Mobile Apps Will Still Matter, No Matter What Apple Does Next Week
Much speculation surrounds Apple's upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference next week. Will Steve show up? Will a new, cheaper iPhone be announced? Or will Apple further pump up its iPhone 3.0 software upgrade? Only Apple insiders know for sure.
For marketers looking for signs of an even larger iPhone audience at which to target branded apps, it won't matter much. The number of users is already quite large (17 million worldwide) and growing steadily. And the broader audience for mobile applications continues to build on other platforms: the just-launched Palm Pre (and store), the recently launched BlackBerry App World, Nokia's Ovi Store, and Microsoft prepping its own app store. There will be plenty of places to offer apps to a hungry mobile audience.
But how does a marketer decide a sensible mobile app strategy? Check out my recent report, "Is An iPhone App Right For You?" Or join my June 12 teleconference to find out.
What are your thoughts about mobile applications? Is it a smart move for brands, or not? Post a comment below, or let me know directly at nstrother@forrester.com.