You know what I just cannot stand? Apps that are just shortcuts to a company’s mobile site. For every site that makes an app that brings something even slightly different to the table, you have a dozen that are basically glorified browser shortcuts. I think a lot of this stems from the old days of PalmOS and Windows Mobile, and the early pre-SDK days for the iPhone. However, with the slogan “there’s an app for that”, one expects apps to be something special.
No app can contain Rambo
Some vendors are going in the other direction. Earlier this week, Amazon announced the Kindle Cloud reader. As the article notes, this is absolutely a way around Apple’s new draconian rules for eBook apps, but it’s a damned smart one.
Smart enough that it may be trending. Walmart’s Vudu service is avoiding the app model as well. Instead, iPad users will be able to buy content direct from the Vudu site. This should also work with other tablets (we’ll keep you posted on that), which would make it a much more tempting model for some. General manager of Vudu, Edward Lichty, recently told Reuters that, “It’s not an app. It’s an all-browser experience. But you access it in a similar way.”
With Apple demanding a 30 percent vig on in-app purchases, the main reason Lichty cites that Walmart didn’t create a Vudo app, I suspect we’ll see more truly cloud-based solutions. I doubt that they’ll overtake apps any time soon, mind you.
A good example is the Home Depot app. Every item tag with a price on it in THD has a QO code. The QO, when scanned, takes you to HOME DEPOT’s site for more information, supposedly. Unfortunately, the only thing it tells you is what you already know, except you’re holding it in your hand, so any information you’d get from the webpage just seems less real than what you’re holding. It would also be better if their in-houise Free WiFi actually worked. Most stores in my area have free WiFi, but it doesn’t work too well. Most of the time it doesn’t forward to the router, much less pick up the signal to begin with.