Consumer apps were everywhere at the 2010 CES show. Here are five of the application trends for online application marketers that I noted from my attendance at CES:
1) Optimism rules at 2010 CES show. Gary Shapiro, Chief Executive of CES, said the CES show “seemed more upbeat than a year ago, reflecting a return to optimism for the industry,” reports Dean Takahashi, lead writer for GamesBeat by VentureBeat. Attendance at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show reportedly reached 120,000 visitors this year, an increase of about 6 percent from last year. Participants were reverberating with the latest device and the latest apps to go with it.
2) Apps will be everywhere. Thanks to Apple, apps are now sexy and offer the consumer more value from their device, and the marketer the ability to enhance their device with little effort, as well as a potential new source of revenue.
- Apps in television set-top boxes: Samsung announced the launch of Samsung Apps, a multi-device application store with content partners, including Blockbuster, USA Today, and others. Samsung plans to make apps available for a range of devices from mobile phones to HDTVs.
- Apps in car electronics: Ford recognizes that users want information on demand. Ford’s Sync feature uses an 8” touch-screen in the dashboard as well as voice commands. You can catch up on Twitter, listen to Internet radio, check movie times and get free online maps with turn-by-turn directions.
- App Store for Netbooks – Intel launched a beta version of its app store, called the Intel AppUp center for netbooks. Currently offering about 100 apps.
3) Integrated, multi-platform app strategies are being considered. Brands should create apps that are integrated across multiple devices: mobile, desktop, social, browser, and other emerging platforms like television set-top boxes and car electronics. Cooliris bases its success on building its app for both mobile and desktop platforms. They were recently selected to develop Media Gallery for the Nexus One Device.
4) There will be a mobile app for almost everything, but adoption outside of iPhone is still low. With the phenomenal growth of the Apple AppStore fueling over 2 billion downloads from some 100,000 plus apps, the race is on from other mobile device companies to woo app developers. (Living in Minnesota, one of my favorites announced at CES is the SmartStart app by Directed for remote starting a car from a smartphone.)
5) Top app marketers will start focusing on improving their key operating metrics. Most app marketers are doing a poor job of developing key operating metrics and reporting surrounding their app marketing initiatives and campaigns. There is a lot of emotional decision making rather than data driven decision making. This appears to be starting to change, as better analytical thinking and tools are starting to take root with top app marketers.
If you identified other app trends, share your thoughts by submitting a comment.
