One (Korean) App Store to Rule Them All??

Ok. This was important blog post….

a while ago. Hah!

This was a post some years ago (March 2010!) Just thought it will be nice to post up again. New faces for a lot of the people. So much has changed, so much has been the same.

———

So some big news in mobile industry for Korea is that the three telecom carriers of Korea–SK Telecom, Korea Telecom (KT) and LG Telecom–all got together and agreed (to try) to form a unified Korean mobile app store at the behest of the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), Korea’s regulator for broadcasting and telecommunications. On the handset side, Samsung and LG were asked but haven’t gotten on board at this point (and this author doubts they ever will–or at least not Samsung).

This sudden desire by Telecos et al to make “frienemies” with eachother is basically the result of iPhone’s success here (400,000 units since its launch in Nov 09, which considered a huge success)… and with the imminent rise of smartphones and the associated appstore craze. In other words, Korean mobile makers are now on the defensive for the first-time on their home turf ( its something Nokia failed to do after many many years and attempts), and carriers are seeing the “writing on the wall”.

That’s all fine and good, but but does anyone think a big unified-Korea apps store will ACTUALLY happen?  I mean, even the government is backing this play and look at this nice picture of all the carriers shaking hands ready to make a Korean Telecom Fellowship to do Frodo proud.

I’ll go on a limb here and say: Sorry, I don’t buy it.  +_+

There just waay too much proverbial water, rocks, dams, egos, red-tape et al under the bridge for it to manifest.

The more interesting question is: Should it happen?

I have to say: YES. In fact, it’ll probably be the best move Korean companies, including the “Nation of Samsung”, could do to for themselves and for Korean mobile.

Everyone agrees that fragmentation and the gazillion mobile platforms is a pain for developers and an obstacle for app stores to take off, ie: its a big problem. Apple won that game and every is in scamble mode to catch-up.

But Apple-schmapple!! The iTunes app store has what? 200,000? 300,000 apps? So many apps that they can brag… “There’s an app for that?”

PBBFFTT!!! What-ever.  I’ll see your measly 200,000+ apps…. and raise you a few MILLION.
You heard me.

Millions. 0_o;;

Korea mobile apps number (combined for the three telecoms) is in the MILLIONS. Yes, millions. Again, for the back row:

There are an estimated 4 to 5 million downloadable apps (NOT including music).

So, allow me to quote Mr. Will Hunting: “How you like dem App..les??!!!!” (sorry, had to say it).

Even if that number is a wild over estimate by an Nth degree, it still blows Apple outta the water, and one can imagine unleashing a horde of cool Korean apps via one simple-to-use, unified app store. “One (Korean) App Store to Rule Them All!!” is right. That would be a serious “App Hallyu” (Korean Wave) and would certainly give even the Job man a good humbling (for all of ten minutes…but still).

The scary thing is that number is probably near correct. You have to remember, Koreans have been doing this mobile thing for a while now (decade?) is leading the world with WiBro and DMB networks, and have been raised on broadband since near the internet’s inception in Korea.  Simply put, yes, the rumors are true, Koreans love their gadgets and phones, and always have.  Its not a big leap to already have such robust, saturated mobile content markets.

Then why don’t (or haven’t) Korean carriers and handset manufacturers make a unified app store and stop the Apple (and Android) invasion?

The short of it is that Koreans, and the Korean conglomerates, and Korean carriers are also ultra competitive and very protective (love affair with proprietary systems) and as a result have all built walled-gardens, within the overall walled-garden….  then threw in a few moats in for good measure.

This is why: you still can’t just put an mp3 on your (local) Samsung phone without needing 20 steps for converting to its proprietary protocols first; why although Androi phone is selling well, few realize that you can’t actually purchase any Android apps for it because Google payment gateway doesn’t work in Korea; why iPhone Game Apps (biggest sellers of the App store) have to re-categorized as Entertainment apps to avoid the Korean Game Regulatory Board approval…. etcetera… etcetera.

Take even a fraction of these existing Korean apps global via a unified store, and Korean carriers as well as handset manufacturers can have a real shot at turning the Apple tide in favor of a “(Korean) Wave.

So, the motivation and strategy is sound, imho, and government backing is huge in this market, but I remain more than a little skeptical that “they” will ever pull it off. The recently launched SKTelcom’s AppStore is already a sinking ship by all indications, so they might have some incentive to save face by shifting to a consolidation play. However, KT is in bed with Apple, and LG isn’t even in the game. The bigger issue is that even if the carriers managed to get their collective act together and get on board with the unified plan, its not a real party unless Samsung gets on-board as well… and Samsung just recently launched its own development platform, Bada (which is receiving favorable reviews) and pumping out Android phones, so its hard to imagine the Nation of Samsung will want to jump their own ship so easily (or at all).

Don’t get me wrong… again.. they SHOULD. With all the talk we hear (those in the market) of making a better globalized, Korea; and cultivating its IT and mobile markets; and new legislation that yadayada: it just makes sense. They should all byte-the-bullet, so to speak, pony-up and freaking make a kick@rse “One Ring of Korean App Power”.

Say it again folks: 4-5 MILLION apps from the game-and-gadget-obsessed-Korea mobile world unleashed upon you all!!

ROWR!!

Unfortunately, I think even Frodo might find this one journey he’d pass up for the easier Apple and Androids pickings in the Shire.

Time will tell…

Reference:
이통 3사 `통합 앱스토어` 추진

Mobile Operators Prodded to Create Unified App Store

Korean Mobile Operators to Cap Marketing Costs

Mobile internet ready for take-off in Korea

S. Korean Mobile Carriers to Cut Fees

and LOTR. lol