Apple App Store clone wars reach fever pitch

The big news coming out of Sun's JavaOne conference this week is that Sun (soon-to-be Oracle) is trying to outbid Microsoft as the world's biggest photocopier company. ("Redmond, start your photocopiers.")

No, Sun isn't actually building photocopiers but, like Symbian, Microsoft, and others, it is playing catch-up to Apple's App Store with its new Java Store, as The Register reports. The store is intended to be a central repository for Java and JavaFX applications, but it's unclear how it will distinguish itself.

As a consumer, I don't care if an application is built in Java. I just want to know whether it's any good, and whether it will run on my iPhone (Blackberry/Palm Pre/whatever). The Java brand matters to developers--it doesn't matter at all to end users.

Not to be outdone in imitation, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison used JavaOne to reassure Java devotees that Oracle's commitment to Java is strong and to drop a hint that Oracle/Sun may get into Netbooks, those ubertrendy devices that everyone is talking about but few are actually using.

Back to the App Store. Or, rather, app stores....

Sun isn't alone in copycat tactics. Nokia is also getting into the App Store clone wars, and Symbian has its own planned app store. Google launched its Android Market, and Microsoft, photocopiers at the ready, is beefing up its Windows Marketplace.

Pretty soon, consumers will have scads of choices of where to buy their applications...and so won't have a clue as to where to buy them.

It's not that application stores are a bad idea. It's just that it's not clear that we need a myriad of them, or that vendors will get the mileage from them that they expect, as Joel West points out.

Google Wave showed the industry that innovation is still possible, but requires vendors to discard existing paradigms for what is possible and how to deliver software.

In a similar fashion, platform vendors need to figure out novel ways to emulate the best of what Apple has delivered in its App Store, but reinvent the concept for their own customers. We don't need App Store clones. We need new ways of delivering and consuming applications.

Unless the industry is ready to declare Apple the sole source of inspiration, then different vendors should pave different paths.

Follow me on Twitter @mjasay.

[myles taylor]

I agree. Apple's App Store has been a runaway success and especially in this industry and this economy, everyone wants to get on the bandwagon. There will likely be a few successes and many failures. They need to focus their resources on innovating rather than copying. Apple has the the unique ability of vertical control of the device and the software, as well as a dual threat with the iPod Touch and the iPhone. It's nearly impossible for anyone else to compete with that.

[John Elberling]

These days Apple is totally driving both the smartphone app technology and market. the installed base of iPhones/iPod Touch is approaching 50 million after just two years, a total no other single compatible app platform (where one app can work on every phone) comes close to. and next week's unveiling of iPhone 3.0 that will expand apps capabilities is going to push the "state of the art" yet further up the road.

against that, all the cloners are desperately playing catch up and keep up - but in a market totally fragmented among their multiple operating platforms, hardware designs, and OEM's and telcos trying to monetize everything and eat each other's lunch. plus Microsoft floating around looking to be anyone's "partner."

on top of that, the iPhone/Touch is also the fastest growing portable game platform, thanks to super easy to buy/install apps and the revolutionary low prices of the games - a classic marketplace "disruption" event. it will surpass Sony's PSP in total unit sales by the end of this year, and even the Nintendo DS is not out of reach.

it's going to be a few years before things can settle down. the real innovation - the process of turning your smartphone into your personalized portable organize-and-operate-your-entire-life assistant computer-thing that you can't live without - is just getting going. these are the early phases of the next era ...

[saltylaker]

It is not that Sun wants to copy the App Store per se, but rather the ease of use which the App Store has. Java developed apps have always wanted to work as seamlessly as do App Store downloads, but they don't. JRE versioning and start-up speeds have been big headaches. Perhaps a larger question is whether they are CAPABLE of copying the "user experience" of the App Store. If they can copy the App Store, then they will have innovated IMHO.

[ausernamenoonehaschosen]

With the ability for apps to "tallk" to connected peripherals, the new iPhone 3.0 OS will once again be noticeably one large step ahead of everyone else again. Can't wait.

[slapppy]

Amazing. First most of these guys insult Apple for creating the iPhone, the first really successful Touchscreen/multi-touch device, with a out of this world OS/GUI. Then insult Apple again with the Web based apps. More insults with the App store.

Next thing you know, their all doing the same thing Apple is doing.

[mcbeenb]

Imitation is the Greatest Form of Flattery

[kelmon]

What beggars belief with all this is, why did we have to wait for so long before the "App Store" arrived? The whole thing seems so obvious yet for years people were apparently happy to hunt the Internet or stores for their applications and install them "manually". I can only suggest that the likes of Nokia, Microsoft, et al must be kicking themselves that they hadn't introduced their own stores since all of these companies have been major players in the market before Apple waltzed in.

[Btratra]

As mentioned during the JavaOne keynote, Java appstores have been deployed in Japan way before Apple's Appstore. While one should give credits to Apple for their store, the new Java Store will have an order of magnitude larger distribution reach than Apple's store and introduce a fairly innovative and safe way (Java Sandbox) to deploy apps on a consumer desktop via a simple drag-to-install and offering an app preview capability that let's consumer preview an app without installing it.

[monkeyfun14]

Matt pray tell me why is that any company who tries to make a competing product is deemed a copier? I mean if no one were to copy anyone there would be no competition and you ought to know better then most that no competition is a bad thing.

[cleeuim]

Apple is the true revolutionary here, no doubt, but why shouldn't other companies try their hand at an applications storefront? A direct copy is no good, of course, but surely they would have their own ideas and innovations to bring to the party...

Now that the App Store has turned one, where do we go from here? Will Apple introduce new changes? We're talking about this a little on our blog, please check us out: http://uimagicinc.com/blog/