Daniel,

Glad I could inspire you to get on with this post. ;-) To your point...

"a packaged, targeted experience that you own"

I'm not sure I buy into the idea that "ownership" of apps is a key driver of the app market model, but I also can't find any plausible reason to suggest this is not an influential attribute at some level. I tend to think that key drivers (in the user's mind) are more likely influenced by the experience of the app and not so much the possession of (or ability to possess) said app. As such, I might say the same thing but with these words...

"a packaged, targeted experience that is focused like a laser beam to work exactly as you might expect"

When an app does this (and there are many), I personally feel like the app owns *me*. ;-)

I think that if you consider the popularity of widgets, and desktop widgets in particular, the data is even more compelling for your case.

The best apps are thin layers for web services. IMO, they don't compete with the web, they compete with the browser. The browser stops being the default point of entry: users may opt for their app menu first. This is what I call "apps as bookmarks".

Yeah, surfing the web is such a nomadic experience, whereas with apps the user has a stronger connection to the brand, because it's all about the app. I've really keyed in on your comments about the meaningful abbreviation to technology that 'just works' + the sense of ownership coming from the packaged nature of apps (and specifically in Apple's case, the iTunes ecosystem) = the experience of navigating the interwebs via apps instead of a browser.

It's funny to me how widgets haven't taken off like mobile apps have. Companies like Clearspring have been encouraging brands to "widgetize" their experiences for insertion into other's websites for years, and yet it's not the same thing. It's almost as if apps & browser are like oil and water and don't mix well. Or maybe better put, there are many instances now of websites *emulating* the packaged experience of an app, almost as if the "app" concept has already won.

Specific to desktop widgets, especially like the Mac widgets or Google Gadgets, I do use several of those with frequency, like the Callwave text messaging widget for example - it's actually a key part of being efficient on the computer for me. It'll be interesting to see how the upcoming Mac app focus turns out.

The app as an entry point instead of the browser is a very powerful comment, and I think I'm beginning to agree with you completely. It seems so backwards in some ways, and yet so completely fitting, especially for mobile, where users just want to "get something done" and quickly, vs. browsing.

I'm in your camp Bill - I have a few I use a lot, but I don't use many. That might change, though, with the addition of the Mac app store.

I just came up with an interesting analogy the other day, to this whole apps vs. browser concept, which is that browsers are like when Lewis & Clark were surveying the unexplored Western part of the US. There were no roads, no infrastructure. These days, people are very happy to drive on the same roads, to & from the same places, all day long. Everyone has their own particular routes that they like to take, and the infrastructure that keeps people on the beaten path is very necessary and useful. Apps are like that - you have contained experiences over and over again that help you live your life and get the things done that you need to do. We don't spend our time -- in fact don't *have* the time -- exploring every nook & cranny like Lewis & Clark did. Makes me feel like going from the browser to apps is as big a change as the development of the infrastructure in the US was.

Daniel,

I love your thoughts on this but I think the emergence of apps comes from a difference place and it has everything to do with the device and not a ownership concept.

I think the emergence of apps on mobile is because:

1. input is difficult. its not as easy as writing on the desktop with a keyboard and mouse.
2. poor internet connection. 3g is horrible, thanks ATT.
3. screen size is different than the web.
4. limited computational resources (CPU and RAM)
5. people pay for games and books.

so I don't think its anything more than a very simple choice a consumer makes. do i download an app which has a WAY better experience or do i try the web which is not formatted for my device, harder to use since it's much harder to type? it's a no brainer.

on the desktop however, I have fast internet, I can type quickly a site that i want to go, just as quick as I can click on an app AND there is way more content and features than any type of desktop app that can be created. So the choice becomes a bit more difficult than just turning straight to native apps.

So I think you'll see some impact from the desktop app store because its a distribution engine for smaller app developers. You'll see more developers make desktop apps using a mix of HTML5 wrapped natively (like a popular app platform I know... appmakr.com). it's easy to do and developers want to get paid through this distribution engine.

It might be a more difficult choice for large game publishers however. EA which makes a millions of dollars by selling games on the desktop might be hesitant to distribute through apple since they take 30%. As an executive of EA could you imagine giving Apple 30% of your desktop revenue from previous years? It might be a yes because potentially you can gain 40% revenue by the distribution of the appstore. only time will tell.

So I think the idea of an appstore is good for the desktop is good and will have some impact but I think you'll see more impact where screen sizes are dramatically different than the desktop and input is also difficult. I think you'll see a big impact on the TV for similar reasons as mobile. A typical screen size is 50 inches and input is through a crappy remote control. Am I going to use the web where it's difficult to type and horrible to navigate or am I going to use an app which was designed for my tv and remote control?

no brainer.

great post daniel!

Great website this is, I have bookmarked it in my IE, cheers.