The App – business model

Amazon to launch its app-store on march 22nd….it’s been a while but again Amazon is adapting to the new generation of business modelling entering a cloudy and mobile app-world. 

But why change a winning team….when everybody says, never change a winning team! The future of  new mobile and cloud era forces Amazon to take action. App’s are the future is this era, so the time was right after the big 2: Google and Apple (through iTunes) for Amazon to adapt to the app era. Why? Easy…it’s the business model (stupid!), so let’s take a closer look at the business model of a digital business where the app-store takes a central role!

This image points out a clear role for the app store…central in the business model between business, developer and customer.  The app-store serves as a central hub where network effects plays connecting customer value to app. On the revenue part, it’s easy the app store is the middleman containing the data and money flows (look at iTunes, who keep everything very close and gains a lot of money and data).

What’s in it for Amazon….easy Amazon’s web store will focus on web apps, who are accessible to the cloud on any device. Buy once, use everywhere. That’s the future of app….not only accessible through one device but accessible through multi devices, and adapts to the device. This is a weak point regarding the Apple strategy….I can’t access my iPad Apps through my iPhone and vice versa. I’ve got to buy them both, because they run locally. The web App is stored in the cloud, and can be accessed in an adopted format on every device…and that’s when it starts to get interesting for companies like Amazon. The app has proven it’s effect, and the app stores becomes the central service point, because everything can be made into an app, and this means business if you can reach a lot of potential customers like Amazon. It adds to the already connecting and sharing strategy of Amazon, and make Amazon available everywhere on any device…that’s a good business model in the mobile and cloud era!

The Daily – a New newspapermodel?

You must have noticed it…somewhere or somehow….
Newscorp launched its digital only newspaper – The Daily – in cooperation with Apple, made to fit the iPad exclusively! So what’s new…it’s more then a newspaper, it’s a multimedia newsservice where their is integration on text, images, movies, … it looks like a good newsite brought to your iPad. It looks bright, news is divided into different sections, it’s interactive (even in the games section)…and the added value to your written text off course (bright HD pictures, video, comment sections, ….). Small downside…it’s cloud based so everything has got to be downloaded, and isn’t stored permanently (and when you’re using a 3G network it might get slow….watching a video). But that’s just a minor side note.

BUT is all worth the fuzz….we might not have a government in Belgium, but we shure have a some good newssite “de redactie” where images, text and multimedia are brougth together….for free!   So what’s the big fuzz about. Is this realy the next big thing for a newspaper….is this the way to survive for the classical newspaper business?

The certainly are in need of a new business model….that’s for sure. If I look at the iPad apps from my newspapers (De Standaard, Het Nieuwsblad, De Tijd – I know all in Dutch), they don’t look that flashy, and are just a copy of the paper version with some added up to date news….

You can share your ideas on this new “revolution” through the comment section!

(Picture source: www.pocked-lint.com)

Google Apps Store for PC’s

Encouraged by the success of their app stores for mobile devices like Apple and Google both are a similar time to shop for “regular” computer. With the launch of Google Chrome Web Store stuck his rival this week slightly the better of. On the Mac, the App Store is to wait until – probably – the first half of January.

The Chrome Web Store is accessible in two ways: through the Chrome browser (which you can download free) and through the same operating system in the course of next year will be found on some notebooks – at least – Acer and Samsung.
Compared with the Mac App Store, there are two essential differences. To start running the applications from all the Chrome Web Store ‘in’ the browser (or within the Chrome OS) instead of them physically on your computer to install them in the ‘cloud’ or stored on the Web. This has the advantage that your collection of apps available immediately on all your other computers, simply log in with your Google account, and voila. This approach does mean that you necessarily have to be online with your apps to get started. Some programs can therefore be used offline, from your computer’s cache. The most famous example is the Google Docs office suite.

Another difference is that Google’s applications are not limited to one platform. The Chrome browser (and the Chrome Web Store) is indeed available for Windows, Linux and Mac …. In other words, Apple gets a competitor that operates on the same platform. Which is obviously good news for Mac users, who can now shop hopping.

The layout of the Chrome Web Store is almost an unabashed copy of Apple’s mobile App Store, with familiar elements such as Featured, Popular, Staff Picks and Top Paid (some apps are indeed paying). The range of shops – as diversity is concerned, anyway – very similar and ranges from useful utilities on social networking apps to games. I haven’t counted the number of applications but it would now have more than five hundred. Whether that is much or little we know in January when the new software from Apple store opens its doors.

I’m quite fond of the PowerPoint alternative SlideRocket, the Social Media Dashboard HootSuite and we can play like a game Poppit. But I’m also very curious about your favorite apps from the Chrome Web Store. So share us your favorite apps through the comment section!