theTeam.

Choosing a mobile platform

By Phil Whitehouse 06 Apr 2011.
0 comments

I recently heard about a client who had decided to develop their mobile app for Android, and not for iPhone, because more of their customers have Android phones than iPhones. I thought I'd share some views on why this might not be the right decision.

The number of devices and users isn't the only thing which needs to be considered. Once you've decided that you need to produce a mobile app, the key question is this: which of your customers are most likely to download an app, and which devices do they have? The answer is that it depends on several things; utility, cost, context and others. For example, if we're talking about a paid app, there's an obvious correlation between iPhone users and disposable income - these devices are more expensive, which perhaps means they're more likely to buy apps. But what kind of apps? Is the app under consideration considered frivolous e.g. a game, or a valuable utility e.g. a bank account management app?

And even if an app is free to download, it doesn't necessarily level the playing field. You've got to be of a disposition to download apps before you'll put yourself in a position to discover and download a free one.

We also shouldn't ignore the fact that people who are particularly keen to access the web on the move AND who have disposable income would've been more likely to buy an iPhone when there was less competition, and would've been locked into that platform as a result. People less keen would've been willing to wait for Android, and might be content to only download the 'main' free apps (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) rather than diving into the app store with enthusiasm and a credit card. When @lesmond built his Plane Finder app for different platforms, he got very interesting results. I won't spoil the surprise - it's worth a quick look.

Like any business decision, you want to make sure you invest where you'll get the greatest returns. Another thing to throw into the mix is whether simply making your website work well on mobile phones would suffice. You don't have to create an app - with the cost and hassle of finding e.g. Objective C developers and going through the respective app stores - to get your service into the hands of users. The level of investment depends on what you're trying to do, what your users expect, how this relates to your business goals, business models, and many other factors.

Certainly the amount of money made selling iPhone apps far outstrips that made selling apps for Android. Developers will go where the money is, and customers follow suit, creating a virtual or vicious circle (depending on your point of view).

nb I haven't forgotten other platforms such as Windows7 or RIM, I just don't think they're worthy of consideration yet. My thanks to nrkbeta for sharing the photo of phones on Flickr under a Creative Commons licence.