The Future: iPhone Apps, Mobile Sites and Android
September 18, 2009 by Emma Sorensen
As we’ve reported before, major property portals across the globe are involved in an iPhone app war. Take US based zillow.com for instance and its record breaking iPhone app. But there’s also the issue of the more general mobile websites, and the Android market, which portals are starting to get involved in.
The UK’s market leading property portal, rightmove.co.uk, released its free iPhone app last month and the company says it is already making an impact in the property industry with some glowing testimonials from home-hunters and agents alike.
The app has generated over 175,000 downloads and shot to the number one spot on the iTunes app store within four days of its release. Company statistics reveal that an average over 56,000 property searches are run every day on the Rightmove iPhone app generating over 100,000 detailed property views. So it’s definitely not just an “add on”, but a valuable tool for the portal to offer.
Rightmove’s Commerical Director, Miles Shipside, said that the app is making the property searching process a lot easier and quicker for all involved:
“We have been delighted with how well the iPhone app has been received. Mobile technology provides an ideal additional platform for us to advertise our agent’s properties and for home-hunters to locate and view them. It’s a great example of how this type of technology can be integrated into a business model to make things easier for customers.”
Meanwhile the mobile enhancements continue across the UK with leading flatshare website spareroom.co.uk launching a new mobile website, spareroom.mobi. Matt Hutchinson from spareroom.co.uk told propertyportalwatch.com that with “increasing numbers of users accessing the site on the move we though it was time to make the site sit better on the small screen”.
It is not just mobile websites and fashionable iPhone apps that property portals need to worry about though.
Across the North Sea in the Netherlands the number two ranked property portal, jaap.nl, has released a free app for the Android market. The ‘Shake before use’ application on the Android market follows the success of the company’s iPhone app which has so far been downloaded 30,000 times.
Hans Voorn, CEO of jaap.nl, said:
“With Android becoming a serious player in the mobile market we think it is a must to offer our services to this group of users.”
So the need to compete in the mobile market is really heating up. The Netherlands’ market leading property portal, funda.nl, has already partnered with Dutch mobile phone company SPRXmobile to be part of their new “augmented reality” mobile application.
[Telephone image: flickr/Ballistik Coffee Boy]
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If we knew the percent of searches done via the App then we could judge the impact better. If it’s just 1% then I would still put it in the “add on” category.
MyHome.ie launched the first iPhone app for property searches in Ireland having identified a gap in the current Irish market. The new app which was developed through a partnership with Phoneware.ie was released last week.
[...] the competition between property portals to create the most wanted mobile app heating up, US portal homes.com has made a move to cover all bases with the release of its new mobile website [...]
[...] recently jaap.nl released a free app for the Android phone market. The ‘Shake before use’ application on the Android market follows the success of the [...]