November 3, 2009
Op Ed By the ZippyCart Shopping Carts Content Team
The Apple iPhone was not intended to be a gaming device as was indicated, but the first year of success was dominated by the games in the app store. Just as the iPhone took a small bit of market share away from the portable Nintendo DSI gaming system, it looks like they may do the same to the ereader market. Currently the only major threats to the Amazon Kindle have been from other competing ereaders from Sony, Plastic Logic, and Barnes and Noble. However the recent popularity in ebooks via the Apple app store should make Amazon worry and view them on the same level as their other competitors.
Mobile analytic research firm, Flurry, released some data to illustrate the shift in the Apple app store from games to ebooks. They indicated this week that book-related apps represented one out of five new iPhone or iPod Touch applications launched through the app store in October 2009. September 2009 was the first month in which we have seen books in the lead as the top app category and as more and more titles come to the app store, the sales are only expected to rise. Publishers across the board are rushing to push as many of their titles online into a digital format for iPhone users so they can have any book they want easily accessible wherever they want.
Amazon is aware of the Apple iPhone as a primary competitor, but the data is even more alarming that most thought, as few articles discussing the ereader battle mention the iPhone. Earlier this year Amazon released a Kindle application for Apple’s devices. What Apple has at the core is a platform to get more people to buy ebooks, but what they do not have is a larger tablet size reader. This however has been in the rumor mill for much of this year with most believing it is only a matter of time before a larger tablet computer will debut from Apple.
Scott is an avid fan of all things ecommerce. His claim to fame is that he "puts the Zip in ZippyCart." He considers himself the world-wide number one reader of TechCrunch, C|Net, and The Ecommerce Times. Scott has worked in the SEO industry for many years, but found himself always shifting his focus to review sites and ecommerce blogs. When we decided to start the ZippyCart Ecommerce news, Scott was an obvious fit. He handles most of our OpEds as he is a very opinionated guy. Scott is also our Twitter guy, so don't hesitate to send him a tweet if you see him online.
