This presentation on the opportunity in mobile applications was an executive briefing prepared for a client in the October of 2010. The content focuses on Apple devices and ecosystem, as requested by the client, and includes a discussion of web apps vs. native apps.

1. Ideas to App Store
The Opportunity in Applications for
Apple Mobile Devices
Joseph DeSetto
1 813 639 4270 . @desetto . desetto.com

2. Why Apple?

3. Devices
2007 iPhone iPod touch
2008 iPhone 3G iPod touch, 2nd Generation
2009 iPhone 3GS iPod touch, 3rd Generation
2010 iPhone 4 iPod touch, 4th Generation
iPad

4. By the Numbers
iPhone 33.75 million (Q4 2009)
iPod touch 32 million (Q4 2009)
iPad 3 million (June 24 2010)
iTunes Stored Credit Cards: Over 100 million

5. iPod touch

7. iPod touch
The iPhone for Blackberry users.

8. iPad
iPad
iPad
the Boomer tablet

9. iPad
textbooks 2.0

10. iPad
immersive games

11. iPad
By 2015, the current iPad model
will seem ancient.

12. iPhone
A phone with poor reception, and so much more.

13. iPhone
Camera
Microphone
Gestures

14. Location Aware

15. Is a web app an app?
Sort of. Web apps are...
Browser based.
Run from a server.
Requires an Internet connection.
No App Store, for better or worse.

16. Famous Web App: Google Maps

17. Mobile Web Apps

18. Web apps instead of apps?
For games? No.
For data apps and simple utilities?
Well, maybe.

19. Promise vs. Reality
If mobile browsers all rendered the same,
web apps would be the best choice.
They don’t.

20. What is an app?
Software that...
Installs on the device.
Generally works offline.
Can access device hardware.
Distributed through the App Store.

21. Promise vs. Reality
If mobile apps were easy to promote and
sell, we would not need an App Store.
They aren’t.

22. What is an App Store?

23. Promise vs. Reality
HTML 5 means all mobile devices render
the same, including audio and video
playback.
Not today, tomorrow, or the day after next.

24. Promise vs. Reality
Apple will give in and run Flash, so wait to
build apps with Flash for iPhone, Android,
and even Blackberry.
Apple mobile devices will not allow Flash
content in the foreseeable future.

25. Q&A
Devices
The App Store
Web apps vs. Apps

26. Making Apps
Step 1.
Join the iPhone Developer Program as an
Individual, Company, or Enterprise.

27. iPhone Developer Program
Isn’t my Company an Enterprise?

28. iPhone Developer Program
Individual and Company. $99/year.
Enterprise: Internal Distribution Only
Education: 20+ Copies, 50% off
University: Free tools for teaching iOS

29. iPhone Developer Program
I’m not a developer. Why should I join?

30. iTunes Connect
The brains of the operation.

31. Demo

32. Tools of the Trade
XCode

33. Tools of the Trade
Corona Unity GameSalad

34. Q&A
iPhone Developer Programs
iTunes Connect
Development Tools

35. The Rules

36. By Order of Steve
Apps must not contain any obscene,
pornographic, offensive or defamatory content or
materials of any kind (text, graphics, images,
photographs, etc.), or other content or materials
that in Apple’s reasonable judgment may be
found objectionable.

37. The Rules

38. Apps Must Do, Well, Something
... this application contains minimal user
functionality and will not be appropriate for the
App Store.

39. The Rules

40. Thoughts on Flash
We [Apple] know from painful experience that letting a third
party layer of software come between the platform and the
developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders
the enhancement and progress of the platform. If developers
grow dependent on third party development libraries and tools,
they can only take advantage of platform enhancements if and
when the third party chooses to adopt the new features. We
cannot be at the mercy of a third party deciding if and when
they will make our enhancements available to our developers.
Steve Jobs
April 2010

41. Limited Promo Copies
Apps can be free.
If you sell an app, you can’t just
give it away.
Huh?

42. Limited Promo Copies
50 copies per version of an app.
Gifts supported in iOS 4.
Gift certificates or sale outside of iTunes?
No.

43. Limited eCommerce
No in-app purchase of physical goods.
Shopping carts are okay.
User input of credit card information is
okay.
Actual transaction processing is through
Safari only.

44. Limited eCommerce

45. Giveaways & Contests
Apps may hold contests or give away prizes,
but not as the sole purpose of the app.
The focus should be on gameplay, not prizes.
May not cross into gambling.

46. Giveaways & Contests
3.3.21 Your Application may include promotional, sweepstake or contest functionality
provided that:
You are the sole sponsor of the promotion and that You and Your Application comply
with any applicable laws and fulfill any applicable registration requirements in the
country or territory where You make Your Application available and the promotion is
open.
You agree that You are solely responsible for any promotion and any prize, and also
agree to clearly state in binding official rules for each promotion that Apple is not a
sponsor of, or responsible for conducting, the promotion.

47. Gambling
No lotteries or gambling.
An app cannot have the sole purpose of
winning a game of chance for a cash or
cash equivalent prize.
Winning virtual goods, however, is allowed.

48. Too Many Rules?
Selling an app Ad Hoc, or without the App
Store, limits distribution to 200 copies.
Build for each device based on unique
identifier, not user credentials.
App Store is a curated retail environment.

49. Q&A
The Rules of the App Store

51. iOS 4

52. iOS 4

53. iOS 4

54. Design for Web, 1995 - 2005
Typical user?
Seated at a desk.
Standard mouse and keyboard.
Office or home office environment.
Single task oriented.

55. Design for Mobile, 2005 - ?
Typical user?
Surrounded by Distractions
Multitasking
Moving
Interrupted

56. Requisite Powerpoint Chart
Source: Jan 2010 Flurry

57. Build a Better Game
Achievements
Leaderboard
Unlocked Content
Easy to learn, hard to master
Mundane ideas, done well

58. Achievements

59. Keep Score

60. Unlocked Content

61. Easy to Learn, Hard to Master

62. Mundane Ideas, Done Well
Plant crops to ward off zombies.
Slingshot birds at pigs.
Jump from building to building.
Slice fruit.
Land planes.
Cook and serve food.
Classics: Scrabble (twice) and Solitaire.

63. Q&A
iOS 4 vs. iPhone OS 3
Design for Mobile
Games

64. Income Strategies
Tiered Pricing
Freemium
Ad Supported
Mobile to Brick-and-Mortar

65. Tiered Pricing
70% for developer
30% to Apple
Includes:
credit card processing
currency conversation
wireless carriers

66. Freemium
Free to download.
Upgrade still 70/30 split.

67. Ad Supported

68. iAd Supported

69. Mobile to Brick-and-Mortar

70. Updates
Approved by Apple
App Store Download
Optional to Users
Is Dynamic Content an Update?

71. Q&A
Income Strategies

72. Advanced Features
Push
In-App Purchase
Universal Apps

73. Push

74. In App Purchase

75. In App Purchase

76. Universal Apps
One binary file that includes iPhone, iPad,
and iPod touch versions of an app.

77. Universal Apps

78. Universal Apps

79. Universal Apps

80. Universal Apps

81. Non-Universal Apps
Commonly uses HD
name for iPad.
Keeps download size
under 3G limit.
May charge user twice!

82. Q&A
Push
In-App Purchase
Universal Apps

83. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
85% of “day zero” users lost in 30 days.
A great app may have 5% of “day zero”
users in only 6 months.
The App Store is designed for high
turnover.

84. Requisite Powerpoint Chart
Source: Jan 2010 Flurry

85. Yesterday’s News
Every 6 months, major OS changes likely.

86. Yesterday’s News
Every 6 to 12 months, new devices.
April, iPad
June, iPhone
September, iPod touch

87. Yesterday’s News
Within 2 years, today’s devices will miss
out on new features.

88. Party Like Its 1995.
Like the early days of the web, App Store
developers have diverse backgrounds.
As such, potential vendors are likely to be
multi-disciplinary teams.

89. Who creates apps?
Advertising/Marketing types.
Console game, web application & desktop
software coders.
Flash refugees.
Zynga. 37Signals.
Math nerds. Students.
Offshore sweatshops.
Obscure Mac developers that suddenly
feel vindicated.

90. Chart Showing What I Just Said
Source: Jan 2010 Flurry

91. Two Approaches
Agile

92. Two Approaches
Waterfall

93. Make Your Vendors Better
Know your audience.
Keep to your niche.

94. Niche success: Proloquo2Go

95. Make Your Vendors Better
Remember an app is not a small website.
Or print ad.
Or television show.

96. Make Your Vendors Better
Leave out features and adapt quickly.
Frequent updates keep users interested,
so don’t wait for perfect.

97. Make Your Vendors Better
Apps can’t solve bad products.*
*This message brought to you by developers everywhere.

98. Make Your Vendors Better
Great apps are not desktop software in
miniature.

99. Make Your Vendors Better
Remember, making an app simple for
users does not mean it is easier or
cheaper to develop.

100. Q&A
Types of Vendors
Project Approaches
Making Vendors Better

101. Information Sources
In-App Analytics
App Store Reports

102. Analytics

103. What can we track?
Device Data may not be provided or disclosed to a third party without
Apple’s prior written consent. Accordingly, the use of third party software in
Your Application to collect and send Device Data to a third party for
processing or analysis is expressly prohibited.

104. What can we track?
Some company called Flurry had data on devices that we were using on
our campus -- new devices. They were getting this info by getting
developers to put software in their apps that sent info back to this
company! ... It's violating our privacy policies, and it's pissing us off! So we
said we're only going to allow analytics that don't give our device info -
only for the purpose of advertising.
Steve Jobs
June 2010

105. App Store Reports
SKU
Country
Price Paid
Your Share
In a text file to import to Excel, etc.

106. Standard Equipment
Standard UI Controls
No databases
No animation

107. Optional Equipment
OpenGL-ES
Core Audio
Custom UI
Core Data / SQLite
Push Notifications
In-App Purchase

108. Q&A
Analytics
Cost Considerations

109. Best in Class
iPad

110. Best in Class
iPhone & iPod touch

111. Q&A
Best in Class Apps

112. Next in Mobile?
More social.
More virtual goods.
More non-traditional devices.
Television 2.0.
Bandwidth Battles.

113. Social Integration

114. Virtual Currency

115. iOS 4 on... BMW?

116. TV + App Store = ?

117. Bandwidth

118. Q&A
Social features.
Virtual goods.
Future directions.

119. n.

120. than
k yo
u!
Joseph DeSetto
desetto@gmail.com
www.desetto.com
+1 813 639 4270