Apple, Google To Revive Mobile Developing?

Have you ever wondered why there seems to be a plethora of applications for computers, but there generally isn't all that many for smartphones? Walt Mossberg addressed the issue in his plea for a free iPhone, and now BusinessWeek's Olga Kharif goes into more detail on how the mobile phone developing community is being held back. She also talks about what newcomers like Apple and Google are doing to help.

Up until recently, the only thing cell phone owners really cared about was their phone's call quality. However, with the number of dropped calls down nearly a third in the last year or so, people's attention is shifting to what else. Their phone can do. Unfortunately, the developing community is still being restricted.

"The ecosystem is not healthy," said Daren Tsui, CEO of mSpot, a software firm that has sought to get its music software on mobile phones. Despite some success, Mr. Tsui noted that, "You've got the developing community basically starving."

Fortunately, the awaited arrival of Apple's iPhone SDK should help to revive the developing community. Nonetheless, Michael Mahoney, the managing director at Falcon Point Capital, believes that it will help, predicting that in the next year or so, "customers will make their choice by software, not service. Those [companies] that attract software developers will end up being the winners in the long run. The future growth and the premium pricing will go to the product [with better software]."

Meanwhile, Google's GPhone is expected to do it's part as well. They are expected to release an SDK of their own, with the addition of several innovations that would help to make wireless commerce easier. One is GPay, a system that bills customers via a special SMS text rather than as part of their monthly coverage fee, a service most carriers charge to provide.

[via BusinessWeek]