Monday, April 15, 2002
The Myth of the Killer App
Posted by Jason Dunn in "ARTICLE" @ 09:54 AM
http://www.brighthand.com/newsite/palm/views/killerapp.html
Steve Bush published this column several weeks ago, and I've been wanting to write a rebuttal ever since. First, go read the article. Now let's talk about it...
Steve says "Truth is, I don't believe there is such a thing as a "killer app." I'd agree with him if he said "the" instead of "a". To say there's no such thing as a "killer app" denies that for every person that uses a computer or a PDA, there's one application or use for that device that, if taken away, would render it far less useful for that person. There's no ONE killer app for PDAs or computers, but each person has one thing that they use it for more than anything else. Many people that I've spoken to who are getting a computer for the first time, or upgrading to a newer one, will have one reason that stands out above the rest: "I want to edit my home videos" or "I want to play games". They'll have a long list of things they think they'll use the computer for, but there's always one thing that stands out above the rest as the focal point for that purchase: that's the killer app for them.
People are social creatures - most of us love to communicate. The flood gates on email opened up when AOL and Compuserve allowed people to email outside their "wall gardens" and allowed everyone to communicate with everyone else that had an email address. So if there's one broad stroke I can paint using the phrase "killer app" it's this: "The killer PDA applications for consumers will be based on communication in one form or another". Maybe that's instant messaging, email, or maybe it's web browsing to connect to discussion boards like this one. There's certainly no magic bullet for PDA sales: all the easy sales for people who felt PIM was the killer app have been made.
What's your killer app? What's the one thing that if it was taken away, your device would be drastically less useful? For me, it's PIM - looking up contacts, meetings, tasks, etc. is still my #1 use for my Pocket PC. There are other uses like games, audio, eBooks, spreadsheets that I use a great deal, but if PIM were to go away, I wouldn't take my device with me everywhere I went - I'd only use it when travelling.
Steve Bush published this column several weeks ago, and I've been wanting to write a rebuttal ever since. First, go read the article. Now let's talk about it...
Steve says "Truth is, I don't believe there is such a thing as a "killer app." I'd agree with him if he said "the" instead of "a". To say there's no such thing as a "killer app" denies that for every person that uses a computer or a PDA, there's one application or use for that device that, if taken away, would render it far less useful for that person. There's no ONE killer app for PDAs or computers, but each person has one thing that they use it for more than anything else. Many people that I've spoken to who are getting a computer for the first time, or upgrading to a newer one, will have one reason that stands out above the rest: "I want to edit my home videos" or "I want to play games". They'll have a long list of things they think they'll use the computer for, but there's always one thing that stands out above the rest as the focal point for that purchase: that's the killer app for them.
People are social creatures - most of us love to communicate. The flood gates on email opened up when AOL and Compuserve allowed people to email outside their "wall gardens" and allowed everyone to communicate with everyone else that had an email address. So if there's one broad stroke I can paint using the phrase "killer app" it's this: "The killer PDA applications for consumers will be based on communication in one form or another". Maybe that's instant messaging, email, or maybe it's web browsing to connect to discussion boards like this one. There's certainly no magic bullet for PDA sales: all the easy sales for people who felt PIM was the killer app have been made.
What's your killer app? What's the one thing that if it was taken away, your device would be drastically less useful? For me, it's PIM - looking up contacts, meetings, tasks, etc. is still my #1 use for my Pocket PC. There are other uses like games, audio, eBooks, spreadsheets that I use a great deal, but if PIM were to go away, I wouldn't take my device with me everywhere I went - I'd only use it when travelling.
