The App Market today – Is there room for you?

Unless you’ve just emerged from a cave you cannot really have missed the enormous growth of the Smartphone and associated applications or ‘apps. In the space of five years, the amalgamation of telecom, software,microprocessors and interface technology has been nothing short of a technological revolution. The availability of iPhone, iPads and the wider range of Android “smartphones” has profoundly changed the way we communicate.

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One of the most attractive features of the smartphone is the user’s ability to download, install, and manipulate thousands of different applications. These applications, or “apps,” allow us to perform a wide range of tasks – open a garage door, plan an office presentation, write a finance report or play a game of poker – all this from control literally in the palm of our hand.

On top of this the recent emergence of tablet-style computing devices like the iPad, which operate around a similar structure of readily available and easy to use applications, has sky-rocketed the demand for apps. The market is really hungry and growing hungrier.

Therein lies the opportunity. As both domestic and international economies take hold of the “smart-device” concept, the vacuum of new applications expands along with it. Those who take advantage of this vacuum by providing new and useful applications will find themselves in a perfect position to capitalize on a market that, at present, is only growing as people start to realize how powerful and useful some apps can be.

Can you really earn money from apps in India?

So, can you exploit this growing market? The answer is a resounding “Yes”! . There is room for you, so long as you can produce an application that is useful, effective, and performs a task demanded by the market.

The Purpose of This Series

This series will show you how to brainstorm, produce, refine, and market an app from inception to completion. If you have an idea for an app that you think other people would use and enjoy then you’ve come to the right place to start your journey.

As this series continues, you will learn all there is to know about transforming your idea into a reality.

To properly navigate you through this process, it’s important that you understand something of the marketing and history of smart device apps. So, for now, let’s take a broad look at the app development industry.

App Delivery

Until recently, Apple maintained app exclusivity. Basically this meant that the only applications available to iPhone users were those given the Apple stamp of approval. So, before being made available to the public all apps were debugged and tested by the Apple staff.

However, the introduction of Android – Google’s answer to Apple’s iPhone – the door to third party app development was swung wide open and the rules of the game changed completely. The Android app store allowed individuals to develop and test their own apps and to upload them to a series of sites where Android users could download and install them.

This is similar to the move IBM made back in the late 80’s by cloning their technology to third parties. Those with long memories may recall that this move allowed IBM to capture over 90% of the home computer market from Apple. By releasing app development exclusivity, Google and the Android unlocked a vast, untapped talent pool – the users themselves.

Google’s decision to allow user-created apps obligated Apple and iPhone to follow suit or lose the market – they weren’t about to make the same mistake twice. So, with Apple’s release of app exclusivity, the two largest platforms of smartdevices – iPhone and Android – are both actively seeking development from the user community.

At last count, there were over 400,000 apps available for download from both Apple and Google and nearly two-thirds of these apps were free to use. Compare this to just a few hundred apps at the initial release of the iPhone 4 years ago, and you get some idea of how quickly the app market is exploding. App Function

Many of the functions of the smart device app overlap. Over a thousand different versions of music software are available, as are many thousands of different kinds of games. Even apps built around specific websites, like Facebook or eBay, have scores of different translation apps that allow users to engage them via smart device.

The important thing to note here is that duplication is not necessarily a negative. So, for example, if your chess app is sleeker or more customizable than other existing versions, chances are you’re going to capture at least a portion of the market.

This is great news for app developers! If app development is not function-exclusive, then improving or enhancing an existing app is every bit as viable as creating an entirely new app. This is where user development is so advantageous since users are more likely to be familiar with the faults and limitations of existing apps than professional programmers.

However, there are some pitfalls to avoid before you decide to improve an existing app by simply duplicating it and make a few cosmetic changes. Copyright infringement is a serious issue, both legally and in the mind of the market. If you attempt to market a carbon copy of an existing app, you are not only opening yourself up to a lawsuit, you risk ostracizing yourself from the very users you hope to impress. In the age of instant text messages, blog posts and tweets a few negative comments can leave a lasting mark on your reputation. This issue will be addressed in more detail later in this series. So.. In Summary..

We’ve learned that both the app market and the user base are increasing in size exponentially on a yearly basis, both nationally and internationally. As more markets gain access to smart device technology and more people in those markets begin using these devices, the opportunity for serious app developers to get a foothold in these markets starts to become realistic.

We’ve also learned that there are already nearly half a million apps available on the market and that this should not be discouraging in the least – the fact that there are so many apps provides opportunity to the developer, since the improvement of existing app function is every bit as marketable as the invention of an entirely new app. There is also the simple fact that many developers may simply be put off as they see so many apps and they end up thinking everything has already been done so they give up..But that won’t happen to you now will it???

In the next section, we will begin discussing the process of brainstorming some ideas then defining and refining the idea for your app. You will get some great tips and tricks on how to make sure your app is viable.