The smartphone market is crowded with offerings from Microsoft, Symbian, Apple, Palm, LiMo and Blackberry. Analysts estimate that by the end of 2008 Google’s open source phone operating system will command more than 4% of the smartphone market. Of course, HTC, the maker of the G1 estimates they will have more than 8% of the market.
In preparation for the ‘rumored’ launch of the Android phone next month, we are changing the name of GoCart to ShopSavvy™. After hundreds of focus groups and consumer study we have decided that ShopSavvy™ better describes the value of our application (just kidding about the focus groups and study).
ShopSavvy™ was named one of 10 winners among nearly 1,800 entries in the Google Challenge, a contest to build mobile-phone applications for the Android operating system. Big in Japan was awarded a $275,000 prize by Google for its winning application, a personal shopping assistant for Android-based phones.
ShopSavvy enables consumers to comparison shop on the go, simply by scanning any product’s barcode using the phone’s built-in camera. With this information, ShopSavvy searches the Web for the best prices on the product, displaying the lowest prices online as well as at nearby brick-and-mortar retailers. ShopSavvy looks up product reviews to further assist with purchase decisions.
ShopSavvy will be available to consumers through Google’s Android Market when the first Android-powered handsets are introduced commercially later this year. You can view a ShopSavvy (using GoCart name) demo here:
HTC, the maker of the first Android capable mobile phone, expects to ship between 600,000 and 700,000 Android phones this year. Analysts outside HTC have lower expectations of between 300,000 and 500,000 Android phones this year. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, T-Mobile will announce the impending release of the Android phone on their network on September 23rd and make handsets available in October.
Google expects that HUNDREDS of phone models will be built around Android, making it the most proflific phone platform on the planet. Android, an open source framework for phones, has developers worldwide clamouring to develop applications for a phone that won’t exist until October. Utterly amazing if you ask us!
According to a story in the Wall Street Journal, ‘Apple’s Latest iPhone Sees Slow Japan Sales.‘ Analysts had assumed the phone would sell 1,000,000 units in Japan, but it looks as though Apple will only sell half that many (to date Apple has only sold 200,000 units in Japan). Why?
Turns out current Japanese phones are way cooler than the iPhone offering, “high-end color display, digital TV-viewing capability, satellite navigation service, music player and digital camera. Many models also include chips that let owners use their phones as debit cards or train passes.” The WSJ’s account of a Japanese consumer says it all, “Noriko Tanaka, a 34-year-old Softbank customer in Tokyo, said she likes the iPhone’s touch screen, but would prefer a phone with digital television capability. “The touch screen looks fun, but I’m not sure I could get used to it,” said Ms. Tanaka.”
Scott Taves, an MSNBC technology and science contributor, covered GoCart (second page) in a story titled, “Google’s Android for phones nearing release. Open-source operating system to use ‘market’, similar to iPhone App Store“.
When you build an iPhone application you are taking a risk that no one will be able to find or use your application. Why? Simply put, Apple is the king and you as an iPhone developer are merely a surf living at the pleasure of your master. Let say you develop an application that may offer similar functionality as an application Apple has or intends to release. Apple may tell you, “tough luck!” and exclude your application from the store. Of course this is a real story via Daring Fireball,
Apple’s current practice of rejecting certain applications at the final hurdle — submission to the App Store — is disastrous for investor confidence. Developers are investing time and resources in the App Store marketplace and, if developers aren’t confident, they won’t invest in it. If developers — and serious developers at that — don’t invest, what’s the point?
You have to wonder if Apple wants the App Store to be a museum of poorly-designed nibware written by dilettante Mac OS X/iPhone OS switcher-developers and hobbyist students. That’s what will happen if companies who intend to invest serious resources in bringing an original idea to the App Store are denied a reasonable level of confidence in their expectation of profit.
The developer explained in his blog, “Apple Rep says: Since Podcaster assists in the distribution of podcasts, it duplicates the functionality of the Podcast section of iTunes. That’s right folks, it duplicates the functionality of the desktop version of iTunes. Therefore, it was denied from sale in the app store. Although my app does allow you to listen to podcasts (like iTunes), it also allows you to download them directly to device and that is something Apple does not offer.”
Google’s decision to keep their market open is a very clear advantage for developers…
Matthaus Krzykowski from VentureBeat has a story titled, “Carriers begin to believe in data revenue, as Android’s puzzle pieces come together.“ According to Matthaus, data revenue has increased more than 100% as a percentage of total carrier revenue over the last two quarters (data revenue represents 20% of all carrier revenue). Our hero here at Big in Japan, Robert Dotson (CEO of T-Mobile) suggested that,
“some stewardship and control” is needed to ensure good quality for customers. He argued that “a wild west” for developers does not provide good quality for customers. There has been a debate on how open the new T-Mobile app store will be, and now it appears that T-Mobile has chosen to have some level of control on its app store. Datson, however, declared the “walled garden” — where carriers selected a few apps to be featured on devices — to be a thing of “the past.” He believes carriers can shape a mobile web future they can live in.
For all you flickr lovers, Google’s got your back. Check it out here.
Fred Wilson had an interesting post titled, “Chrome, Android and the Cloud” suggesting that Google’s strategy is a winner. I commented in agreement about Android suggesting that I believe that Android is going to be the winning phone platform (over the iPhone). I suggested that our strategy of Android first and then iPhone is a reflection of this belief. What are your thoughts?
GoCart was mentioned on TWiT 158 with Leo Laporte, John Dvorak, Tom Merritt, Dwight Silverman and Jim Louderback. Here is the link to the show.
ShopSavvy Coverage -
