Open handsets: It’s about the apps

While the number of iPhones sold is a popular metric of mobile change, the more significant metric may be the number of applications sold for iPhones. The iPhone phenomena, more than Google’s Android, is responsible for the open handset movement that is reducing the barriers to application innovation in the wireless service space.

Operators looking for IP transformation strategies have latched onto partnership relationships both with handset developers and with developers who use network APIs. The handset opportunity for operators comes because applications promote smartphones that are more expensive but also promote data service usage, a major goal.

Some research has shown that specialty applications have been responsible for the growth in data usage outside the traditional “corporate male” segment of the market. The question now is what platform will win, or how developers will split their resources across the multiple phone operating systems that are available.