Greater Access to Apps on the Horizon

The reasons for which people are attracted to Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch are plentiful. When asked about the favorite feature of their iPhone or Touch, however, a great number of consumers report that they just can’t get enough of their Apps. Apps are applications that are made available through Apple’s App Store that provide consumers with a vast range of services. From games to fitness coaches, there seems to be an App for everybody.

CNN.com ran an article on Apps on February 15, that indicated that the App industry is on its way to making great strides. Presently, while consumers have a tremendous selection of Apps to choose from, it is not as easy as one would think to make an App available to consumers. As it stands, the only source for Apps is through Apple’s App Store. This means that every App has Apple’s stamp of approval, but it also means that there are many Apps that consumers never get the chance to purchase.

App designers and producers have had complaints for quite some time about the relative difficulty they have in getting their Apps on the shelves, so to speak, for consumers to purchase. For obvious reasons, when there is only one point of sale – the App Store – there will be delays in getting a product to consumers. However, according to the CNN.com story, things could be changing in the App industry.

A collaboration of 27 companies recently joined together to bring consumers greater access to Apps. Among these companies are AT&T, Sony, and Verizon, and their aim is to make it easier to produce and purchase applications for all smart phones. The new company is called the Wholesale Applications Community, and the company’s mission is really quite remarkable.

The Wholesale Applications Community hopes to create a new platform for applications that can be used on any smart phone. In other words, the goal is to create a new industry standard for applications, so that applications can be used on smart phones from any manufacturer. This would allow consumers owning Blackberries, iPhones and Droids alike to download the same application. While this may sound like an obvious move, it is actually quite revolutionary in the world of applications.

As it now stands, applications designed for Apple’s iPhone only work on the iPhone. Likewise, applications designed for the Blackberry only work on the Blackberry. This creates difficulties for consumers and producers of applications alike. Producers of applications tend to focus on either the iPhone or the Blackberry, for example, thus consumers sometimes have no access to applications that are not transferrable between devices. With the new platform that the Wholesale Applications Community is proposing, this issue will be ameliorated.

The Wholesale Applications Community is just one more reason for consumers to consider acquiring an iPhone. Already, iPhone owners agree that their iPhone is an indispensible part of their life. With the greater access to applications, consumers will only find more satisfaction.