CEO of InfoMedia Joel Comm claims that the iPhone applications platform is ripe for personal, branded applications which will help users stay in touch with your persona or company. As an example, Joel has created his own, personal application which can be found in the App Store.
They've taken the concept a step further, however, allowing everyone to create their own personal app without any effort or programming knowledge. The idea is explained in detail over at www.mobilesyndicationservice.com, and although pricing plans aren't available yet (InfoMedia claims they will be available mid January 2009), you can already apply for your personal app.
The actual application consists of a branded splash screen with a message of the day. Click on it, and a web browser window will open within the application; the web page that opens, of course, can consist of all kinds of info based on your preferences.
The implementation is rather simplistic and leaves a lot to be desired, but the idea sounds interesting. The question is, is the iPhone application platform ready for these types of mini-apps? Besides the practical problem of having tens of thousands of such apps in the App Store, I'm afraid that after a while users will simply stop caring about them. It's a situation similar to the early days of the internet, when everyone had to have a "personal page," which consisted of your bio, pictures of your cat and a couple of words about your interests and current endeavors. Those were later largely replaced by blogs, which offer far more in the way of content; and you can already read blogs on the iPhone.
Interested in more iPhone resources? Check these out:
- Top 30 iPhone Apps for Organization and Productivity
- 50+ iPhone Apps to Enhance Your Photo and Video Experience