Motorola Breaks Away from the App Store Herd

By now, its old news that the world is app crazy (thanks to the Apple iTunes App Store).  Every major player in the mobile OS space - Microsoft (Mobile 6.5/7), Google (Android), Nokia (Symbian), RIM (Blackberry), Palm (WebOS), and Sun (JavaFX) - has launched, or announced plans to launch, their own app store.  Additionally, there are app  stores from handset makers (LG, Samsung, SonyEricsson) as well as mobile operators (Orange, Vodafone, AT&T, Verizon) and various independents (Handango, GetJar).  Other companies (Comverse, Amdocs, Qualcomm) offer app store 'in-a-box' solutions that facilitate the creation of new App stores.   Although it makes for a chaotic ecosystem, the craze is understandable because handsets and service offerings are well along the way to commoditization, and apps are one of the few means of differentiation. 

Against this backdrop, it was interesting to hear Motorola announce that it has no intention of creating its own app store (as stated by Moto co-CEO Sanjay Jha at the Mobilize '09 conference last week).  Instead, Moto has created a hardware specific  app for its new Cliq handset designed to enhance other apps that a user might run.  Among other things, the app (called MotoBlur) will combine feeds and status updates from various social networks (like Linked-In and Facebook) and give users access to the most important information  directly from the home screen on the new phone.

The move is thought-provoking for several reasons:

  • Although a successful app store is a good way to create a lasting relationship with the customer, it seems obvious that there is not enough room in the app store universe for all the interested parties.   Many of the current app stores are destined to fail.  It remains to be seen what other types of relationships might be created.  Yahoo! attempted an alternative approach with  Go 3  which optimistically aspired to be a device independent entry point for user applications.   The device-specific MotoBlur approach is yet another alternative.
  • Apart from creating lasting relationships with end-users, it is also necessary to cultivate lasting relationships with mobile software developers.  If the developer community does not create appealing apps, then there will be nothing to attract end users.  In the case of the iPhone (where Apple controls the OS, device and store) Apple can create a controlled development environment.  While this may simplify the development process for developers, it can also prove constraining, as witnessed in the well-publicized case where Apple denied entry to the Google Voice app.  To the extent that other players do not control all three legs of the tripod, it may hamper (or enhance) their ability to attract developers.
  • It seems logical that mobile users will tend to have a 'favorite' app store.  The question this raises is which party in the ecosystem has a competitive advantage to win this role.  Both the OS makers and the network providers have unique attributes.  The OS makers can provide APIs that give apps more capabilities and ease development.  The network providers can provide additional services that bring into play elements that are beyond the scope of the device itself (which I have previously blogged about here).  It seems to me that device makers not in control of the OS are at a decided disadvantage when it comes to attracting software developers.
  • After years of poor execution, Moto is clearly against the ropes.  A failure now could be devastating to the future of its handset division.  So the decision not to play in the app store space is a bold one that will either prove prescient or another nail in the its coffin.
Like many others, I will be watching closely to see how these issues play out.
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