I find it interesting to see how as the web evolves, patterns emerge that can form a set of conventions we can label such as a blog or more recently an app store. The idea of an app store isn’t new, I’m sure in some way there was something similar before iTunes came along but when a new one launches in 2010, in Google’s Chrome Web Store, it lifts the entire set of conventions, naming and grouping pretty much wholesale from Apple’s offering. Is this now what we expect in terms of an app store? Is this the best or most efficient way to provide access to this kind of content?
Of course an app store is pretty much a e-commerce site but differs in the way that it’s far more direct. In Chrome’s case you can browse for an app and install it straight into your browser. Far more powerful than extensions or plug-ins, many don’t seem like a natural fit (to me) but might become more apparent once Chrome OS has launched.
So, is Google choosing to play directly with people’s experiences using iTunes (or similar) to help adoption or are they saying this is the best way of enabling people to discover the apps they want?
In terms of trends in the browser development world Google Chrome have taken the largest percentage leap over the past 12 months, increasing from 9.8% to 20.5%. Obviously this rise is due to to popularity of the Google search engine along with subtle advertising which raise concerns over stability issues. So, by raising concerns in the minds of the public which increases the share market of Chrome, Google have a ready made market of users available to consume their new developments in web apps. Google are certainly taking the bull be the horns in terms of ‘the cloud’ and integration of apps…..
In reality is the ‘cloud’ just a renamed convention from 5-6 years ago (The Grid)? And in terms of users personal data storage(pictures etc) ‘dot Mac’ has been around for some time, allowing users to access data from anywhere in the world.
I’m not saying that I’m not optimistic. By offering apps remotely the cost benefit eliminates licensing costs but efficiency is something that web apps have satisfactorily failed to deliver at this point in time.
Actually scrap that comment about ‘the Grid’. It’s not the same thing at all.
excellent article! thanks for sharing.