Why is the opportunity for marketing free apps larger than paid apps? Analyzing user engagement trends, mobile app advertising trends, and details regarding the lack of attention being given to free apps compared to paid apps gives some strong indications. The explosive growth of mobile apps since Apple’s App Store launched on July 10, 2008, has led to increased competition as well as innovation. App store revenues are expected to grow from $4.2 billion in 2009 to $29.5 billion in 2013. Mobile advertising expenditures are predicted to increase 28 percent to $914 million in 2010.

The value of free mobile apps is not limited to advertising revenue; free mobile apps are also the leading influencer on paid downloads and support the rapidly booming virtual goods business through in-app purchasing. The importance of free apps is misunderstood by developers, as the number of paid apps is disproportionate to their demand and revenue contribution.

Free Mobile Apps Drive User Engagement

Android, iPhone, and iPod touch users are averaging 79 to 80 minutes per day engaged with apps. This is phenomenal usage.

Flixster, the leading online destination for movie enthusiasts, touts 30 million unique visitors per month and 2 billion movie ratings. Flixster found that mobile apps provided superior user engagement over their mobile Web page. Flixster apps offer an easy way to share movie choices and meet-ups with movie-going friends because it combines movie information with social networking. Flixster now has 11 apps built for various platforms including Facebook, MySpace, iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android. The “Movies” app is said to be installed on one in five iPhones in the United States. Eight million users engage with the apps, adding to the 20 million unique visitors Flixster attracts on the Internet. Using mobile apps, Flixster’s mobile user base more than doubled in 2009.

Demand for App Distribution Drives Mobile Ad Innovation

Publishers are using mobile advertising campaigns to propel their app to the top of app store lists. AdMob routinely sells burst campaigns to help marketers achieve prominence in the Apple App Store. Being on the top of app store lists fuels revenue, whereas not making it can plunge an application into the great abyss. Of course, the cost to buy your way into the top 25 free apps in the App Store is growing fast: $10,000 in October 2008, $11,000 in December 2008, and $20,000 in March 2009. The coveted number one spot can cost as much as $250,000. It’s tough to make these numbers work without a strong business model.

New promotional methods are leading to new, innovative distribution alternatives for mobile apps. Here are some examples:

• Rebates (paid apps)
  • iPhone Game Rebates
• Free for a day (paid apps)
  • Free App A Day
  • Great App a Day
  • Free Game of the Day
• Free for virtual goods (free apps)
  • Tapjoy
• Cross-promotion in-app advertising
  • Flurry: AppCircle

Free Apps Are Underserved

Apple knows it. Apple acquired mobile advertising firm Quattro Wireless in January 2010, investing $275 million. Apple launched in-app purchase support in October 2009, to support the monetization of free apps. Popular opinion is that Apple will feature app ads in the App Store similar to AdSense.

Google knows it. Google is investing in a mobile future by signing an agreement to acquire AdMob, a mobile display advertising company, for $750 million. It was reported in November 2009 that AdMob served over 10.2 billion ad impressions per month, up from 1.6 billion a year ago.

Game developers know it. Backflip Studios CEO, Julian Farrior said he uses its free app (Paper Toss, now with 17 million downloads generating 400 million impressions per month) to cross-sell Backflip’s paid apps and generate ad revenue. “Free impressions give you a lot of flexibility in terms of how you run your business,” Farrior explained at the recent 2010 Game Developers Conference.

SGN, iPhone game publisher, CEO Randy Breen said, “The charter of this company is free apps with micro-transactions.” He predicts the mobile market will become larger than Facebook.

click to enlarge

The power of free is driving the success of mobile app marketing. Users continue to demand apps with value – be it time-killers (entertainment) or time-savers (information) – and the companies that can figure out the way to leverage this monumental demand while promoting their mobile apps for free will be the long-term winners.

Rob Weber, Vice President of Business Development and Co-Founder, W3i, LLC
Rob is an Internet marketing pioneer with over ten, profitable years evolving W3i in the consumer application industry.

There are many options available for building desktop applications; however, before you start there are three things you must consider. First, decide whether to build a cross-platform application or target a specific operating system. Next, choose the development tools to build your application. Finally, select an installation technology to deliver your application. Each of these decisions depends on a number of factors including your target audience, the type of application that you are building, and the distribution method that you plan to use.

In choosing a development tool, first consider the platforms (operating systems) on which your application must run. The top three operating systems are:  Windows, Mac and Linux. If you want your application to run on more than one of these, you should consider using tools that provide cross-platform capabilities, such as Eclipse, Flash and Adobe AIR. These types of tools can speed development and give you a larger audience. However, they can also add significant overhead in terms of distribution size, and may affect performance. Carefully examine the run-time requirements of the development tools you choose to determine the impact on the performance of your application and the ability to distribute it. Consider your distribution method—if users are downloading your application then size and dependence on additional components is a concern, whereas if you are going distribute your application on a CD or similar media, then size is generally of little concern. Also, review the run-time requirements of your development tool. You will most likely need to distribute extra software or require your users to download and install additional components. Some tools allow you to bundle these components with your application, but others may require a separate download from their site, which can complicate your installation process.

A more traditional approach to application development is to use a programming language such as C++, Pascal, or Java. This method requires a higher level of technical skill, and your application will not be as readily platform independent, although platform independence is still achievable. There are many development tools available, such as Visual Studio, C++Builder, and CodeWarrior. The advantage with traditional development is that you can make smaller applications that are less dependent on other software or components. If you are targeting a single platform and have the technical resources, this is a very good option for building desktop applications.

With traditional development there are many frameworks and code libraries available to help speed your development time. Frameworks provide a structure to build on while hiding much of the complexities of the operating system. Libraries add additional functionality and simplify common tasks such as parsing XML files or manipulating images. Frameworks and libraries are great for reducing your work, but take care in choosing them because they typically add significant size and may require additional run-time components. Also pay careful attention to code quality, especially when using open-source or third party offerings. Some popular frameworks include MFC and .NET (Visual Studio) and VCL (C++Builder). SourceForge is an excellent source for obtaining open-source frameworks and code libraries.

Installers are a very important part of building desktop applications. It is the first thing your users see, so it is important that it looks professional and works properly. There are many good tools available, such as InstallShield, Advanced Installer and NSIS. Most tools produce a self-running executable and some can also produce MSI files which use the Windows Installer technology. A typical installation program has a wizard to walk the user through the installation steps. The wizard starts with a Welcome screen which typically displays a description of the application and a EULA (end user license agreement). Next, optional items are presented, the installation begins, and a progress bar is shown.  Your application should also include an uninstall option, typically located under Control Panel – Add/Remove Programs. All of the major installation tools provide these functions automatically.

Software developers are always looking for ways to monetize their offerings, and because the current trend is to distribute applications for free, it can be difficult to generate revenue from your products. W3i’s InstallIQ technology can help you earn revenue from your distribution by offering additional products during your installation process. Implementation is simple—InstallIQ manages the wizard process and runs your installation along with any optional products the user has also selected. To use the InstallIQ wrapper, you need a silent version of your installer, which most install tools can do with a simple command-line switch so there is no extra work involved.

Building desktop applications can be a daunting task, but there are many tools and resources available to help with this effort. You must plan carefully and assess your needs to ensure that you choose the right tools and platforms. When you are ready to distribute, the W3i Application Network, featuring InstallIQ technology, is a great way to recoup your development costs, especially if you are offering your application for free.

Bill Zitomer, Software Development Team Lead, W3i, LLC
Bill uses his over twenty years experience to build W3i’s core desktop products as well as back-end technologies.

W3i Moves Data Center to Increase Security, Reliability, and Scalability for the W3i Application Network

ST. CLOUD, MINNESOTA, March 23, 2010 — The W3i Application Network is growing rapidly, averaging 9.6 million installs each month.  W3i made a strategic decision to move its data center to increase the level of security, reliability, and scalability of its operations.  W3i relocated its primary data center operations from St. Cloud, MN, to its new state-of-the-art, co-located facility in Chicago, IL. 

W3i’s data center operations are the “brains” behind its flagship product, InstallIQ, W3i’s proprietary installation manager.  Its data center is responsible for processing millions of daily requests from its installation client that determine what advertisements best match its user’s preferences.  Vice President of Information Systems, Jeff Bollinger explains the reasoning behind the move.  “Given the growth and increased strategic focus on delivering installs via W3i’s InstallIQ platform, the decision to move made sense for both the company and its partners.  Our St. Cloud data center was acceptable through our first ten years of growth, however, our new Chicago facility provides increased resiliency which is something we and our partners have grown to expect.” 

The new data center facility features Tier III construction standards which include distinct distribution paths, compartmentalization and concurrently maintainable infrastructure.  All of these features mean an increased level of reliability for W3i advertisers and publishers.  According to the Uptime Institute, facilities with Tier III type construction standards on average provide 99.98% site uptime per year.

Moving locations also gave W3i an opportunity to upgrade its core network and computing platforms.  The new data center features extensive virtualization technology in both computing (VMWare) and storage (Compellent Technologies).  The introduction of these new technologies has helped drive down capital and operating costs while at the same time increase the resiliency of our operations.  “The efficiency and flexibility that virtualization introduces is stunning,” states Bollinger.  “We’ve been able to reduce our physical server count by about 70%.” 

Virtualization is not new to W3i’s IT group.  A year ago W3i signed a deal with Seattle based SkyTap Inc. to provide cloud-based computing resources which enable a robust desktop testing platform for W3i’s Marketing Operations group.  “We are very pleased with the flexibility we see with our QA group using Skytap virtualization.  With the introduction of VMWare into our new Data Center we are now able to extend the success we saw with SkyTap into our core infrastructure operations,” says Bollinger. 

W3i’s Business Intelligence group is also excited about the new facility and architecture.  W3i’s publishers and advertisers benefit from W3i’s robust data warehouse platform which provides multi-dimensional reporting via W3i’s Associate Reporting portal.  “With our new computing and storage infrastructure we can decrease the amount of time it takes to process data, providing our associates with even more reliable delivery of information,”  comments Tim Laqua, Business Intelligence Team Lead at W3i.

The move ensures that W3i continues to deliver mass monetization and distribution opportunities to consumer application publishers and advertisers, now with even greater levels of service provided by its new Chicago facility.

About W3i

W3i, an application network that increases revenue, distribution and engagement for consumer applications and add-ons, enables publishers to provide quality consumer apps for free by recommending relevant applications during the installation process giving advertisers a mass, performance driven distribution channel.  The W3i Application Network uses InstallIQ, W3i’s proprietary Windows installation manager, the first installation manager to be certified in the TRUSTe Trusted Download Program.  Tested and optimized on over 350 million installs–currently over 9.6 million installs monthly and growing, W3i will prove to be a valued partner in growing your application business. To learn more, visit the W3i Application Network.

Contact:
Deborah Manthei
Director of Marketing Communications
320-257-7571
deborah.manthei@W3i.com

Different forms of media engage consumers in different ways. Social media apps can’t engage the audience in the same way a Web site, mobile, or desktop application can.

Marketers, stop trying to force the utility of your Web site into a social application. It won’t work! Unlike a Web site, the goal of a social media app is to get people to share their action with friends, thus creating the viral effect marketers relish.

Social media apps must have a simple interface and an entertainment factor (or other value to the consumer) to start engagement, as well as an easy-to-share interface to create the desired consumer response. Let me explain with several examples:

Trek Me and Tweet in Klingon were created by Friend2Friend, as part of an integrated social media campaign across both Facebook and Twitter to create buzz for Atari’s February 2 release of “Star Trek Online,” a highly anticipated MMO game. The combined applications resulted in more than 20 million social impressions for the brand, and helped build the “Star Trek” Facebook fan base to 40,000 in advance of the game’s release.

In Trek Me, the Facebook application, “Star Trek” devotees can easily morph images of themselves or their friends into exotic and detailed backgrounds and characters developed for “Star Trek Online.” With a simple click, the picture is uploaded and edited; with a couple more clicks, the image is posted and shared with friends. “Star Trek Online” is entertaining and intuitive with an easy-to-share interface.

In addition, Atari includes an easy way to preorder the game to accelerate sales. This is an engaging application for Facebook users, where the branded element actually enhances the consumer’s experience and increases the social appeal.

Atari’s Tweet in Klingon is a social media application for use with Twitter. Twitter is all about tweeting a short message to your followers. So, Tweet in Klingon enables “Star Trek” fans to publish their messages in an easy-to-use text generator and then post it on Twitter – in Klingon.

Again, the interface is simple to use: type your tweet in English and click continue to progress to your Twitter login page, log in, and post. More than 60,000 tweets were sent in Klingon, each one from a branded microsite with information and visuals from the “Star Trek Online” game. The app provided entertainment and spread the “Star Trek Online” message to its target demographic at the same time.

Success factors for winning social media apps:

• Make the social media application “go viral” by making it easy for everyone to participate. Rather than appealing to people with design skills with a promotion for best video or graphic, include all the tools to make it easy for everyone to participate, as in Trek Me, where the consumer can upload an existing Facebook picture or snap one from their Webcam and simply place it in the various backgrounds and characters included in the application. Similarly, the Klingon translator lets anyone tweet in Klingon, not just hardcore Trekkies who know the language.
• The process should be simple, but the visuals should communicate quality. Whenever someone morphs themselves into a Cardassian or tweets in Klingon, they showcase the fantastic visuals which create the great visual experience they will get in “Star Trek Online.”
• The brand theme must be consistent. While these apps enable “user generated content,” the users put their content into a controlled environment that is consistent with the brand. Both Trek Me and Tweet in Klingon appeal to people who are already big “Star Trek” fans, in part because the brand experience in these apps is consistent with what “Star Trek” fans already love. Tweet in Klingon was also monitored to remove profanity.
• Design for sharing. By enabling the consumer to easily create something personal and giving them the interface to share, the outcome is natural – consumers share their creation with friends, increasing the chances that the app goes viral.

Let’s look at one more example. Vitamin Water used a Facebook app to crowd source its next flavor. By having fans vote and collaborate in the FlavorCreator app posted on Vitamin Water’s Facebook fan page, it created excitement and engagement with the brand.

The FlavorCreator made it easy for fans to participate and share the experience while focusing the community on realistic flavors. Adding more allure, it sweetened the promotion with $5,000 cash to the winning flavor creator.

Appropriate interaction with the brand, entertaining, easy sharing, and motivation made for a winning social media application. Vitamin Water’s Facebook fan page now has more than 11,000 fans.

Branded applications are excellent tools for increasing fan engagement and loyalty while providing for the viral spread from advocates to their friends. Winning social media apps create an entertaining, unencumbered consumer experience appropriate to the brand, with a built-in interface to encourage sharing.  So easy to say, but so difficult to execute.

When planning an application, make sure that it engages the audience appropriately for the media. Social apps are covered above. Desktop apps are an excellent way to engage the audience when content provides daily utility – like weather updates or music. Browser add-ons are a great way to extend your brand by providing consumers additional functionality within the browser experience.

Mobile is perfect for location-based information and for an Internet interface when the consumer is away from their computer. Keep this in mind and all your apps will be winners.

Rob Weber, Vice President of Business Development and Co-Founder, W3i, LLC
Rob is an Internet marketing pioneer with over ten, profitable years evolving W3i in the consumer application industry.

ST. CLOUD, MN, March 19, 2010 – Freeze.com launched its Video Saver today.  This screensaver can showcase most videos located on YouTube®, a personal video, or YouTube® Feed.  By downloading the free desktop application and adding the code or URL for a video or video feed, your desktop will play that video as its screensaver.

 Features of Freeze.com’s Video Screensaver include multiple-monitor support, video looping and the ability to customize quality, sound, and more.  The Video Screensaver cross-promotes various free consumer applications using a proprietary installation manager, InstallIQ™, so that it can be installed by the consumer for free.

 “Now you can laugh every time you come back to your PC by having your monitor play your all-time favorite YouTube® video,” comments Rob Weber, Vice President and Co-Founder of W3i.

 About W3i

W3i, an application network that increases revenue, distribution and engagement for consumer applications and add-ons, enables publishers to provide quality consumer apps for free by recommending relevant applications during the installation process giving advertisers a mass, performance-driven distribution channel.  W3i owns and operated several consumer sites where consumers can download quality apps for free—video players, music players, games, screensavers, and more. To learn more, visit the W3i Application Network or Freeze.com, Screensaver.com, Wallpapers.com, and EZtoCreate.com.

 Contact:

Deborah Manthei
Director of Marketing Communications
320-257-7571
deborah.manthei@W3i.com

The names of companies and products mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

ST. CLOUD, MN, March 16, 2010 – W3i announced today that Jim Biermeier has joined W3i as Director of Business Development.

“Jim is a strong sales leader with over 20 years of software sales experience,” said Rob Weber, Vice President of Business Development and Co-Founder of W3i.  “He understands what consumer software/application marketers need to increase their revenue and how W3i can address their challenges.”

“This is a great time to be in the consumer application business,” Jim said. “W3i offers a unique distribution channel for consumer apps by capitalizing on the moment the consumer is in the installation mindset. W3i creates an additional source of revenue for consumer application publishers by leveraging the demand for their free desktop and browser apps on a massive scale.  It is exciting to be on the forefront of this emerging distribution channel and to have the opportunity to work with consumer app marketers in growing their businesses.”

Previously Jim held several management positions at Digital River, where as one of Digital River’s first fifty employees, he spearheaded account acquisition and retention.  He also worked in sales for Premis Corporation, enterprise software systems, and Concourse Corporation, computer-based and video-based training solutions. 

About W3i:
W3i, an application network that increases revenue, distribution and engagement for consumer applications and add-ons, enables publishers to provide quality consumer apps for free by recommending relevant applications during the installation process giving advertisers a mass, performance driven distribution channel.  The W3i Application Network uses InstallIQ, W3i’s proprietary Windows installation manager, the first installation manager to be certified in the TRUSTe Trusted Download Program.  Tested and optimized on over 350 million installs–currently over 9.6 million installs monthly, W3i will prove to be a valued partner in growing your consumer application business. To learn more, visit the W3i Application Network.

Contact:
Deborah Manthei
Director of Marketing Communications
320-257-7571
deborah.manthei@W3i.com

Affiliates that drive a lot of traffic always expect better rates.  However, quality traffic trumps quantity every time.  It is essential to understand the demographics of your current traffic and how to attract more of the users that actually value the offer.  Advertisers search for traffic that generates high quality leads.

It sounds simple enough, right? Wrong.  The most difficult hurdle I have, as an affiliate manager, is the old school way of thinking, the belief that the higher the lead quantity, the higher the rates.  In reality, it is higher lead quality that garners better rates.

Some of the factors that influence quality are:

1. Know your audience – Niche audiences can perform much better in generating quality leads than mass audiences.  Understanding what drives a niche audience makes it easier to find affiliate offers that match their interests.  If you have mass traffic, try to determine if you can segment the traffic to gain a better understanding of specific target audiences.
2.  Original Content with Specific Key Words - To attract a “niche” audience, it is imperative you have quality content that can be found by search spiders.  Identify what your target audience is looking for and include it on your web site. 
3. Update Content Regularly – Letting a web site with great content go dormant will not grow your business.  Share your passion and update your content continuously to keep the search spiders working to your advantage.

The trick to success is to attract a specific audience with enough scale to be meaningful.  As AOL mentioned in their earnings call, “We have a content plan which is based on hitting very important audiences with content that matters to them,” comments Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL.  You may never get to the scale of AOL, but build your site on solid marketing principles and you will be on your way to maximizing revenue with affiliate lead quality.

 If fun, downloadable consumer apps interest your audience, be sure to check out the W3i Affiliate Program.  Top performing offers include downloads for music, video, games, social, and desktop entertainment.

 Joan Jones, Account Executive, W3i, LLC
Joan is the guardian of Affiliate relationships at W3i, providing resources and solutions to strategic accounts. 

The Challenge
Going live with an advertiser’s offer is only the beginning when distributing through the W3i Application Network.  As with landing pages, the challenge is to optimize the critical elements so that ROI is optimized.      

The Solution
W3i provides consultative and testing services for advertisers to increase acceptance rates.  One of the first things we look at is the disclosure screen itself.  The disclosure screen is the screen shown to the user within the installation manager, InstallIQ, that discloses the required information about the application.  Ultimately the goal is to improve acceptance rates.  It works like this, W3i mocks up multiple disclosure screens based on the findings of previous tests.  W3i runs tests on the disclosure screen mocks showing the various screens to users to determine which one has the highest acceptance rate.  W3i replaces the original disclosure screen with the one that performs the best. 

The Results
An example of a disclosure screen test that W3i recently ran was for a security application.  There was a 6.45% gain in acceptance rate with one of the versions tested. Needless to say, that version was rolled out.

Here are some things that W3i found to perform better in terms of improved acceptance rates with disclosure screens, but ultimately testing can only determine what works best for each particular application:

• Illustrating what the software does instead of having multiple useless graphics
• Having the copy left aligned
• Showing the functionality of the applications simply
• Trying to limit the amount of information on the screen to avoid crowding

Following is an example of these tips at work on an internal W3i product disclosure screen:

The top image is a control disclosure screen for one of W3i’s internal products.  The bottom image is a test version that had a 2.48% improved acceptance rate.

Find Out More
To learn more about optimizing within the W3i Application Network, contact Nicole Przybilla at nicole.przybilla@w3i.com or call 320-257-7500 ext. 1020.

Nicole Przybilla, Account Executive, W3i, LLC
Nicole focuses on growing W3i business relationships, making sure the client has what they need to help them be successful. If they aren’t happy, she isn’t happy. 

Over the past few years, our Business Intelligence group developed solutions under the SCRUM Agile development methodology.  The SCRUM methodology provides a superb framework for the development process, however, we started to encounter shortfalls with regard to widespread understanding of what information was available for consumption and, more importantly, how to leverage that information to derive business value.

After stepping back and taking a look at how we as a Business Intelligence Team architected, developed, and released our solutions, we were hard pressed to locate a flaw in the process – Development commitments were being met every sprint, team members were engaged and enjoyed their work, the information made available by our solutions was accurate and timely.  Why weren’t more people using this new information?  Why hadn’t we taken over the world yet with this new found insight?

“Because we never fully explained how to use it.”

Well, that’s not entirely true as ad-hoc training sessions occurred quite frequently; and we even held multiple, large-scale sessions throughout the years, but the argument was made that our priorities focused largely on solution development and minimally on education.  In hindsight, it is quite ridiculous to assume that the existence of new information is intrinsically valuable – information is only as valuable as we make it.

This realization threw a little bit of a wrench in our well-oiled SCRUM sprints as there was now this new need, “show and tell” if you will.  SCRUM has a mechanism for this in the form of a Business Review where developers demonstrate what was created, walk through new features and interfaces check off functional requirements and illustrate how the solution meets all specified acceptance criteria.  Traditionally, this business review happens between sprint iterations directly after the previous iteration’s stories are released.  While we faithfully conducted Business Reviews to introduce our solutions to business users – that is all we did, introduce them.

We have since committed to setting aside a certain percentage of every Business Intelligence Developer’s resources each sprint to spend time working with these solutions and presenting compelling demonstrations of how to leverage these solutions to derive business value, support initiatives, and, of course, conquer the world.

Never get too wrapped up in all your business intelligence – you may lose sight of the business.

Tim Laqua, Business Intelligence Team Lead, W3i, LLC
Tim uses his three years experience in Business Intelligence and 10+ years in the field of Software Development to lead his team here at W3i.

IPTV is at the forefront for many top consumer tech companies. At the CES show in January, Samsung announced the launch of Samsung Apps, a multi-device application store which would make apps available for a range of devices, including HDTV’s. As part of their announcement, Samsung named several content partners which were already on-board, including Blockbuster, USA Today and others. Yahoo is also one of the big players in the web TV app space with their TV widgets (http://connectedtv.yahoo.com/services/tv-widgets).  Yahoo has apps like YouTube, Amazon Video on Demand, Blockbuster, Twitter and TV Guide.

So, just what will be the killer apps for IPTV? I will explore some obvious, and not so obvious, killer apps for IPTV.

The IPTV Apps Already Being Consumed By Early Adopters

Content Discovery Apps for Long Tail Video & Professionally Produced Movies/TV: YouTube and start-up Clicker will compete with each other to be the TV guide of the future.  For movies, Netflix and Blockbuster are already providing on demand solutions for their customers. To be the killer app, these video services need to understand who is in the living room. If I am looking for content for just myself, I am likely to tune into business news or a historical documentary, if my wife, daughter and I are all sitting in the room, we are likely to watch American Idol as we all have at least some level of interest in it.

Content Discovery Apps for Music: Many televisions are already coming pre-loaded with Pandora. Whether you have friends over, or are simply looking for background music while you are doing something else, services like Pandora and Slacker provide a nice alternative to the radio or a personal music collection.

News/Weather: USA Today and AccuWeather.com were named as content partners for the Samsung App. The key question in my mind is, “what content will these companies showcase in the form of an app that will be more useful than simply tuning into a news or weather cable station?”

On-Screen Caller ID: Definitely not the killer app, but having caller id on your television is a nice utility to have.

Photo Viewing: Flicker and Picasa are already available for IPTV purposes. Browsing through photos on a giant high def television with your friends and family makes a lot more sense than crowding around a small desktop monitor.

The Future IPTV Apps That May be the True Killer Apps

Apps that Interact with Shows Themselves: These will likely take many forms.  Let’s consider several examples:

• You are watching Vikings versus Packers and the widget shows you the box score on the side or does polls like “should they go for it.”
• You could use Twitter or Facebook to see the crowd’s comments or your friend’s comments that are relevant to the program you are watching.
• You are watching a movie and a movie widget allows you to see information about the movie such as actors, directors, year released, reviews, etc.
• You are watching a show like American Idol and are able to cast your vote through your TV instead of calling in.

Social Media- Twitter was announced as a part of the Samsung CES press release. I would expect top existing social media players like Twitter and Facebook to emerge with top apps for IPTV. Wouldn’t it be cool to see your Twitter stream on a giant HDTV television or flip through your friend’s Facebook photos easily on your big screen?

Games- Today, consumers who want to play games on their televisions rely on consoles. Will they tomorrow? One scrappy start-up named OnLive is betting that you’ll play games directly through an internet connection. 

Family Calendars- Right now, it is common to still find a family calendar hanging on a refrigerator with various important dates scribbled on it. Why not turn tomorrow’s living room into a central calendar for the family, and sync up everyone’s calendars together using IPTV? The utility of a Windows app like Cozi would make for a nice background on an HDTV.

Video Call- How cool would it be to be to chat with loved ones on a giant screen, as if they are sitting in your living room? I expect existing video call players like Skype, ooVoo, and Logitech to compete to provide you with this type of functionality. Take video calling one step further, and imagine the use of 3D television capabilities to do video calling.

Now that we have the IPTV killer apps out of the way, how are you likely to gain access to them? This will be an important question for app marketers, as it will change the way they think about distribution. There is a heavyweight fight going between where the widgets/downloads will be placed:

• On your TV
• On a box like Roku or Boxee.tv
• On your video game machine like Xbox 360 or PS3
• On other devices like a Blue Ray player
• On a laptop with wired or wireless connection to your TV

If you disagree with my ideas for killer apps for IPTV, have a fantasy IPTV app of your own, or care to provide any other commentary on IPTV app trends, please share your perspective by adding a comment to this blog.

Rob Weber, Vice President of Business Development and Co-Founder, W3i, LLC
Rob is an Internet marketing pioneer with over ten, profitable years evolving W3i in the consumer application industry.