A few years back we thought that that things were app-crazy. Some folks even went so far as to say that these were going to die off soon and that it was just a phase. Well, that might eventually end up being true but in our opinion, this is not the case.
We have more mobile devices (and growing) than ever before. Stands to reason then that we would have more apps. Also not surprising is that, given the convenience of mobile in general, that we are seeing folks migrate their usage from any more traditional means over to mobile. The consequence of this however is a dramatic uptick in usage overall as not these same folks can sit online all day if they choose. That is a whole lot of app-a-holics out there using away.
According to Flurry, this uptick is not specific either to one vertical. This means that it isn’t just Angry Birds that is taking off but rather apps to be more productive at work or play, lifestyle apps, apps to make social interaction easier, tool-based apps for calculations of virtually any kind, and really just about every other category of app that we currently have. They also report that people are using apps around the clock. This is inspiring if you are wondering if anyone could ever use your app.
Given the app growth compared to the numbers of available people not yet in the game, this trend only has room to grow. If it continues to grow on the same path we have seen thus far, then we are in for more, much more, of the same in the upcoming years. Quality will certainly drive this as the app market becomes more competitive along the way. While we all know the days of the fart app millions is gone, it should be emphasized that focussing on quality user experience, content, and usability will be paramount to success moving forward.
