I’ve heard the iPhone described as a computer that just happens to be a phone, and this is true from a hardware/software perspective. But how about from a consumer’s perspective? While most developers undoubtedly see the iPhone’s computing capability, I’d wager that “mass market” consumers see the iPhone as an entertainment device that just happens to be a phone.
It’s a question with important repercussions. We’ll get to that in a bit.
First, consider the attributes of entertainment media and compare to computer applications:
Media: pleasure-based, ages quickly, must be relevant, low margin, large audience.
App: task-based, ages slowly, must be useful, high margin, small audience.
So when you write an “app” for the iPhone, are you developing software or producing media? It’s a strange crossover hybrid, because the most successful apps are…both, really. The iPhone makes media more useful. Or does it make productivity fun? The lines are blurred.
But when it comes to how apps are sold, the answer is pretty clear. Fire up iTunes and observe how apps are seamlessly placed along-side music, TV, and movies. Notice too that app prices have dropped to accommodate larger audiences. As every iPhone developer knows, getting on the top 20 list is the key to sales. But there’s a lot of churn in that top 20, few apps stay there for long. So top apps are very current — here today, gone tomorrow. And the audience is fickle, which means predicting (or causing) popularity is, well, awfully hard.
This can have a tremendous effect on product development. If you’re building something productive, usefulness is no longer enough to be successfull — it needs to be fun, too. And you have to think in terms of a recurring product line rather than a single flagship product, or you’re unlikely recover your development costs.
But even more important is Apple’s relationship with you as a developer, and what it means to be an entertainer. They are the distributor, and you are now the starving artist. Imagine a long line of performers on a blustery morning waiting to audition for a major Broadway production. Now put yourself in that line.
A few developers will hit big and eventually earn esteemed status with Apple. But most will simply live in the crowd, creating products for fun or dreaming of stumbling across the-next-big-thing.
Developers are not used to being treated as a commodity, and accepting this reality means swallowing a lot of pride. But that is the reality right now — iPhone developers are a commodity, and Apple has plenty of room to err before it loses significant dev capital.