I was at the keynote when Steve Jobs launched the iPhone in 2007. It was an amazing introduction—historic for Apple and the consumer electronics industry. One thing that everyone was asking for after the launch was apps. On July 10, 2008, Apple launched the App Store, forever changing the way we use smartphones, tablets and many other devices. Think about how you used devices before apps, and how you use them today—there is no comparison. The iPhone and apps have changed the world.
Thanks Apple.
Yeah.
….except that Apps on mobile devices existed 11 years before on the Palm and then the Handspring platform.
The hardware just caught up with the idea. Nothing more.
Do I love Apple, yes. I’m a fanboy. But let’s tell it like it is.
REALLY, Jeff Hawkins and the Palm team had the idea first….
FWIW, I remember trying to find an app I’d seen reviewed for my m500 (which I still have) on whatever Palm called their app store. It was a morass, and I didn’t go back very much.
Thinking about how I used my phone before this announcement, it’s almost three same. I installed apps from Ovi, etc.
The only change was the immediate developer focus so the store grew huge pretty quickly.