4 Most Desired Android App Ideas and Businesses
May 21, 2008 – 10:08 pmGoogle says they got 50 times more searches on iPhones than any other mobile phones. No question that these new smart (brilliant) phones like iPhone and Android are game-changers for the cell phone and web industry.
Let’s take a look at what users currently look for and expect from their phones. According to this AOL mobile survey, users really want maps, camera, email, and messaging functionality. This is great, but it sounds like those surveyed by AOL were only thinking inside the box of their current low function phones.
My guess is that when Google got all those searches from iPhones, many of them were similar to the kinds of searches they get from desktops, but there had to be others which broke the mold. Mobile searchers might also be searching for a “restaurant” or “nightclub” but only want ones that are walking distance. iPhone couldn’t give that. Mobile search will train users to expect more from their search experiences, a big part of that being location relevancy on every existing vertical.
Free open software deployment is the revolution that Android brings. Developers are hard at work writing code, working on new ideas, revolutionizing how we approach the mobile web. They are defining the mobile web.
Here’s four ideas (and businesses, if you consider smart ad implementation) that I’d love to see:
1. A product search that only shows results within a defined distance of your GPS location. Ability to call vendor.
2. An event search that allows you to refine your search as “more like this”, “less like this”, determined by GPS.
3. A pure local business search - that allows you to get in touch with people and businesses that are offering products and services, within your location.
4. A social network that combines informational elements of Facebook with the real-time elements of Twitter and layers it with location and status - the ultimate short-term, real-time network. This should also be extensible and connected to a more grounded long-term network building system.
What programs will your Android or iPhone need most?
Be the first to kick things off in the comments!
2 Responses to “4 Most Desired Android App Ideas and Businesses”
I thought I should mention that I submitted proof-of-concept applications (1) and (4) into the Android developer challenge.
>>1. A product search that only shows results within a defined distance of your GPS location. Ability to call vendor.<>4. A social network that combines informational elements of Facebook…<<
http://blog.zedray.com/snowball/android-developer-challenge/snowball-date/
However I am using an experimental platform called Snowball, that allows 3rd party applications to *share* information in your neighbourhood. Aiming to avoid using *slow* GPS, and leverage peer-to-peer connectivity and cell id.
Interesting blog BTW
By Mark on Jun 4, 2008
Hi Mark,
Great to see that you’ve got a concept for those two ideas, I can see them having real purpose in a common sense. It confirms that they’re considered worthwhile by others too.
Glad you like the blog too
By Jonathan on Jun 4, 2008