TechCrunch this week offers an insightful article outlining the stunning success of Apple’s new App Store where they offer native applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. They make the case that while the store has been active for only a month there have already been over 60 million downloads and $30 million in revenues, but there’s still no single application standing out as the “killer app”. The term “killer app” has been with us for some time now, and those of us in the technology industry love to throw around buzzwords like this but the fact of the matter is that there are very few “killer apps” on any platform, much less one that’s only been commercially available for a month.

Think about the computer that you use every day, now think about what you consider your “killer app”. The application that is essential, the app that is the reason you bought the computer in the first place. For most of us it would boil down to either email or web browsing. Huh, doesn’t the iPhone already do both of those things really well? Maybe the search for the “killer app” on the iPhone is going to be a lot shorter than we imagined.

So, if we can let go of the notion of trying to find the next “killer app” for the iPhone maybe we can focus on building useful apps for the iPhone that have broad based appeal. It might not be branded as the next “killer app” but to its users and devoted fan base will be just as indispensable. Here at MobUI, we’re not in the business of producing buzzword apps, we’re in the business of producing quality apps.

– Snake