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CES: Companies Must Have An iPhone App or They “Don’t Exist”

By Leander Kahney (3:54 pm, Jan 07 2010)

CES: Companies Must Have An iPhone App or They “Don’t Exist”

A panel at CES on the future of iPhone apps. Newsgator's Walker Fenton is second from left.

LAS VEGAS — Businesses must have a mobile app. That was the message from a CES panel discussion of iPhone apps and their impact on culture, technology, advertising and entertainment.

At the session — iPhone Apps-Change Agents-App Breakthroughs, Video, Games, Mobile Engagement and Advertising — panelists urged companies to get working on mobile apps. Not just for the iPhone, but Android and Palm as well.

“It’s like 10 years ago when the debate was: ‘do I have to get a website or not?’” said Walker Fenton, GM of NewsGator’s Media & Consumer Products. “People were unsure, but these days, the answer is obvious: if you’re not on the Web, it’s like you don’t exist.”

Fenton added that companies must be on the iPhone.

“It’s almost a requirement,” he said. “You’ve got to be on the iPhone; same as you’ve got to be on the Web.”

He concluded: “If you are wondering about whether or not to get on the mobile, the answer is ‘yes’.’ Get on the mobile now.”

21 comments »

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About the author

Leander Kahney

is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: Inside Steve’s Brain, the New York Times bestseller about Steve Jobs; Cult of Mac; and Cult of iPod. Leander has written for Wired, MacWeek, Scientific American, and The Guardian in London. Follow Leander on Twitter @lkahney and Facebook.

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Posted in CES 2010, iPhone, iPhone Apps, iPod Touch, News |

  • http://redzenmarketing.posterous.com Mike Compeau

    While I understand the context for the statement — a Consumer Electronics Show panel discussion platform in which 2/3 of participants are pocketing multiple smartphones and have ample expense budgets for devices to play with all day long — the same can not be said for the bulk of actual ordinary consumers nor today’s businesses that are still facing lean times.

    Compelling business cases will still need to be made for embarking on mobile application development– particularly in light of the multiple platforms competing for customer attention today: Blackberry, Java, iPhone, Android, webOS, and even Windows Mobile and BREW continue to attract phone manufacturer attention.

    Developing ‘something’ mobile is not strategic. It’s money down a hole. If a company wishes to gain competitive advantage by using the mobile arena to move ahead, it takes deliberate thought about their customers and how they can provide a compelling solution. There are too many useless mobile apps that have been born of this silly mania already.

    Back to basics, folks. Build a business case, listen to your customers, and THEN sit down with your development staff to pick a mobile platform or platforms to attack.

  • http://eclecticlibrarian.net/blog/ Anna Creech

    As someone who has a phone that can connect to the internet but does not have a full browser like Safari on the iPhone, I would much rather see companies building mobile interfaces to their websites than spending the same money (or more) on an application that works for one phone that is used by a very small percentage of people. There are too many websites that could be very useful to me in a mobile environment that are not functional on my non-iDroidBerryPhone.

  • http://ObamaPacman.com Obama Pacman

    @Mike Compeau,

    I have to say you can’t be more wrong.

    All the non-Apple mobile phone stores all have negative return on investment for majority of developers, due to the numerous variations of the other phones including incompatible software, different hardware.

    Developing for iPhone / iPod touch platform, with 50 million devices used by top tier of customers on the other hand, is worthwhile.

  • http://cyxodus.wordpress.com/ Payton (aka – Cyxodus)

    As someone who is developing a mobile app, I’ll be focusing on both the iPhone and Android platforms.

  • http://www.half-price-pharmacy.com Online Pharmacy

    Interesting!
    I agree that if you are not on iPhone you lose, but again, we shouldn’t forget that iPhone is still not a dominant player in smartphone market. However companies do have to have their own app! Its like having a website now.

  • http://www.appanda.com Matt

    As someone who works for a mobile development company I’m conflicted by the nature of this post. Companies do in fact exist with or without mobile applications and in all reality if they do create an app that serves no purpose they’re just adding to the clutter sitting in the app store.

    Mike said it best, you need to make a business case for building an application on whichever platforms you choose and then run head on with the project. The app can only be as successful as the people and companies behind it. There are plenty of do it yourself app builders on the market today and if a company feels that they need an extension of their web presence or brand I would encourage you to check out http://www.appanda.com. No harm in looking!

  • Keith

    Digg nuff said.

  • Bird

    If you have a website, you’re already on every smartphone.

    If your website needs a special “mobile version,” then there is something very wrong with your website. Fix the problem, and you’ll get a mobile website either for free, or by adding a stylesheet.

    Companies with iPhone apps that don’t do anything useful are wasting customers’ time and announcing their stupidity.

    Here’s a good point of comparison: how do you buy a Mac from your iPhone? Does store.apple.com have a special mobile version? Does Apple make an “Apple news” iPhone app?

  • Michael

    I agree with Mike Compeau, but Bird said it best. FIX your website!

    Here’s a related point.
    Adhere to web standards. Even Microsoft is going this way, so your only choices are:
    1) Use web standards, or,
    2) Use web standards, AND code for ie 6, 7, and sometimes 8 anomalies.

    Anna Creech:
    The days left to sell a phone with internet access, but without a full browser are short indeed. It’s nearly here for a phone bought today.

  • Michael

    Releasing an app on the app store is not the right solution for every company. Nevertheless, you definitely need a properly formatted mobile site. Good examples on iPhone (ESPN, Walmart, Amazon) to name a few. They differentiate their sites on the iPhone from other mobile phones by taking advantage of the superior mobile feature set of the iPhone. This is only the beginning so getting a head start will only benefit those that start early. If I am using my phone to look up a solution to a problem I need good results that are legible and easy to navigate. If your site has my solution, I will definitely remember that whether its on my phone or the desktop in the future.

  • http://www.wsol.com Dennis

    Regarding the comment above that the iPhone is not a dominant player in the smart phone market, there is a more important fact to consider. Most analytics show that the majority of mobile traffic on websites is coming from people using iPhones. There are many other devices that are web enabled, but people don’t access the web with them nearly as much. A lot of this has to do with the capabilities (or lack of capabilities) of the phones’ browsers.

    That said, the idea that a mobile app is a “must have” for businesses is absurd. Michael’s comments are right on when he says that the more important thing is to have a mobile accessible site. If you can optimize your web content in a way which makes sense, considering the context of mobile users (i.e. on the go, small screen, etc), you will have an advantage in your industry.

    Developing native applications for specific devices is costly and time consuming. In some cases it makes sense, when the App is a product that you want to sell, or you need to take advantage of core functionality of an individual device. But in most cases, a mobile optimized site, or web based application will be a more cost efficient and robust solution. The difference of course is that mobile optimized content will work across multiple devices.

  • Interloper

    I hate to break the news to Anna Creech, but growth for cell phone manufacturers in developed countries is in smart phones. Within three years, any phone that does not boast full Web access will be considered anachronistic. We’ve already done the webpages designed for inferior phones and PDAs gambit and it was awful. No one who has experienced the Internet on a super smart phone wants to revisit WAP.

  • Eileen

    For those app developers that don’t know Objective-C and Cocoa Touch and don’t want to outsource development, check out localbeacon (an iphone app builder) at http://www.bigforge.com. Great for those who want to build just one app or developers interested in white label. Full integration of Twitter and Facebook.

  • http://www.d3kicks.com/forum/read.php?1,30258&q2=1 Ryqhwgkx
  • http://www.list-pharmacy.com NouraLago

    Remarkable idea

  • http://www.chinesehandicraft.net Chinese handicraft

    The customs’ opinion and suggestion are very importent.

  • http://www.columbusdj-music.com Columbus DJ

    Yes, mobile is certainly the future of the net… IMO

  • http://www.finelineconstruction.net Charlotte Home Remodeling Contractor

    Excellent short article. Like the to the point style! I’m loving my iphone!

  • http://www.exteriorwindowshuttersstore.com Exterior Window Shutters

    Thanks for the update and information. I’m a blackberry user right now who is thinking of making the switch!

  • zar

    I think comparing being on the web with a site as the same as having a presence with a mobile app specifically for the iphone is ludicrous. The web is far more equalized, regardless of whether some follow web standards or not. The web will be around in some form or the other tomorrow. While smartphones will also be around in some form or other, it is not absolutely necessary that a specific company with a specific product, ie Apple with the iPhone will definitely be around tomorrow. If the company goes out, there goes your apps. So making the case for creating an app for the iPhone as being the same necessity as being on the web is an argument that is based on being slavishly to Apple, rather than a well thought out rationalization. Having said all that, I agree that with the apple app store and the iPhone being popular now, it makes sense to use it as an additional medium to reach out to your audience. You may do it to reach your audience and to beat or keep up with competition. But that should not be confused with having a website, which is much more ubiquitous and vendor independent and agnostic compared to the proprietary, closed and somewhat rigid system of Apple’s app store.

  • http://twitter.com/loopscious Loopscious

    If you want a fast and easy solution for your own app for iPhone and Android, check out Nov8rix – fast and easy, http://www.nov8rix.com

    TUAW did a review of them here
    http://www.tuaw.com/2011/06/13/click-and-drag-iphone-app-creation/