Telcos to take on Apple's Apps Market

http://www.theage.com.au/digital-lif...0216-o4t1.html

I'm not sure what benefits that consumers will see from this.

But this bit has me saying, "so what?"

"There are more than 140,000 different apps on Apple's app store and billions
have been downloaded by iPhone users so far, but telcos do not earn any of the
revenue aside from their users' mobile data usage."

Why should, say, Telstra, get any revenue from these apps stores? Unless it
hosts them and provides the infrastructure for developers to produce and market
the apps, it should be more than happy that a 2 dollar application may generate
$20 or $30 of revenue from its data usage each month.

I prefer the Windows Mobile model myself. I can get any number of free or
paid-for apps from various sites such as Handmark, Handango or pocketpcfreeware
for my WinMob PDA. And none of these apps have to be vetted, nor do I need any
special software in order to install them onto the PDA or a WimMob phone if I
had one.

But the platform leaves a lot to be desired, as do some of the WinMob mobiles
that I had a look at today in the local Telstra shop.

Marts wrote:

> http://www.theage.com.au/digital-lif...0216-o4t1.html

> I'm not sure what benefits that consumers will see from this.

Time will tell.

> But this bit has me saying, "so what?"

> "There are more than 140,000 different apps on Apple's app store and
> billions have been downloaded by iPhone users so far, but telcos do
> not earn any of the revenue aside from their users' mobile data usage."

> Why should, say, Telstra, get any revenue from these apps stores?
> Unless it hosts them and provides the infrastructure for developers
> to produce and market the apps, it should be more than happy that a 2
> dollar application may generate $20 or $30 of revenue from its data
> usage each month.

> I prefer the Windows Mobile model myself.

They all have their advantages and disadvantages.

> I can get any number of free or paid-for apps from various sites such
> as Handmark, Handango or pocketpcfreeware for my WinMob PDA.

But get to wear the downsides of Windows Mobile.

> And none of these apps have to be vetted,

No, but that can be handy for the more technically naive.

> nor do I need any special software in order to install
> them onto the PDA or a WimMob phone if I had one.

> But the platform leaves a lot to be desired,

Just like every platform does.

> as do some of the WinMob mobiles that I
> had a look at today in the local Telstra shop.

And none of them have attracted anything like the number of developers the iphone has.

Interesting commentary on what drives technology in many ways.

Marts <marts@ymail.com> writes:

>http://www.theage.com.au/digital-lif...0216-o4t1.html

>I'm not sure what benefits that consumers will see from this.

>But this bit has me saying, "so what?"

>"There are more than 140,000 different apps on Apple's app store and billions
>have been downloaded by iPhone users so far, but telcos do not earn any of the
>revenue aside from their users' mobile data usage."

>Why should, say, Telstra, get any revenue from these apps stores?

There's no good reason. Telcos should get back into their box, provide pipes and
stop leeching off other peoples' work.

Nick.

24 to 1, not really a fair fight.

They need more Telcos