Full FeedWindows Mobile App man switches to iPhone
This is rich. The very man whose job it was to encourage developers to create new and cool applications for Windows Mobile recently converted to an iPhone. Why? Apps.
The only feature now touted by Apple’s advertising for their iPhone platform is third party applications and it seems to resonate with the public. Even hard-core Windows Mobile loyalists, such as 2002-2004 Product Manager, Kevin Lisota, could not resist the siren’s call of applications. Lisota still has contacts on the Windows Mobile team—heck, the man once dressed up as Batman to appear on stage at a developers conference for the WinMo team, maybe he’ll switch back?
“I still have a lot of friends back on the Windows Mobile team, and I apologize to them for what reads like a commercial for an iPhone. I would love to switch back, but I need their devices to match the iPhone with cool real estate apps, a great web browser, location awareness, and easily discoverable applications.”
Lisota now heads up a real estate business in Seattle, Findwell. Yesterday at Microsoft’s dev camps for mobile developers, Microsoft encouraged developers to charge more for their apps. Sure, cheap apps are alluring and are stealing customers from the WinMo platform right and left, but it won’t last, right?
“It’s up to you play your pricing, but we would definitely want to promote that you make more money selling applications than selling your application in a dollar store,” said Loke Uei of Microsoft’s Mobile Developer Experience Team, explaining why the company will use revenue, not download volume, to determine the winner in the paid category of its Race to Market Challenge. “I know, 99 cents is interesting—yes, consumers like to pay 99 cents for applications. But 99 cents, come on, I think your app is worth more than that.”
Is this a sign that Windows Mobile will stay fixated on business? With consumers hooked on cheap apps, will offering higher priced ones give WinMo another obstacle to overcome?
Read: [TechFlash]
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Loke Uei is a good friend of mine. I actually believe that there is a certain degree of truth to charging more for apps. The market for free or cheap apps is certainly huge, but the winners are dominated by a handful of apps. Most apps in an ecosystem like that will languish in obscurity. For the vast majority of app developers, they do need to ensure profitability and people will pay something for useful apps.
However, as mentioned in my article, Windows Mobile needs some “big hit” apps like the iPhone has at the moment to drive and maintain consumer awareness and the “cool” factor for their devices. Most of the big hits on the iPhone are free or nearly so.
on August 20, 2009 at 10:28 PM - LINKKevin, thanks for the comment. The concern I have is if Windows Mobile apps are all $9.99 and the most popular apps on the iPhone are free or $.99, another obstacle gets thrown up in consumers mind. No question developers should get paid.
With the breadth of iPhone apps, I wonder how MS will find a “big hit” app to wow us.
BTW, the findwell site is quite well done.
on August 21, 2009 at 06:54 AM - LINK