Apple’s (AAPL) purchase of Siri for over $200 million is generating a great deal of analysis. Everyone is trying to figure out what Steve Jobs and company have up their sleeves. Why would Apple need a voice-recognition app developer that to date isn’t generating meaningful revenue?
App Search
The most obvious reason for getting Siri’s technology is to become the Google (GOOG) search for the app environment for iPhones and iPads. When you think about it, this makes a great deal of sense.
Yes, there’s built-in search on each iPhone and iPad mobile device but it’s extremely basic and limited to each user’s device. Adding the ability to search across the app-o-sphere would be a dramatic paradigm shift not only for users but for developers as well.
Just think of all the possibilities if apps could search and interact with one another’s API. There is a certain level of interactivity today with some apps, but adding this app search capability would be a game changer. It certainly would take the mobile app experience to the next level and on a par with the web app realm.
iAd + App Search = iNsane iNcome
It’s also not a stretch to speculate that Apple will someday integrate their iAd mobile advertising system with its App search engine. In a sense this would create their equivalent of AdSense, perhaps calling it AppSense. Maybe the slogan could be “AppSense makes the app grow fonder”? (Insert groan here).
You’ll Believe It When You Hear It
I could be wrong but I also think there could be a connection between this acquisition of Siri and the recent news of a new patent filed by Apple for a ticketing system called Ticket Concert+. There seems to be a good fit between these two seeming unrelated moves by Apple. For example, you’re downtown and want to see what’s going on so you ask “Who’s playing tonight?” and Siri finds the listings of all local venues according to your GPS and displays all events, games and concerts going on. You can then purchase an e-ticket via its new system and casually waltz into the arena and even have your snack and drinks waiting for you at your seat. OK, that’s another app for another day.
