A new report on the AdMob blog estimates that there are $200 million worth of iPhone apps sold on the App Store every month and that the average iPhone user downloads 18 new apps every month. The AdMob report compares iPhone app trends to Android, the upstart mobile device operating system developed by Google. Some of the other surprising numbers from the report include:
- More than 90 percent of Android and iPhone OS users browse and search for apps directly on their mobile device instead of their computer
- Upgrading from the lite version was the top reason given when users were asked what drives them to purchase a paid app
- iPhone and iPod touch users are twice as likely to purchase paid apps than Android users.
- Users who regularly download paid apps spend approximately $9 on an average of five paid downloads per month
These astounding numbers continue to validate why this exploding new market is such a ripe opportunity for design entrepreneurs and I’m hearing from an increasing number of communication designers who are testing the waters. My friends at the Minneapolis-based design agency HartungKemp are among the latest to bring an iPhone app to market with their drinking game WASTED? which is getting rave reviews from the app blogosphere. Without question, WASTED? fits firmly in the “novelty” game category of apps, but it distinguishes itself with cool graphics and fun copy to create a user experience not common in this genre.
In my conversation with HK co-founder and creative director, Stefan Hartung (audio podcast below), we discuss the impetus for delving into the app game, along with some of the practical challenges involved in the development process.
Here’s a video demo of WASTED?
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September 11, 2009 at 12:51 am
Aflam
gr8 post thanks alot my friend
September 11, 2009 at 12:52 am
Aflam
nice post thanks alot
September 11, 2009 at 2:48 pm
honeymoon
This was a really great read, I am very glad I came across your site.
September 13, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Zaid Hisham
Doug you hit on a hot topic. At the HOW Design Conference in Austin, Ansca mobile had a short iPhone app development primer to sell their app building platform (in a tiny room, at the very end of the conference) so I thought I’d have the Ansca people all to myself. It was standing room only and the designers had tons of questions about the platform.
Thanks for the audio. Always good to hear from designers/entrepreneurs the process of how they built something and the issues involved with getting it to market.
Aesthetics and interface/user experience skills gives designers an strategic advantage in this area considering the small touch screen. What we need is more of the “how” to turn our ideas into viable products.
September 15, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Doug Powell
Thanks for the comments, Zaid! Sounds like an awesome session in Austin…I wish I could have been there. Yes, I think Stefan was absolutely right about the skills/point-of-view that designers bring to the app development process. There is opportunity there!!