Business/Technology Break Through from 2008

Looking back, Apple was able to keep their hot streak alive. In '07 they changed the smartphone landscape with the introduction of the iPhone. In '08, they released a new iPhone, but more importantly they opened up the ability to deliver applications created by other programmers. The model is the same as their iTunes store. More details are in this Washington Post article.

Beyond the money Apple is making (30%) from each transaction, it turns out that this may be more of strategic move, rather than a short-term money-maker in a down economy. Here's what I found to be the most interesting paragraph in the entire article:

Apple won't say how much money the App Store is taking in, nor will it say how many of the 300 million downloads were free apps and how many cost money (most apps are free; the others cost anywhere from a buck to $10). Apple gets a 30 percent cut of revenue generated by apps. But for Apple right now the money isn't the point. The big thing is the race to become the dominant mobile-computing platform, the way IBM-standard PCs running Microsoft operating software -- first DOS and then Windows -- came to dominate personal computing in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Best wishes for a safe, happy, and prosperous 2009.