4 reasons you should be developing mobile apps

The mobile web is ripe for innovation. Barriers to entry have come down and the playing fields have been levelled. Software developers from all over the world are able to create apps that could become global hits. And as smart phones become more and more accessible to the masses, the market for clever, simple apps for mobile devices keeps getting larger and larger.

Still not convinced? Here are four reasons why you, as a developer, should be focussing your attention on apps for the mobile web.

1. The development of mobile apps requires fewer hands on deck. Many successful mobile apps have been created by a small team of developers ( 2-3 people working in their garage in their spare time or, in some cases, just one developer working alone). And these small teams are not just developing casual games, but also complex gaming, entertainment and productivity apps like iShoot, Pulse, Flipboard and Tap Tap Revenge.

While the creation of software applications has always been less labour and capital intensive than other industries, the mobile app market has made it possible for a programmer to create a successful app in their spare time in a few months or even weeks. A case in point is the successful gaming app iShoot. As noted in the New York Times, it was written by a single programmer Ethan Nichols who worked “morning, noon and night” for six weeks on the app, while working as a programmer for Sun Microsystems..

2. There is often no need to raise capital. The need to make the rounds, cap in hand, visiting VCs in a bid to raise venture capital funding or to look for angel investors is dramatically lessened. Many successful apps have been created by college students or programmers working in their spare time. If the app becomes successful, engineers have been able to make thousands of dollars after the first day of the release of the app. Nichols, the creator of iShoot, earned US$800 000 in the first five months after the release of the app, and he obviously quit his job following the success of his gaming app.

3. Apps are easy to bring to market and are easy to update. It is easy to listen to what users are saying, then add new functionality and improve features. I have about 30 apps on my iPhone and I update some of them every 15 days. Unlike the PC where most applications are updated against viruses and security flaws in the system, most of the times when I update my apps I see they get some new functionalities, or a paid version with even more features and a better interface becomes available.

4. There is a vast knowledge base available to help with the building of apps. Stanford University offers courses in building iPhone and iPad apps and some of the courses are freely available on iTunes for everyone to study. The highly successful iPad app, Pulse was developed by two Stanford graduate students in the Launch Pad class in only 10 weeks. YouTube has several courses for aspiring app builders for iPhone, Android and RIM.