Comments on: Will the App Store be a cash cow for Apple? [Update]

By: Dreamdeceiver, Silicone Valley

Dreamdeceiver, Silicone Valley — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 23:36:22 +0000

I can only hope that after the 3G iPhone becomes available in Switzerland; it comes loaded with the most modern of nuclear weapons plans as well.

By: cynik, switzerland

cynik, switzerland — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:39:18 +0000

"The point is, get people into your store and make them Apple fans. The reward is in the increased hardware market share, not the software sales."

Bingo! Give the man a cookie, he speaketh the truth with clarity.

By: Mike Licht, Washington DC

Mike Licht, Washington DC — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:32:59 +0000

What about all the missing features?

See http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2008/06/11/iphone-3g-lacks-features/

By: Ryan, New York, NY

Ryan, New York, NY — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:22:59 +0000

Two apps MINIMUM on average per iPhone user. Why?:

MMS and video recording, those will be standard additions for 70% of the user base.

Beyond that, for everyone complaining about software "misses" based on what we saw on Monday, there will be solutions there for those, as well. And that doesn't even get into the entertainment-related apps.

By: j boston ma

j boston ma — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:05:02 +0000

What is the difference between the two analyst. Toni is consistently wrong on his assumptions – look back at his track record. Does Toni still stand by his assumption of 8 million iphones in 2008 -Most analysts are at 21-25 million – get back to me in January Toni

By: Gary Rybold, Irvine, CA

Gary Rybold, Irvine, CA — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:14:17 +0000

There is something that I am surprised that no one has mentioned. What if someone comes out with a "killer app" that is a "must have" for EVERYONE? An app that is essential, and practically 99% of all users download it? Maybe this app will cost $10 each.

As for App store profitability … if Apple investigates the code of every app, it cost money to pay Apple employees to sit there and go over the code. That is likely where the "30%" goes … until the App sells enough copies to overcome that initial cost.

By: Jim - Seattle, WA

Jim - Seattle, WA — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 03:42:42 +0000

The problem with this article is that it only speaks of revenue and not the expenses that Apple will incur with the App Store. Data center space, servers, network gear, App Store development, salary for dev, test and ops, and the possible use of a CDN (Content Distribution Network) will not be cheap.

REVENUE DOES NOT EQUAL PROFIT!

By: macdisser,bronx,new york

macdisser,bronx,new york — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:52:55 +0000

Talk about a reality distortion field. Even the most die hard itard would think 78 million worldwide by 2009 is total lunacy.

ex ped: That puzzled me too, since Munster's model accounts for 61.6 million iPhones at that point. Will follow up and update.

By: Sacto Joe, Sacramento, CA

Sacto Joe, Sacramento, CA — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:50:32 +0000

One presumes that all these apps will, with little effort, be portable to the full-sized Macs. They definitely will run on the iPod Touch.

(Hmm. Can one use a Touch or iPhone to "control" a game on a big-screen Mac? Sounds like a natural progression to me.)

The point is, get people into your store and make them Apple fans. The reward is in the increased hardware market share, not the software sales.

By: Thompson, Tucson AZ

Thompson, Tucson AZ — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:33:25 +0000

Sacconaghi is a very simple minded person if he is drawing an analogy between people buying songs from iTunes and people buying applications from the App Store. The biggest reason that the analogy does not close is that there are many other sources for iPod content, chief amongst them the libraries of CD's that iPod owners had to begin with, not to mention an uncounted number of pre-iTunes MP3's illegally downloaded from Napster, et al. Contrast this with the iPhone situation. This is not just a case of digitally repackaging OLD content (the songs) vis-a-vis AAC and FairPlay. This is a case of distributing NEW content (the applications) using the ONLY supported channel. The iPhone is a brand new application platform, and there will be nowhere else (other than via unsupported methods, e.g. jail breaking) that you can get applications. This is a captive audience, and therefore the vast majority of purchased iPhone applications will come through the App Store.

Get your head in the game, Toni.

Thompson