Frederic Filoux looks at the success of iPhone apps from news organisations – the fastest growing segment of iPhone apps, according to recent research – and the Associated Press’ Mobile News Network, which also makes use of smartphone technology.
What is more, argues Filoux, while none of the media apps are paid-for, the relatively new App Purchase feature allows transactions (e.g. buying books, music) from within an application.
“In theory, with Apple’s infrastructure (and cash register) at the ready, the App Purchase is the tool of choice for a subscription based system. With the current (and durable) collapse of the advertising on the internet, and the difficulty to push ads on a mobile, paid-for mobile content is undoubtedly a key component of new business models,” he writes.