Inside the App Economy

Mais um belo artigo da Business Week... com vacas virtuais à mistura :)

Inside the App Economy

Beyond the goofy games is a world of useful programs that's making fortunes and changing the rules of business

It's easy to shrug off the kooky world of apps. The bite-size software programs people load onto their mobile phones or tap into on the Web seem mostly to be silly games and pointless novelties. But look past the beer-drinking apps and flatulence programs and you'll see something significant taking shape: a bustling app economy that's creating new fortunes for entrepreneurs and changing the way business gets done.

It's happening with dizzying speed. Just two years ago, almost none of this existed. Apple's (AAPL) App Store, the most popular destination for mobile-phone programs, was launched last summer. Now there are more than a dozen rival stores, and at least 100,000 apps have been created. Some startups that staked their claim in the app economy have become large, lucrative businesses in just a few months. Two-year-old Zynga, which makes popular game apps, is already profitable, with more than $100 million in revenues. By comparison, Google (GOOG) didn't start making money until its third year—and still had less revenue.

artigo continua aqui
.