BEIJING, Jan. 5 -- While few can hope to better Apple's iPhone, content providers here are giving the competition a different complexion by focusing on its applications.

While few can hope to better Apple's iPhone, content providers here are giving the competition a different complexion by focusing on its applications.(Photo Source: Chinadaily.com.cn) Photo Gallery>>>

    

    A growing number of Chinese iPhone application (apps) developers have been vying for a slice of the Apple Store since the smart phone was officially released in the mainland last October.

    For various reasons - mostly piracy and Chinese software purchasing habits -- the phone's arrival in China has led domestic apps developers to create more for overseas users. But that has left a lot of room for growth among those committed to China's market.

    "We are still in the beginning stage in terms of the number of developers and product quality," says independent apps developer Zheng Qinyong, of Ningbo, Zhejiang province.

    "It will still take a while to consolidate the market by overcoming thresholds, accumulating experience and expanding training."

    The 31-year-old points out the China iPhone apps market is still less than 1 percent of that of the U.S.. So while a leading China app might be downloaded several dozen times daily, an application in the US Apple Store must be downloaded several thousand times a day to rank highly.

    That is why local developers, such as 139.me, are primarily looking at Western markets.

    The company's CEO Zhu Lianxing says less than 1 percent of the 1 million daily downloads of his company's 12 applications are from China. About 60 percent are from the US and 20 percent from Europe.

    "We don't really take the Chinese market into serious consideration," the 34-year-old says.

    That means developers targeting the domestic market face less competition. But they agree that it is becoming tougher for those selling on China's Apple Store.

    "It is very, very difficult for beginners to earn a lot of money now," Zhu says.

    "The Chinese market is maturing, so you need to capitalize on your comprehensive strength to stand out in the crowd."

    He says the days of people like Zheng making big money on China apps, are numbered.

    "It is much easier for team and company developers, rather than individuals, to survive and succeed," Zhu says.

    Zhu, who says his company is the leading Chinese iPhone app developer, now heads a staff of 14 and plans to expand it to 50.

    "Synergy resulting from teamwork is more likely to make their products stand out on the Billboard," he says.

    Zheng says he is already feeling the crunch of fiercer competition in the domestic market. A game he created called Lianliankan ranked No 1 on Apple Store's China Billboard in late September, when it was downloaded about 30 times daily. It now hovers around the 25th spot.

    Zheng has also developed e-books about Confucius and Mencius, which he says do not perform well, and five games for the Western markets.

    He sells each application for 0.99 U.S. dollars. They average about 45 daily downloads in total, earning him between 6,000 yuan (878 U.S. dollars) and 7,000 yuan a month.

    "Independent Chinese developers don't even need day jobs," he says.

    But those developing iPhone apps for the China market face a number of challenges, including rampant piracy, and a credit card-based billing system that most Chinese are unaccustomed to.

    This has led to the rise of websites like weiphone.com, co-founded by a self-avowed iPhone fan, who would only give his surname, Yang.

    The non-profit website is intended to serve as a communication platform for developers, he says. All applications can be downloaded for free, so revenue comes from donations and advertising.

    "Some local developers' applications, like Chinese character input software, are not likely to be authorized by Apple because of certain conflicts of interest," Yang says.

    "In such cases, they post them on their own websites, so iPhone users can still download them."

    Most of the site's applications are practical ones, such as dictionaries.

    Founder of Bokan Technologies, Wang Bo says that the newest trend in the China market is developing apps for companies.

    "Enterprise-level applications are booming because businesses know the future is in mobiles, so they're all acting very quickly," Wang says. "Whatever is online now will soon have something comparable on mobiles in the future."

    His company is working on applications for clients such as China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China and Ping An Insurance Group.

    Wang also runs iBokan Wisdom, China's first school for application developers. He says there is high demand for the classes, and the company had to turn away more than 100 people who hoped to enroll for the 50 seats offered in the first class.

    "Many of our students get job offers before graduation," he says. Some enrolled but never finished the course, he says.

    "All kinds of companies need iPhone application developers; you name it," Wang says.

    Like many insiders, Wang believes China is unique in that other platforms have a chance of becoming viable competitors with the iPhone.

    "Apple opened the door and created this model, and now all of the big companies and handset carriers are building their own apps stores," he says.

    "Globally, the iPhone is way ahead of everyone else, and there's no way anyone can catch up with them.

    "But in China, it could be different others could offer more localized interfacing and payment methods, and they have the advantage of being able to build a store beyond Apple's."

    But it makes little difference to developers who create the demand for their products, as long as it's there.

    "With some html changes, transplanting applications among different platforms is no problem," Zheng explains.

    Global and international telecom players, such as Google, Nokia and China Mobile, are already developing their own apps stores. Even China Unicom, the iPhone's sole service provider in the mainland, has launched a store to compete with its partner, Apple.

    Phone makers are also creating new devices compatible with these applications.

    "It's not about the handsets anymore," Wang says. "It's about the apps."

    Zhu agrees, and believes demand for application development will only continue growing.

    "Third-party application development is still a sunrise industry, not only for the iPhone, but also for other platforms and devices," he says.

    "We are the content providers of future phones."

    (Source: Chinadaily.com.cn)