I've mentioned this in the past, and apparently I'm not alone in my thinking that IBM Lotus customers need a consumer-facing, click-and-install App Store.

I hinted to it in The Future of Content Delivery - where one of my favorite authors keynotes Balticon, discussing how the landscape of the publishing world has changed. I even hinted to it in The Numbers Game - where I talk about getting into the App Store arena by developing mobile device applications (specifically on the iPhone/Touch platform).

Pre|Central reports that the Palm App Store been overwhelmed with application submissions, and with the App Store opening tomorrow (September 24th, 2009), I think that's a great problem to have!

From the Pre|Central article, Palm Developer Community Manager Chuq Von Rospach posted to the Palm developer discussion board the following:

We got more applications than we could handle well, which is a good problem to have. Unfortunately, it means we dropped some things on the floor, and that's bad, but with the impending "stuff" that's coming, this is all going to get a lot easier for everyone and a lot more transparent. If you didn't get a response in a timely manner, let me apologize to you. We should have done a better job on this, and I apologize for this. I'm working with the people I work with on this to try to make sure we do a better job of this moving forward. Good news is we've hired some people -- one's started, one starts next week, and the third starts the week after that, and that'll give us some great people and some new resources to make sure this gets fixed and works properly.

This brings me back to my ever-ongoing struggle with picking my next DMP: the Zune HD vs the latest iPod Touch. Specs-wise, the Zune HD is the favored product - beautiful OLED screen, HD FM Tuner, ability to go (with the dock) to 1080P video... but I've already decided that my next DMP will be the iPod Touch.

Anyone who knows me will tell you, I'm no Apple fanboy... so why the change? Simple: it's the App Store!

I know that I can buy the iPod Touch and - within minutes from purchase - begin purchasing (at a minimal price) an application that will address a real world need. I want to tweet from the road? There's an app for that! I want to post to a Blogger API-based blog? There's an app for that! Hell, I want to write code while I'm in the stands waiting for my son's football team to take the field?! There's an app for that!

The Zune HD? Sure, there's the Zune Marketplace App Store... 9 applications in total - and the only non-Game categorized applications are an MSN Weather Widget and a Calculator. Sexy huh?!

So, I'll be picking up the iPod Touch. Again, not because it's technology-wise a better product, but because of the options that are available to me post-purchase.

See, for me - as I rarely buy any big-ticket items for myself, a product designed for my sole usage that will cost ~$400USD... well, it just doesn't sit well with me. As a result, I tend to purchase a device and try to get the most out of it - via updates, upkeep, and kid-glove care - as possible. Thus, the initial purchase is simply the selection of the technology, and I have to decide from the time of adoption which product will look to have the better lifecycle.

I need my initial technology investment to grow with my needs, as well as the ever-evolving user experiences that tomorrow's gadget will bring to the table.

So being able to choose through literally thousands of applications allows me to evolve my use of the device with my needs. After all, there's an app for just about anything you need it seems.

Coming back to the Palm Pre - they have a single device in the field running the WebOS and the new Palm Pre hardware, but they have so many hungry vendors and individual developer application submissions that they have to bring on new staff to cover them all.

... So where's the Lotus App Store?

You may say it's OpenNTF. For our community, I think that's as close a fit to anything that's out there and available today. But while the solutions available on the OpenNTF catalog are some of the better applications developed for our particular platform... I don't think it's enough.

We need a simple, low-cost, consumer-focused application store - where a user of a product from the Lotus product portfolio can browse through consumer-priced applications, plug-ins, add-ons, and such. The result: you'll not only empower the user to do more with their technology investment, but you'll give them ideas on how they can better use the product.

You'll also drive vendor participation and innovation - as this is absolutely an untapped revenue stream that will breed a new level of competition.

So where do we start?

With the Zune HD and 4.0 release of the Zune Marketplace yesterday, I was a little shocked to say the least...

I have a Zune30 - the first generation Zune device - but have applied all software and firmware updates as they have launched with a fair amount of success. I like my Zune, which I primarily use for podcasts, audiobooks, (and especially podiobooks) while on-the-go, but I do of course use as a mobile photo album and something to drive the voices out of my head rock out to while I code.

It gets the job done... but it's first-gen and now several years old. I will, however, be picking up a new DMP soon - my birthday is in October - and have had my eyes on the Zune HD since the first rumors of it hit the web months ago.

As an individual consumer, I'm a "Zune shop". I have a technology investment in the device, the accessories, the media that I've purchased FOR the Zune, etc.

And as an individual consumer, I'm treated with news of just how much this device will rock. Hardware specification lists aside - which are a quite impressive read, mind you - my use (or desired use) of the device has changed. The first-gen device is bulky compared to something like the Apple iPod Touch, and is thus while not more difficult to take on the road with me (as I've been taking the same device on the road for years now), I can see that there have been marked improvements in the technology - making it faster, sleeker, and more capable.

This really becomes apparent when you look at the usage experience with today's DMPs - they're becoming more mobile computers than mobile music players. It's almost expected now to be able to install an application from a library of available apps - such as Apple's App Store - and carry a single device instead of a phone, a music player, a notebook, and something to slack off with while you're in an airport terminal waiting for your flight.

To their credit, Apple has really set the stage here... as far as the UX goes. It's not the little nuances with the iPhone/Touch platform, but the ability to - within a few clicks - install whatever application you want on your device. They've allowed their customer to master and maintain their environment, but more importantly how they intend to use the device day-to-day.

And the numbers speak to that. During Apple's "It's Only Rock-and-Roll" event, it was cited that over 20 million Touches had been sold (also mentioned, 30 million iPhones). More importantly - and from the same event - it was cited that there are over 20 thousand games available in the Apple App Store. 20,000+ options for a consumer.

So, as it was rumored that Zune Marketplace 4.0 would release an app store of it's own, I was really looking forward to seeing what would be available to us "Zune shops". I wanted to see what games and applications were available to me if I ran out today and purchased a Zune HD...

Okay - this is Microsoft, perhaps their Game section of the Zune App Store is still being worked on. So I switched over to the

Now, just in case you weren't paying attention: 20,000+ > 7. And the applications?! No Facebook or Twitter clients from launch date, but you give me a calculator and a MSN Weather plugin?! Talk about a consumer device market fail!

I had already seen the light via a podcast keynote on "The Future of Content Delivery" which talked to target audience adoption numbers and how content authors (in that case, authors... but it applied to code poets too!) should focus their efforts on the mass-adoption markets vs. niche markets if they want their content to be seen, used, and - ultimately - if said author wishes to be successful. But staring at a barren Zune Marketplace App Store - which, mind you, held 5 games that I already have on my Zune 30 (came with the device/firmware upgrades/etc.) - really sealed the deal for me.

You promise me solid client technology and a rich development platform, but from a consumer take you don't deliver a seemingly overwhelming number of options... and you simply fail.

So, what can we learn from this?

As part of the App Catalog e-commerce beta program for the Palm Pretrade; phone and future Palm webOS devices, developers will receive a 70/30 split (developer/Palm) of gross revenues generated through application sales (less applicable sales taxes). Customers will be able to easily purchase applications using Visa and MasterCard credit cards. Further details about the program and distribution model will be provided in the coming weeks. Palm expects to launch the full developer program in the United States this fall.

Those interested can check out the Palm Developer Network blog!

[ via Engadget Mobile ]