The latest set of smartphone ‘industry pulse’ data from Flurry Analytics has some encouraging numbers for smaller, startup type iPhone app developers and publishers. As seen above, Flurry estimates that native iPhone developers account for 20% in the ‘Heritage Pie’ chart, second only to Online Gaming.
Flurry does predict things will only get tougher from here on out for native iPhone devs though, as big brands continue to move in
On any new media platform (or channel), entrepreneurial companies enter early in an attempt to establish themselves before a wave of large brands enters the space. At the same time, bigger companies typically take a wait-and-see approach when evaluating new channels and only invest after the ROI for the channel is proven. This combination of small and big company behavior, when evaluating new platforms/channels, creates the window for entrepreneurs to enter early and potentially disrupt big companies before they arrive. The iPhone platform is no exception.
Despite the fact that the App Store is now maturing, reaching its two year anniversary this summer, we are encouraged that native iPhone application developers are still relevant, representing 20% of the heritage pie, the second largest category. This means that the barrier to entry is still low enough for start-ups to enter and innovation to flourish. However, those days may be numbered as "discoverability" has become a significant issue, and now "marketing muscle" is starting to count more in the App Store. This favors brands and larger companies with resources to spend their way in. We are seeing signs that big brands are becoming more active, now perceiving that the iPhone has reached critical mass. With iPhone and iPod Touch now exceeding 70 million units world-wide, we expect 2010 to be the year of brands entering the iPhone. Going forward, we will especially see more movement by established brands from media, retail and CPG. In particular, traditional media (News, Books, TV, Film, Music, etc.) growth will accelerate aggressively with the introduction of the iPad.
Here’s hoping that independent and smaller devs keep finding ways to be successful in the App Store.
The full Flurry Analytics Smartphone Industry Pulse post is a very interesting read – check it out here:
http://blog.flurry.com/bid/31376/Flurry-Smartphone-Industry-Pulse-February-2010
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TAGS: iPhone App Store
