Palm introduces their very own AppStore - is it a fad?
In an attempt to keep the wolf from the door, Palm has pulled out all the stops and opened up a store, which will allow its users to download anything from the 5,000 applications available for the Palm OS and Windows Mobile handsets.
Sounds a bit like Apple’s AppStore to you? Well it does to me too. But what can you do, if it works for Apple, then Palm don’t have a sure fire guarantee that it will work for them. But they are definitely trying to win over Apple customers, though, as Palm are offering over 1,000 free applications available for their handsets.
Within the 5,000 applications available for downloading, you are looking at around 3,000 utility applications, about 2,000 games and the rest are free. Nice, but is that really going to make me ditch my iPhone to grab hold of a Palm device. Maybe the move is intended to look at keeping the users they’ve currently got before trying to entice other users of other handsets.
However, an InStat analyst, David Chamberlain, has a much simpler view on the move by Palm, saying, “There are some things that probably get too much attention. They are business fads, and that is one of the fads right now. There are some compelling reasons about it, though.”
In attempt to wash away your recession blues, Palm are offering a tidy 25 per cent reduction off your first download if you have the necessary coupon code at the checkout.
Still, Chamberlain is convinced that these Application Stores will see much more of a future as he believes they are hardly making any money. “I doubt that [handset makers] are making a huge investment in these application stores. This is more like adding an application to your cell phone deck than having to reinvent all the ways to buy it; choose it; and all those connections. That’s no major investment.”
But take a look at the Apple AppStore for a second. They have enjoyed massive success and most of it in the gaming sector of the store. Major gaming developers have jumped on-board and are now quite happily prepared to add the iPhone onto their list of consoles they are currently developing games for. I think the AppStore is in a pretty solid state of affairs right now – but hey, I’m no analyst.
Still, Chamberlain, who DOES get paid to analyse such situations, went on to claim, “I don’t think that in the case of Palm or anyone that it represents a change in the way the distribution is going on and there aren’t any big modifications in the way that application development is going on. It’s a new marketing technique but I don’t think underlying there are any big changes. It’s not the sort of thing to make me think there is a sea change going on in application development or marketing.”
Still let’s keep our fingers crossed he is wrong though – we can all benefit from free apps.
Leave a Comment