial, a quick-witted new trivia game exclusive to the Apple iPhone and iPod touch. Ben Stein: It's Trivialis priced at $4.99 and is now available from Apple's App Store on iPhone and iPod touch, or at www.itunes.com/appstore

Developer Strikes it Rich with iPhone Game

The Power of the Digital Marketplace

Chris Anderson illuminates in his book, The Long Tail, a true revolution that is occurring in media sales.  Let us consider the music industry.  The trend of "hits" manufacturing is slowly expiring with the presence of greater digital selection.  To better illustrate this, consider a brick-and-mortar music store.  Limited shelf space begets scarcity.  Only so many albums can be accommodated.  As a consequence, "hits" must be propagated to encourage greater sales volume and optimal use of restricted product display.  Selection suffers as a byproduct of this scheme.  

With digital environments such as Rhapsody and iTunes, users are finding a greater selection of music because of seemingly boundless digital "shelf space."  More obscure music is now available and with this selection, a greater spread of purchase behavior.  Let's expound upon this.  A trend now exists in which, as Anderson describes it, less of more is being sold.  Sure, obscure or at least lesser known  songs still may not rival the recent releases of a Jessica Simpson or Eminem, however, the cumulative totals of songs outside the top billboard ambit account for increasing levels of download volume.  This is graphically represented as a "long tail."  Consider the chart above: the vertical axis represents level of popularity (in this case measured by download volume) and the horizontal axis displays the product (in this case individual songs).  The more obscure music is found farther and farther to the right.  While the bulk or head of the graph embodies the top selling albums, notice that though the download volume diminishes with lesser know music, it never reaches zero.  There is still some download activity.  Again, the cumulative total of these downloads, the "long tail," is a considerable sales share.  To more specifically quantify this, Anderson profiles in his book a recent pie graph of Rhapsody's revenue share.  Nearly 40% of its 1.5 million track inventory sales were products not available in offline retail stores.  

The cost-effectiveness of this model is impossible to ignore.  Digital libraries can operate with little overhead and in the absence of expensive distribution schemes.  The internet allows for a powerful, minimal-cost distribution vehicle.  As the internet has grown more and more enriched both as a social medium and a commerce environment, traditional broadcast media has taken a substantial hit, both in the entertainment sector as well as sales/advertising.  Also consider the many cultural implications of this trend.  Perhaps engineered pop culture is a thing of the past and a more heterogeneous, dare I say freethinking culture is being nurtured.