Guest post: Apple’s EM stumbling blocks | beyondbrics

Guest post: Apple’s EM stumbling blocks | beyondbrics:

"The App Store has recently celebrated a milestone, achieving $10bn in app sales since its inception. Something certainly remarkable, but how far will this success stretch beyond the western world? With the western market reaching saturation, there are swathes of potential new customers in markets including Latin America, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa who are eager for mobile content.

But can Apple and other players emulate their success further afield?

The ‘Trojan horse’ model that Apple employed in the west, rapidly growing the App Store whilst leaving mobile operators out of the game, will encounter one major stumbling block in emerging markets: the App Store is locked inside very expensive devices that aren’t affordable for a high proportion of consumers. For those who can look past the price point, once you’ve reached the App Store rich with thousands of applications, you need banking facilities to access the content. "

'via Blog this'