Tag: ds

iPhone Usage

On 06/06/2009

Here’s a report about an interesting piece of research into the elusive animal that is the iPhone and Android user, or more precisely that animal’s usage of apps (“… there’s an app for that…”).

The researchers from Gravity Tank chose Android (well, the G1) next to the iPhone because Android Market and Apple’s App Store both allow “unlike older smartphones [sic!] easy access to a range of free or low-cost applications”. Now this is what the (mobile) world has become in the last 12 months…

Anyway, the survey finds that the average (!) user has 23.6 applications on his/her phone and uses 6.8 of them every day. 48 percent report shopping for apps more than once a week. About the same number (49 percent) report using apps on their phone for more than 30 minutes a day. Woah, nice!

But it goes on: 32% said they used portable gaming devices less because of their app-enabled phones. This reminds me of one of my predictions on how the iPhone would eat into the handheld gaming market (see here, here, here and here).

And it shows, more importantly maybe, that these owners of the “newer” smartphones use them as true multimedia devices rather than only phones: 31% read newspapers less, 28% use GPS devices less, 28% use MP3 players less (well, they have one of the better ones if they use an iPhone), and 24% are watching less TV. Media going mobile then, finally…

And then – another indication on how far we have gone – the NY Times starts to whine: it notes that “despite Apple’s relentless advertising of its App Store, it seems that the availability of applications is not the primary driver of phone-buying behavior.” Doh. Now, here’s a finding. 74% of the respondents said the device “allowed” them to check their e-mail and calendar, and it allowed them to consolidate multiple devices into a single device whereas “only” 67% cited the availability of new games and applications. Only 67%, huh? Brave new world!

Next-Gen iPhone Will Wipe Out DS & PSP

By Volker

On 30/01/2009

In Apple, Games, OEM

Today, there was a piece analyzing recent reports whereby Apple was well on its way to wipe out DS and PSP from the handheld gaming sphere, and that it would therefore seek to address a number of weaknesses in its next iteration of the iPhone (and iPod Touch) that would add a few currently missing features that should bridge the – already slim – gap to the PSP.

You have of course read it here before but I would like to revisit this again. I had mentioned the huge advantage of having swift and global digital distribution, giving Apple and any developer pondering which platform to choose an easy solution. Accelerometer and multi-touch add new gameplay features. Plus the iPhone is lighter than its rivals (and of course does a number of other things pretty decently, too, namely playing music, making phone calls or surfing the web).

And then there are the numbers. It took Apple less than 3 months to boast 1.5x the number of games of DS and PSP combined (1,500). The digital distribution model keeps on impressing and shows that this is really what consumers want in terms of accessibility, purchase mechanism (download as opposed to physical cartridge) and – yes – perhaps also price (although there is rumour that Apple wants to introduce a premium segment).

So here is what Apple allegedly wants to change:

Enhanced graphics (to address its current lack of loading complex textures);
improved processing capabilities (through its own ARM chip, which is currently developing; this follows the acquisition of PA Semi last spring);
Better camera (minimum 3.5 mega-pixels) and video-recording.

Multi-tasking as demonstrated by the Palm Pre with its WebOS would be something I would like to see.

No word if cut-and-paste will work as well, it seems… Oh well, I guess they need to leave something to complain about for the old-school geeks to who Apple still is the fruity devil… 😉

Photo Credit: http://www.macblogz.com/Media/2008/6/iphone-flash-nand.jpg

Apple AppStore Rises and Rises: Now Past 500 Million Downloads!

By Volker

On 16/01/2009

In Apple, OEM

It is quite breathtaking: it took them 3 months to hit 100m. Then, only 5 weeks after they announced that they went past 300 million downloads, Apple announced that they just raced past 500 million. This means 200 million downloads in 5 weeks, 40 million per week, 5.7 million per day or 4,000 per minute! Get that! Whilst numbers don’t equate to happiness, I sincerely hope that Steve Jobs will be taking some comfort from this and recover well.

I will not tire of harping about the (nigh) flawless end-to-end experience that enables that: a gaming experience that challenges “traditional” handheld gaming devices like Nintendo DS and Sony PSP, an interface that promotes games beyond the hardcore crowd, connectivity that allows “social gaming” to evolve (see also here), and a purchase experience that does not force a user through onerous double-digit-click orgies and various ominous warnings.

So despite the fact that we still do not have clearer numbers illuminating the underlying commercials of the average application and game on their, I tip my hat, I take a bow, I applaud…

iPod Touch mounts Handheld Gaming Challenge

By Volker

On 09/01/2009

In Apple, OEM

A recent article discussed the rise and rise of the iPod Touch (that’s the iPhone without the phone). It apparently surged to the top of Amazon‘s sales charts, and mobile ad firm AdMob reports that ads served to the device more than tripled between November and December to 292m. This growth is said to even shadow growth of iPhone ads served and is being called, well, unprecedented. People are said to shun the forced marriage with AT&T’s long-term phone plan that come with the iPhone. Makes you think (if you’re an operator).

That’s all fine and dandy but I thought this was probably a good time to look at the iPod’s role as a handheld gaming device again. This was sparked by a remark from one of the Kleiner Perkins‘ chiefs (they’re the ones who set up the iFund, which invests exclusively into companies active in the iPhone/iPod Touch ecosphere) noting that the iPod Touch was now asserting itself as a more versatile alternative to the Nintendo DS or Sony’s PSP. This has of course been discussed for a while. The sales figures of the iPod Touch now seem to back these early (and initially largely theoretical) thoughts.

Nintendo has been keenly aware of this even before the recently published app download numbers were out. In the words of the CEO of Nintendo US (from the above WSJ article):

“Whether you chose to play on your DS or listen to music on your iPod, we’re already in the same competitive space for time.”

And whilst one could argue about the pound-for-pound comparison of pure touchscreen vs devices with gamepads for certain types of games, the huge upside Apple has created is the hassle-free and easy distribution model for games: a DS developer needs to buy the cartridges (and pay for them up-front), find retailers, and then sell. This means huge cash outlay and very significant commercial risk over and above the development cost, making for a much less risky business model. And as to the input: some of the accelerometer-powered racing games are significantly better to control than with any game pad.

The DS is and arguably will be for a while a formidable gaming platform (as the father of a 10-year-old girl I can certainly vouch for that) but the sheer number of games available on the AppStore is likely to create a space longer term that may well tilt the balance in favour of the latter: you’ve got a) the arguably best music player in the market, b) higher WiFi usability (the DS doesn’t really allow you to surf the web), c) e-mail, maps, and all those nice little (and often useless) apps, d) much, much more choice of games at lower cost (anywhere from $0.99 to $9.99 as opposed to $30 for, say, Cooking Mama 2) and – to top it all of – e) the coolness factor of the sleek Apple form factor. Tough competitor, that.

For mobile games developers and new iPhone game entrants this constitutes and exciting development as it opens the revenue potential further up, and all that at a comparatively efficient and high-margin market place.