Downloads of Apple (AAPL) applications for iPhones and iTunes have reach one billion. It only took nine months. Most analysts view this as a strategic advantage over RIM’s (RIMM) Blackberry and Google’s (GOOG) Android downloads, but is it?
Probably not.
A number of the downloads are nearly useless software created by developers who want the exposure of an association with Apple. Many of the products are modest and very simple games. Those are not likely to have an appeal to consumers who can get more robustly featured gaming products on the wireless Internet, many of them for free.
Other applications include GPS software which is useful, but probably not to very many people. Most iPhone users probably know where they are and where they are going. If they are in a car, they almost certainly already have a GPS device. GPS is sexy, but almost certainly has a limited user base.
Another application that Apple pushes for the iPhone is access to eBay (EBAY) auctions. Most consumers will want to access eBay via PC. Seeing what you are buying on a tiny screen is not a useful way to make a purchasing decision. Apple also sells a calculator function for $.99. It may work slightly better than the free calculators on most phones including the iPhone. But how much calculating are consumers going to do on a phone? Not much. Most people don’t do a lot of calculating at all.
Another very popular application is called iHomework, which manages tasks for school. It is no more than a glorified day planner. Most smartphones come with, or provide Internet access to, similar software.
One billion downloads sounds like a lot, but hundreds of millions of them are nearly worthless.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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