Carrier Uncertainty and Doubt
There’s an interesting interview with Adam Alvine of FunMobility on mocoNews. FunMobility have been selling content to carriers for 10 years. The interview compares selling via the iPhone Store with selling via carriers. The most interesting part for me is that the iPhone is starting to set a precedent when it comes to commission rates and terms…
"I think the iPhone has put fear, uncertainty and doubt into the mind of carrier. There’s a different dynamic out there. Carriers know that they need applications because they drive data revenues and ARPU and retention, so they are re-examining the rules for which they drive the applications."
The iPhone really has evangelised mobile. I am finding there’s far more interest to develop mobile products and services than there was say two or three years ago. I’d go so far to say that the affect of the iPhone has all but cancelled out any downturn of the mobile application/service industry due to the World recession.
FunMobility’s experience is just one example where the iPhone has had an effect way beyond the iPhone ecosystem. This is reflected in the recent analyst reports that smartphones are seeing much stronger growth than non-smartphones. All the OS platforms are benefiting even if some of them are having to re-organise and re-group at the moment.
Only last year, all the talk was of the mobile web being the future of mobile. Now it’s applications and application stores. Very few people could have predicted this. However, therein lies the unsettled nature and hence risk of mobile… but also the opportunities for companies in the right place at the right time.
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