Now people outside the software development industry tend to see all development platforms as roughly the same, probably because the dominance of Windows makes the computing world appear flat, but phone platforms vary enormously. Apple and Microsoft have the advantage in this respect in having a lot of experience in producing tools for software developers - and the key thing people are realising is the strength of the iPhone and similar are that they are software devices that can be improved after manufacturing.

The longer term question is what happens after the gold rush - looking at the average application price and sales, the current market looks unsustainable (at least for commercial, rather than hobbyist developers). In some ways it’s similar to the early days of home computer software in the early 80s (many producers, few hits).