App Wars: Can Google Compete with Apple’s App Store?

App Wars: Can Google Compete with Apple’s App Store?

Author: Eric Everson

Mobile Apps have become a vital element of the mobile experience. The iPhone is practically built on its abundance and accessibility to the ever-increasing number of apps, but the recent release of the Motorola Droid has many wondering if Google is going to flex its muscle against Apple’s App Store to propel the Google Android MOPS into the future.

Will Google introduce an app store that will rival the popular Apple App Store? Having spoke with many third-party mobile content developers, the development community is desperate for a rival marketplace to introduce their content. As some of the developers have suggested, the Apple App Store is already so crowded and puts such a tight pinch on profitability that developers are forced to compete by volume not quality.

As a mobile security expert, this obviously introduces many concerns regarding the security of the mobile apps that are hitting the market, but more importantly begs the question: How will Google respond? If you’ve been to Android.com lately you may have noticed the Android Market, a small-scale window into what could be the beginning of Google’s fight in the mobile app market. This site offers somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 different apps for the Android MOPS. The Android MOPS (Mobile Operating System) made its most recent debut on the Motorola Droid handset which hit Verizon Wireless stores on November 6, 2009.

The handset has been met with mixed reviews (especially from the iPhone naysayers) but in all honesty I’ve found it to be a cool little handset so far. Though a few key apps come pre-loaded on the Droid, you’ll instantly find yourself begging for Google to start fighting back against the Apple App Store. If Google can make their app store more attractive to third-party developers (i.e. more profitable for developers than the Apple App Store competitive market place) and easier to use, I have little doubt that the developers will follow. The reality of the market is that the Google Android MOPS is just on too few handsets at this point, but I believe that a firm investment in the availability of apps could turn this market in Google’s favor.

As more apps come available for the Android handsets, the market demand for Google’s Mobile Operating System is sure to climb too. Success in the mobile industry is increasingly being driven by accessibility to apps rather than any other handset feature. The reality is that Apple’s supremacy in this market to date is directly related to their visionary ability to improve the accessibility to new mobile content. In my opinion, if any company has an opportunity to engage in an App War with Apple, Google gets my vote! The question remains, “Can Google Compete with Apple’s App Store?”  Let the App War begin!!!

Eric Everson,

Founder – MyMobiSafe.com

Eric Everson is a leader in mobile technologies and is the founder of MyMobiSafe.com. If you would like to contact Eric Everson for interview or with consulting related inquiries contact him directly at EricEverson@Hotmail.com