iPhone in 2010: Mobile Commerce, Social Networking Star
The App Store and the iPhone really grew up last year, setting the stage for even bigger things to come this year. Expect social networking to become a key part of the iPhone experience, big new app players, and the start of a mobile commerce tidal wave.
CIO —
Apple's (AAPL) App Store is fast becoming the social hub of the mobile world, where we chat and play games with friends, catch movie trailers, shop for everyday things and even get a little work done.
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Call it a coming of age. The App Store, in its adolescent years, had its share of silly games and apps. Last year was a turning point as social networking apps became equally popular on the PC and iPhone. The iPhone's popularity should attract big brands and a sense of seriousness this year, analysts say.
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Last year, some of the most popular new apps were social networking ones like Facebook and Twitter clients. "This year, the largest trend will be social networks around applications," says Krishna Subramanian, founder of Mobclix, an operator of a mobile ad exchange marketplace.
Consider NGmoco, which has built a network for game developers for the iPhone. App developers can plug into the network and gain instant access to a horde of iPhone gamers; and gamers on the NGmoco network can see what games their friends are playing. All of this drives leader board watching, high scores and, of course, usage of the apps themselves.
Social networking games like Mafia Wars on the iPhone are poised for big growth this year, too, says Subramanian. The iPhone has proven itself as a great social networking platform, he says, citing a study whereby an average iPhone session runs an hour.
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2010: Mobile Money
Some analysts say that this year will also be the year of the start of a mobile commerce tidal wave. Market researcher Gartner predicts mobile app revenue will hit $6.7 billion this year, up from $4.2 billion last year — and the trend will continue to almost $30 billion in 2013. "Games remain the No. 1 application, and mobile shopping, social networking, utilities and productivity tools continue to grow and attract increasing amounts of money," said Stephanie Baghdassarian, researcher at Gartner.
One of the reasons for the money train: slow moving, big brands are finally realizing that the iPhone is a real platform for reaching customers. "Last year has really awoken big brands to deliver an iPhone app," says Subramanian. "We're starting to see a lot more movie studies starting to advertise in the iPhone space."
