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07-14-2009, 03:04 PM
Hardware Diversification: Will App Stores Like Marketplace Flounder?

While Apple may have been generous with its iPhone 3.0 firmware upgrade, bringing older iPhones to match many, but not all, of the capabilities of the new iPhone 3G S upon release, the company has upgraded its hardware in the new next-generation iPhone, creating a software divide in the App Store.

Reports are coming in that the newer hardware has a newer graphics chip that supports both the OpenGL ES 1.1 and 2.0 engine while the older iPhone 3G only supports Open GL ES 1.1, not the 2.0 version. Moving forward, graphics intensive programs, like games, may not be compatible with older generation iPhones, like the original aluminum and the iPhone 3G released about a year ago. Developers may need to write different versions of the same application to target the full iPhone demographics or Apple will need to be clear about compatibility issues in the App Store to avoid confusion.

These will be important lessons for Microsoft when it releases its own applications storefront titled Marketplace for Mobile when Windows Mobile 6.5 gets released. The Windows Phone app store already needs to support a greater diversity of hardware than the iPhone, with various screen resolutions, operating system versions (Windows Mobile 5, 6.0, 6.1, 6.5, etc), and platforms (Windows Mobile Standard and Professional).

Marketplace for Mobile will have an interesting challenge ahead as it adds support for increasing screen resolutions like FWVGA to the mix in addition to other hardware specs like graphics processors, processing speed, and available system memory as well as storage. As games for mobile become more complex, different and stronger hardware may be needed and Microsoft cannot expect the average consumer to be fully aware of the specs of his/her own device.

Splitting the Marketplace into devices with apps compatible for certain devices may lead to the challenge of keeping the storefront updated with the latest devices and knowing for certain that a program that may work on the newer Jack may not be compatible with the older BlackJack II, although the devices have similar resolutions and run on the same platform at this time. Devices that are offered upgrades, like the Jack to Windows Mobile 6.5 from 6.1 upon release, add to the confusion among customers.

The planners of Marketplace should watch the iPhone 3G S launch and the evolution of the App Store to more closely plan on a smooth release of Marketplace for Mobile. What are your thoughts on what Microsoft should do to simplify the app purchase process and not confuse the beginning Windows Phone consumer, who may not know much about specs?

[via: Engadget Mobile)