Two App Developments That Could Pave the Way to the Future ... Someday

First off, Bloomberg has launched the Bloomberg App Portal for Bloomberg's financial data services subscribers. From the press release:

Applications on the Bloomberg App Portal are developed by software companies, financial institutions, academics and other third parties. The Bloomberg App Portal enables Bloomberg subscribers to enhance their user experience by adding specialty features and tools that complement those available on the Bloomberg Professional service.

The Bloomberg App Portal page indicate that these enterprise apps include data analysis, news and research, portfolio management and risk analysis, valuation and pricing, and visualization and technical analysis. According to published reports, Bloomberg will take 30 percent of app sales revenue but does not expect that to substantially increase its estimated $7 billion revenue. However, anything that keeps "users glued to its terminals for more of their working day" is a good thing. Quoting from Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson's Bloomberg launches iTunes-style platform (Financial Times).

Second, Bookboard has launched an iPad app that provides streaming access to children's eBooks. Currently in beta, the Company plans a commercial launch in 1Q 2013 with revenue coming from monthly subscriptions for unlimited access to its library of titles. The business model calls for publishers to receive royalties based on the number of pages read (and other factors). Founded by two former Adobe execs, will this be the first successful "Netflix of eBooks"? For more, see Laura Hazard Owen's Bookboard tries Netflix-like model for kids’ ebooks (paidContent).

Some Navel-Gazing. It is clearly significant when the market leader in financial data services, Bloomberg, opens its closed universe of data to third party enterprise app development for the Company's estimated 315,000 subscribers. Will we see a BLaw App Store someday? It certainly could be a way to fill a huge gaping hole in providing professional legal services beyond search and current awareness to increase its competitiveness with WEXIS and keep users glued to BLaw-BNA's online services.

Second, will we see the market leader in legal publishing, Thomson Reuters, take a Netflix-like approach to streaming its eBooks based on a subscription model? If so, it could be a quasi-eLending and discovery platform to counter Lexis' enterprise eLending solution. {JH]