A Three-Dimension Analysis of Driving Factors for Mobile Application Stores: Implications of Open Mobile Business Engineering

The mobile industry is witnessing a turning point in terms of the increased penetration of PC Internet players such as Apple and Google. The business models of Apple and Google in the mobile industry are very different, however, they are shaking up the legacy mobile software industry by representing a departure from the legacy closed business models. The AppStore represents a great success in the mobile industry. It is a single device with a closed market, however, it has provided the successful vertical integration business model for enclosing end users with iPhone-style services. The App Store has created a market bandwagon that everyone is eager to jump onto. The author provides business model analysis of the AppStore, as compared to the i-mode and Android. Then, the author presents implications for the today´s mobile software industry.