The Palm Pre has just gotten an infusion of awesome: “after a successful early access program,” Palm is making the Mojo Software Development Kit available to all interested app developers. This  sure is going to stir some excitement among the development community as well as Pre’s existing (and potential) users.

It’s all about the ecosystem

As Apple’s App Store has demonstrated, boy does the ecosystem matter! iPhone/iPod Touch apps now serve as conversation starters for complete strangers! Users provide valuable feedback to app developers, who work hard to improve their apps and delight users. And that is power: for developers, for Apple, and for users. Now that its Mojo SDK is widely available, Palm is giving Pre developers the ability to empower users of the device, much in the same way Apple has done. In reality, Palm may have several advantages over Apple in this space. One advantage is already being capitalized on by Palm: the company is taking the community-oriented approach, having already created forums for its developers and invited them to share information and insights about developing with the SDK. This is in high contrast to the tight-lipped stance Apple initially took, prohibiting developers from discussing the act of coding using the SDK. In this regard, developing for the Pre should be a much more collaborative processes than it was for the iPhone/iPod Touch. Once new applications can be submitted to the App Catalog (this fall), Palm can further play on its greater degree of “openness” by having a less stringent (read: moronic) application submission process. For Apple, approving submitted applications is a dark spot in the App Store’s otherwise very bright reputation. Palm can gain developer’s respect (as well as attract new developers) by being open about the exact criteria to have an app approved.

The stats

By last count, Apple’s App Store has 38,075 active apps for sale. While there aren’t any concrete numbers regarding the amount of apps available for the Pre, suffice to say it’s not many: at launch, the SDK was available only to a handful developers (although we’ve received word that that number is actually in the “thousands”). While Palm developers have some catching up to do with Apple when it comes to the breadth of available apps for the Pre, it doesn’t necessarily need to match Apple in the number of apps available. How many fart apps do your really need in a mobile app store? I’d say we can do without those, and so can the Pre.

On top of that, I believe that simple business scenarios will push developers to flock to the Pre. First of all, the Pre is the closest competitor to Apple’s iPhone juggernaut by a long shot. No other smartphone comes even close. Having said that, if there is a market that needs to be served in the Pre’s App Catalog, simple laws of supply and demand dictate that developers (or someone else) will take advantage of it. This is especially true once the Pre is made available to a broader market on Verizon.

Submission process

Finally, Palm has announced that the submission process for its App Catalog will be opened to all developers beginning this fall. Some have taken issue with this.  For example, John Paczkowski of the Wall Street Journal thinks that this will be to Palm’s detriment:

“It doesn’t seem wise to delay the submissions process when the lack of SDK-access has already hampered development of applications for the device. After all, Palm (PALM) has a lot of catching up to do if it hopes to offer even a decent alternative to Apple’s (AAPL) iTunes App Store, which currently boasts around 65,000 applications, the work of some 100,000 developers. The SDK and associated documentation can be downloaded immediately from a new developer portal – Palm webOSdev – at developer.palm.com by any interested developer with a valid email address.”

I disagree on multiple accounts. First, if Palm says it will be ready in the fall, it has a good reason to do so – and not because it’s deliberately trying to be “unwise.” The real reason for the fall time frame is because certain aspects of the system simply aren’t ready; certain parts need to be thought-through, engineered, tested, etc. Coming in as the underdog, Palm can’t afford to make mistakes here: I would rather see Palm handle third-party apps right the first time around and take its time getting there, than to rush through and make a bunch of mistakes that will dissatisfy users and developers upon launch. Second, Palm was late to the multi-touch game to begin with. It took Apple over a year to get its SDK + App Store in place and rolling. If Palm delivers its App Catalog + approval process this fall as promised, it would cut Apple’s time to market in half. That’s pretty good in my book.

The Mojo Software Development Kit is available for download to all interested app developers immediately, along with associated documentation, and access to the aforementioned Mojo developer forums. Palm is also working with the community to put DevCamps and other community-oriented events in place.

News of the iPhone having sold one million units during its opening weekend has been widely distributed all over the web.  This is an interesting number for more than one reason.  First, selling one million units at $199 and $299 a piece during the current economic climate is remarkable.  How so?  Let’s compare this number to the sales of the original iPhone in the summer of 2007.  The first iPhone sold anywhere between 250,000 and 700,000 units during its opening weekend.  Since this range is quite “fat,” let’s settle in the middle and assume that the actual number was 500,000 units.  Note that this was at a time when multibillion dollar banks were not failing, the world’s largest automobile manufacturer hasn’t gone under, and the Dow Jones Industrial average was trading at two times the rate as it is today.

However, the original iPhone sold for a higher price, between $500 and $600 initially (later lowered to $300 and $400).  Perhaps a better head-on comparison of sales figures would be to pit sales of the 3G S to those of the 3G.  Interestingly enough, the iPhone 3G also sold one million units during its opening weekend of sales, which was about a year ago.  Let’s use the Dow Jones Industrial Average to gauge the overall state of the economy: in July of 2008 – the month of the iPhone 3G launch – the Dow was trading around 12,000 points.  On the day of the iPhone 3G S launch, the Dow was trading around 8,550.

This tells us is that the iPhone is picking up steam with consumers.  Whether it’s in their hearts or minds, consumers are buying the iPhone in droves.  What’s remarkable is that they’re doing so in a down market – matching sales numbers to the iPhone 3G, which was being sold when overall market conditions were less cloudy.  This can mean one of two things:

• consumers are flocking to smart phones in general, and the iPhone hits the sweet spot in terms of functionality, price, and convenience, or
• consumers are flocking to the iPhone in a down market

Whether it’s the former or the latter is not yet clear.  Judging by the sales results of the Palm Pre, which sold approximately 84,000 units in its first week of sales, I’d say it’s the latter: consumers are flocking to the iPhone.  The real question, however, is how can Palm capitalize on this?

Taking a closer look at the iPhone 3G S sales numbers, we find out that the 3G S was – during U.S. launch weekend – only available in 8 countries, while the 3G was – at launch – on sale in 21 countries.  The Pre, by comparison, was only available in the U.S. and Canada.  Perhaps it would be in Palm’s best interest to make its multi-tasking slider available worldwide?  It would, if not for the fact that Palm would need to shoehorn a GSM chip in there.

ZAGG, the maker of many gadgets and gadget accessories – most notably known for its amazingly awesome invisibleSHIELD gadget protection film – is demonstrating its savvy marketing genius.  The maker of the see-through scratch-proof gadget protection film is holding a special 30% off promotion, and is doing it in a way that speaks directly to the hearts and minds of iPhone and Palm Pre fans.  ZAGG is pitting the sales of the iPhone SHIELD to the sales of the Palm Pre SHIELD, and is calling the event “Clash of the Gadgets.”  This is a perfect outing for fanboys and fangirls to vote on their favorite device of the two smartphones.  The kicker?  To cast a vote, you have to buy an invisibleSHIELD.

Scratch-Proof, patented film? Check
Lifetime warranty? Check
Military grade quality? Check
Improved Grip?  Check
Invisible protection? Check
No added bulk? Check

This is a perfect way to engage the community of iPhone and Palm Pre owners, since it

• encourages sales
• encourages the fans of one of the devices to get the word out and tell their friends to make a purchase
• keeps your beloved device from harms’ way

What more could you ask for?

PS: As of 9:40pm EST on Sunday, June 21st, the sales of the SHIELD for the iPhone are at 56%, with the Pre trailing at 44%.  It seems that the updates in numbers must be entered manually by ZAGG, because the counter is not self-updating, but rather an image that must be manually replaced by a webmaster.

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