It wasn’t so long ago that I was researching how many iPhone/iPod touch Apps were available in the iTunes Store. At the time, the figure was an impressive 85,000 Apps and climbing; nowadays that number is over 250,000 and still climbing. It’s gotten to the point where, not only is there an App for most things digital… there’s a selection of Apps for most things digital.
For iPhone/iPod touch/iPad owners, this is fantastic as it offers a range of choice whenever you think up some supplementary widget that will make owning an iProduct that much more vital. And therein lies the kicker. It wasn’t so long ago that I was semi-lamenting over the seeming inevitability that I will purchase an iPhone 4 upon release. At the time the reasons behind this semi eluded me, but after some prompting from the comments section, it became immediately evident: it’s the Apps that keep me coming back for more.
I’ve invested time in selecting, money in purchasing and bandwidth in downloading these digital marvels that allow my smartphone to be, well, smarter. And then I saw this article on the front page of the PopSci website, which talked about an iPhone App that has been specifically designed to keep Patriot Missile launch crews at the top of their game. At first I laughed, but then I realised there was a logic behind the presumptuousness.
It assumed that there was a need for the App and it assumed that the crew possessed some form of compatible iDevice. But it’s difficult to fault the assumption. Apple knows that getting people to invest in an App, with more than just their hard-earned cash, is locking them into a fairly safely assumed certainty that they will want to continue to use the more useful/entertaining Apps in the future. This, of course, means that it locks these people (myself included) into purchasing future iProducts.
And it goes beyond this. I know from experience that putting App, Apple or iThingamajig in a story/blog title will generally garner more interest… as do countless other website writers across the World Wide Web. Apple has managed to popularise the geeky and it’s difficult to deny that a majority of us—even the supposedly more technically jaded folk among us—are biting into the big Apple and coming back for more.
What I want to know is if any of you have managed to break the App cycle and walk away from your iPhone/iPad/iPod touch, or whether the currently Apple addicted ever see themselves walking away from their iGadgets.
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Well, you’ll all probably think this doesn’t count, but I do live in a household that currently holds 2 iPhones, a MacBook and an iPad. In addition to this… most people I know have an iPhone. I myself have had an iPod since day 1. While I happily enjoy the benefits of Apple’s range of technical gadgetry… I’ve managed to break the spell of the App Store’s lure and have just purchased an HTC Desire. I’m familiar with Apple’s apps and hope that Android doesn’t let me down. Time will tell!
@ Muffin - Well done on breaking the cycle. I’d be very interested in hearing how the HTC Desire fairs against the iPhone - assuming you’ve had some time with an iPhone, of course.