Latest Podcast



Featured Articles

Ofcom says mobile contracts should ditch inflation-related price rises

Ofcom says mobile contracts should ditch inflation-related price rises

UK telecoms regulator Ofcom wants to ban inflation-related rises in phone and broadband contracts. Instead, it says any potential mid-contract price rises should be set out in pounds and pence.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Global smartphone market is set for recovery, says new forecast

A new forecast from research specialists Canalys shows the smartphone market is set to recover next year. Worldwide shipments declined by 12% last year but that decline is expected to slow to 5% this year.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

New Hutchison/Vodafone network would be biggest UK operator

Vodafone Group plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited have agreed to combine their UK telecommunication businesses, respectively Vodafone UK and Three UK. The merger will create a large new network operator to compete with Virgin Media O2 and EE.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

UK mobile payment service Paym to close in March 2023

UK mobile payment service Paym will close on 7th March 2023. The service, which allowed users to make and receive payments using their mobile phone numbers, was launched in 2014.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Which? seeks payout for Samsung and Apple smartphone owners

Consumer protection organisation Which? has been given permission by the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal to represent Apple and Samsung smartphone buyers in a legal case against chip manufacturer Qualcomm.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS

Opinion Articles

Friday, October 9, 2009

Information that's free on the web?  There's an app for that!

Mark Bridge writes:

A few months ago I was at the launch of DataWind’s UbiSurfer netbook, a device that includes 12 months of internet access with the surprisingly low purchase price. A light-hearted presentation compared its web access with the Apple iPhone’s “there’s an app for that” TV campaign – and reminded us that many popular web-based iPhone apps cost money whilst web pages were free to access. Pay for a currency converter – or access one online for nothing. Pay for a train timetable application – or go to the mobile web for free.

Commonsense may send consumers straight to the web… but convenience and marketing has still sent plenty to the Apple App Store, which celebrated two billion downloads recently. I didn’t think much more about this until I saw a report in Newsweek a few days ago. It suggested that app developers aren’t getting rich from their work, despite receiving 70% of the money charged by Apple’s App Store (and most competing app stores, too). Instead, many aren’t making any profits at all.

Apple iPhone 3GSWe’re now seeing more and more big name brands heading for the app store; last year half of the Apple App Store’s top 10 chargeable apps were from independent developers – a figure that had fallen to just one in ten when Newsweek published its report. This has led to app prices falling: big brands are happy to give away some applications as part of a larger marketing initiative. Of course, there are other devices and other app stores available – but it’s not inconceivable that the same will happen to them.

The combination of all this struck me yesterday with what’s perhaps one of the first examples of a new kind of commonsense “app for that”. UK rail franchise CrossCountry has launched Train Search for the iPhone; an application that’s free to download… unlike the National Rail app, for example.

It’s a sensible solution for everyone – which leaves me wondering why the whole web application business didn’t start here in the first place.

Print
Author: The Fonecast
3 Comments
Rate this article:
No rating

Categories: OpinionNumber of views: 7837

Tags:

3 comments on article "Information that's free on the web?  There's an app for that!"

0
0
Avatar image

The Fonecast

10/9/2009 9:08 AM

Then again, there's Gym Babes - as reviewed by Ewan Macleod. ping.fm/KUVRe


0
0
Avatar image

The Fonecast

10/16/2009 9:49 PM

Ovum preducts more apps, a falling Apple share and lower app prices (as reported by Mobile Entertainment: www.mobile-ent.biz/news/34726/Ovum-187-billion-app-downloads-by-2014)


0
0
Avatar image

adfasd

6/15/2017 10:25 AM

Good article

Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Recent Podcasts

A podcast packed with smartphones galore... from Samsung, Sony, Microsoft and Motorola

Podcast - 10th September 2014

James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return from their summer break with a podcast full of smartphones and smart watches.

As well as products from Samsung, Sony, Microsoft, Motorola, HTC and Kazam, there's talk of Opera's new browser deal, a potential change on the UK high street... and a mobile app that connects to a Bluetooth toothbrush for improved toothpaste coverage.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

We review the CAT B100 rugged mobile phone

Podcast - 30th July 2014

Mark Bridge takes an in-depth look at the CAT B100 rugged phone from Bullitt Mobile.

The CAT B100 is designed to withstand rather more than everyday bumps and knocks - which is why Mark drops his mobile phone on the pavement, submerges it in his washing-up bowl and shuts it in the freezer.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Microsoft cuts its mobile staff, Apple finds a new partner and Yahoo! makes an acquisition

Podcast - 23rd July 2014

We start this week's podcast with news that thousands of Microsoft's ex-Nokia employees are losing their jobs.

Other topics for discussion include the new Apple and IBM partnership, Yahoo's acquisition of Flurry, regulating mobile games, improving rural mobile coverage, BT's new phone service and some management movements.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Florent Stroppa of OnMobile talks about the state of the mobile telecom industry, from network deals to smart wearables

Podcast - 18th July 2014

In this podcast Mark Bridge talks to Florent Stroppa from mobile value-added service specialist OnMobile about the state of the mobile industry in 2014.

They discuss the dominance of Apple and Samsung, network consolidation, the new Amazon Fire smartphone, smart wearables and much more.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

National security, phones for children, a new UK mobile network and a change of name

Podcast - 16th July 2014

This week's mobile industry podcast begins with a quick look at the UK government's emergency legislation affecting fixed-line, mobile phone and broadband traffic.

We then talk about Microsoft's plans, a new virtual network from the Post Office, Samsung's renamed app store, budget 4G smartphones, a wearable phone for children and some misleading advertising.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
123578910Last

Follow thefonecast.com

Twitter @TheFonecast RSS podcast feed
Find us on Facebook Subscribe free via iTunes

Archive Calendar

«March 2024»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
26272829123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
1234567

Archive

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement