Mobile Trends and their Impact on the [Medical] App Market

Mobile World Congress Review

By Markus Pohl

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Some major trends about the mobile apps market were clearly visible at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week. How will trends like new operating systems, new devices, new technologies, developer migration, etc. affect the global apps market? Here is a quick rundown:

Symbian is dead long live Windows 7

This is probably the biggest single piece of news to emerge from last week’s event. Windows 7 will be used as the primary OS for Nokia’s smartphone portfolio. According to Mr. Elop (Nokia CEO) there will be a two year transition time before all new devices are being shipped with the OS from Microsoft, but from our discussions with Microsoft and Nokia we realize that there is a large amount of pressure to make that period as short as possible, especially as it will become even more difficult to convince developers to develop for Symbian, a dead end platform. The co-existence of Nokia phones running on WindowsPhone 7, Symbian and MeeGo presents a challenge. The future of MeeGo seems to be very uncertain even though Nokia and Intel stated their intent to offer an alternative platform especially for non smartphone devices.  Windows 7 will definitely become a very interesting platform for developers in the future. If it will meet the expectations of those two giants is not clear just yet.

Tablets are everywhere

All major and quite a few smaller OEMs presented their answer to the iPad. They were probably the most touched and intensively tested devices at the MWC. Apple created this new market and sold almost 15 million iPads in only 9 months. Not many analysts forecasted this tremendous success (including us). Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Tab’s successor the Galaxy Tab 10.1 based on Android’s avatar for tablets: Honeycomb. LG, HP, HTC, Motorola, RIM, Lenovo and Toshiba all announced devices at the MWC 2011. RIM plans to release its super Playbook’s WiFi version late in Q1 2011, and HSPA+ and LTE, office software capability, multitasking OS, along with Flash, HTML5 and open internet standards in H2 2011. HP also unveiled Touchpad, a webOS based tablet. ZTE will accelerate its expansion on smart devices by launching lightweight tablets based on Honeycomb, which will be due in Q3 2011. Malata, a smaller Chinese vendor, only showed its portfolio of tablets in Barcelona. What it shows: There will be hundreds of tablets launched by the end of 2011. It is going to be the year of the tablets. Make sure your apps look good on them.

Broad awareness for m-Health and home monitoring

mHealth was clearly the biggest cross industry topic on the conference. Most of the OEM and operators as well as big fishes like Qualcomm and IBM showed some of their solutions which make use of a mobile device to support the treatment of a patient. Interesting that most of the mHealth solutions where not smartphone centered but made use of a specific device. Only smaller players which showed their solutions in the health care pavilion where mainly smartphone focused.  Home monitoring has been another interesting cross industry area which caught a lot of attention during the week. Telco companies used an entire pavilion, the “Embedded House”, to showcase their offerings. It became clear that the Telco industry will compete against the energy industry in that promising market.

Cross platform development is becoming more visible

It is clear that in the following years developers will face increasing challenges in developing apps for multi app platforms. There are some promising cross platform development tools and platforms out there which should gain more attention in the near future. There are a growing number of companies concentrating on those services such as Service2Media, Mobile Distillery, ideas2mobile and Geniem. Another interesting concept that showcased at the event is Kinoma by Marvell. This could be described as an app store within an app store. Marvell claims that apps running in the Kinoma environment must be developed only once and work on Android and Windows 7 operating systems.

Assessment 

Stay updated with our “App Market Monitoring”.

Link to blog post: http://www.research2guidance.com/gsma-mobile-world-congress-in-barcelona-impact-on-the-app-market/

Link to picture: http://www.research2guidance.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/2011-02-21-Barcelona.png

Twitter: #Mobile #Trends And Their Impact On The #App #Market – MWC Review: http://bit.ly/eMy2JR

About research2guidance:

research2guidance is a Berlin-based market research company specialized in the mobile industry. The company’s service offerings include comprehensive market studies, as well as bespoke research and consultancy.

Contact:

Markus Pohl

research2guidance

+49 30 609 893 363

markus.pohl@research2guidance.com

Conclusion

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6 Responses

  1. Student Doc’s Receive iPads

    During UC Irvine’s recent White Coat Ceremony, each member of the School of Medicine’s incoming class of 2015 received an iPad as part of its initiative to provide students with a digital medical education.

    This marks the second year the School of Medicine is giving new students a tablet computer containing the course outlines, notes, lecture slides and textbooks needed for the coming academic year – a core component of the school’s innovative iMedEd Initiative, which officials say has grown into one of the most comprehensive, fully digital medical education programs in the country.

    http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/ipad-program-prepares-med-students-wave-future

    Ann Miller RN MHA

    Like

  2. A Guide To iPad EMR Apps

    Although unexpected by some, it appears the iPad is not only leading the tablet charge, but in computing, in general. One of the first mass-produced modern tablet computers, Apple’s iPad boasts great design and durability, a long battery life, and a iOS developer platform that’s helping the tablet lead the way into the next generation of computer technology.

    Physicians and medical professionals have been some of the earliest adopters and strongest supporters of the iPad, and many electronic medical record (EMR) vendors are responding to the increased demand by producing solutions that are iPad-compatible.

    Medical software vendors are approaching iPad solutions in various ways, but the development efforts can be summarized into these three options:

    http://www.physiciansnews.com/2011/09/12/ipad-emr-apps-a-guide-to-electronic-medical-records/

    Martin

    Like

  3. Crack Down on Misleading m-Health Apps

    Martin – In its first enforcement action in the mobile health market, the Federal Trade Commission [FTC] has forced two app companies to stop making health claims for their smartphone apps.

    http://www.fiercemobilehealthcare.com/story/government-cracks-down-misleading-medical-apps/2011-09-09?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

    Any thoughts?

    Mallory

    Like

  4. The Down Side of Mobile Aps, etc

    Eyestrain from small screens.

    I-Doctor

    Like

  5. Fred Silverman Discusses Newslook For Apple’s iPad
    [Video Presentation]

    With the Apple iPad becoming more and more popular within the medical and business world, the organization and syndication of content is becoming a key factor in distributing news to Apple’s popular tablet device.

    And, since content on the iPad is such a visual medium, video news is becoming more common. However, there are not that many apps out there that aggregate and organize video news in a way that is suitable for the healthcare industry, and the public, perhaps until now?

    http://redir.ientry.com/04-27555-2066745-14193238-0-40

    So, tell us what you think?

    Hope Rachel Hetico RN MHA
    [Managing Editor]

    Like

  6. European Mobile Application Market Size Reached 1.68 bn. Euro in 2012

    The market for mobile applications has become a multi Euro business. In 2012 publishers in the Top 5 European countries will have generated 1.68 bn. Euros with paid application downloads, in-app purchasing and in-app advertising. The growth rate during the initial years is above 140 %.

    Since 2008 (the initial full year of the new application eco system) the market has changed from a niche „gaming and entertainment“channel for players on-the-move to an app hype with more than 2 mio. applications published. The hype is similar to the www. hype in the early 2000s, but 5-7 times faster.

    The European application market represents approximately 20% of the global market. The biggest European app markets are: UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and France. They account for 15% of the global app market.

    Among those Top 5 EU countries, there are significant differences in size and structure of the domestic markets. This directly impacts the platform and business model decisions every publisher must make before setting up an app project.

    To learn more about the European app market, please have a look at the latest App Market Monitor Report „Top 5 EU App Market Monitor“. The reports provide a detailed overview in 80 pages on the current status of the domestic app markets between 2008 and 2013.

    Link to report: http://www.research2guidance.com/shop/index.php/smartphone-app-market-overview-top-5-european-countries

    Link to blog post: http://www.research2guidance.com/news-european-mobile-application-market-size-reached-1.68-bn.-euro-in-2012/

    Link to picture: http://www.research2guidance.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/App-Market-Size-Blog-Post.jpg

    Markus Pohl

    Like

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