I disagree. I know LOT's of people with an iPod touch that want an iPhone just because they want their apps to access the 'net everywhere, not just wi-fi spots. The iPhone is a game changer, and the app store is absolutely instrumental in the story of it's success.
If it isn't, why is the iPhone tagline "there's an app for that?"
I think the people you're talking about are nonrepresentative. There is a vast number of people who have not installed any apps, and even more who have apps but don't use them. Very few people see the iPod touch as an economical substitute for the iPhone.
No. You are wrong. Anecdotally, my older father is a way heavier user of apps than me. He listens to a lot of radio (NPR and even Pandora!) and loves the tip calculator and about a million other apps.
Kids loving playing games so much on their parents phones that Nintendo actually acknowledged the iPhone as a competitive threat on their earnings call.
Be careful about assuming things. Apple's iPhone is important because for the first time ever there is an incredibly simple, usable interface to a full-powered computer.
First off, comparing iPhone users to the overall mobile phone market is misleading at best.
And while I don't doubt that 75% of iPhone users use apps,
"For free applications, only about 20 percent of users return to use the app the first day after they download it, and then it quickly drops off from there. By 30 days out, less than 5 percent are using the app. The chart for paid apps shows a slightly steeper fall-off rate."
The iPhone isn't effectively utilized by the vast majority of its users, who value its cachet more then its applications ecosystem. As sibling points out, all the evidence you need is in the overwhelming success of the device before the app store existed.
The iPhone was a success before the app store. It succeeded because it looks sexy, it leveraged off the iPod, it's got an awesome UI, and the best mobile browser by far. The app store doesn't even come into the equation.
>> "because they want their apps to access the 'net everywhere, not just wi-fi spots."
This may be true more in the US, if you don't have many wifi spots. Here in the UK, you get free data (3G and wifi spots). The wifi spots cover most towns and cities, restaurants etc.
In 5 years we'll probably have wifi everywhere, so the whole thing will be a little redundant.
people buy an iphone because it is a sexy gizmo, because they want to be part of the hip crowd. If they could they would wear it on a chain on their chest instead of in their pocket. It's a status symbol first, phone second.
Admittedly it costs $100/year to get the signing key, but with that, I can program my own iPhone any way I see fit. I just can't count on Apple agreeing to distribute what I write.
That does suck, but it has little overall effect on the usefulness of the phone to me as a portable computer. When I bought my first iPhone, there was no App Store at all, and Apple was actively stating that there was not going to be any such thing. The value proposition was OK then, and it's OK now.
As far as people flashing their iPhones around conspicuously, I really wouldn't know anything about that. I use mine in public all the time, and one of the things I don't like about the experience is the way I completely lose awareness of my surroundings and people nearby.
> and one of the things I don't like about the experience is the way I completely lose awareness of my surroundings and people nearby.
That's a new one, never even thought that that might be the case. Interesting!
I've had it while on the phone and driving 'on autopilot', and since then I've become a lot more careful about using the phone in the car. (headset only anyway of course, but still). One day I missed my exit completely, and wasn't aware that it had happened until 20 minutes later (still in the same conversation). Quite a good lesson.
The app store is a nice value add, but it's hardly instrumental in the iPhone success story.