18(a) Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD

Prototypical answer:

OVERVIEW
The proliferation of apps for mobile devices, desktop computers, web interfaces, and gaming platforms has been increasing of late. We’re excited about the direction that this kind of innovation is headed and are looking forward to offering the .APP top-level domain for software developers, reviewers, users, and sellers.

We look at .APP as a means of making apps more easily discoverable for potential customers and as a way of engaging and attract people to webpages about apps. This includes official sites for apps and app developers, where people can learn about specific apps, purchase and download apps, and learn about the company that made the app other projects it’s involved with. This also includes app reviewer sites, where readers can learn about all the exciting apps that are out there and see which ones might be for them. We believe that .APP will give domain owners and visitors alike a means of readily-identifying the kind of content to expect based not only on the secondary-level domain name but on the top-level domain name as well.

We believe that the .APP top-level domain will be a popular TLD and we look forward to being a part of it. The .APP top-level domain will help promote productivity and innovation in the online world.

APPS: INFORMATION ABOUT POPULAR APPS AND VARIOUS PLATFORMS
Software applications, or “apps”, are computer programs that enable users to perform specific tasks. Examples include office suites, photo editing software, accounting and educational software, media software, and games. Apps can be bundled with personal computers, tablets, smartphones, and media hardware or, more commonly, installed on a device later.

All consumer operating systems (OS) run apps, including Windows, Lunix, OSX, iOS, Android, and XrossMediaBar just to name a few. These include OSes running on personal computers, smartphones, tablets and videogame consoles. It can fairly be said that the success of a specific operating system is due in large part to the number and kind of apps that run on it.

The marketplace for apps is growing rapidly. A snapshot of the mobile app marketplace illustrates this.

Windows Mobile’s marketplace has over 30,000 mobile apps. (Source: news.cnet.com, Windows Phone Market Place Hits 30,000 Apps, Lance Whiteny, August 2011. Of course, the mainstay of the mobile app market is Apple, whose “App Store” boasts over 500,000 apps and approximately 18 billion downloads. (Source: www.apple.com⁄iphone⁄built-in-apps⁄app-store.html.) Android, the software developed by Google for smartphones, has also exceeded the 500,000 mark for apps available for its OS. (http:⁄⁄www.solidgadget.com⁄2011⁄10⁄android-market-crosses-the-500000-apps-mark, Android Marker Crosses The 500,000 Mark, Samiullah Khan, October 2011.)

Projected revenues for major mobile app stores grew 77.7% to approximately $3.8 billion in 2011. (Source: http:⁄⁄www.bgr.com⁄2011⁄05⁄05⁄major-mobile-app-store-revenue-will-grow-77-7-in-2011, Zach Epstein, May 2011. With the introduction and appeal of new generation iPads, android tablets and smartphones, analysts believe that further growth and productivity is inevitable, with estimates projecting 5.6 billion dollars in 2012. (Source: http:⁄⁄www.bgr.com⁄2011⁄05⁄05⁄major-mobile-app-store-revenue-will-grow-77-7-in-2011, Zach Epstein, May 2011.

MISSION AND PURPOSE
Apps are essential tools for people and companies in their everyday lives. Apps play a significant role in personal communication with family and friends and have a key role in virtually all businesses, helping businesses run properly and efficiently.

We believe that this growth indicates a substantial market for a top-level domain dedicated to apps. We want to provide a top-level domain name that provides app developers an identifiable means of communicating with potential customers, app reviewers a quick-and-easy way of communicating with readers, and consumers a recognizable and trust-worthy top-level domain for apps: .APP.

In short, we want to provide the worldwide Internet-using public with more choice in the domain name marketplace.

The ultimate goal of the .APP top-level domain is to establish itself as the recognized choice for registrants who want to market and promote themselves and their websites to, and reach, the Internet-using public, for business, political, personal, legal or any other purpose, through an association with the world-wide app market; and, as the recognized top-level domain name for Internet consumers to look for to know which people, businesses, information sources or other online resource associate themselves with apps or are trying to communicate with people who do.

PUBLIC BENEFIT
With the large quantity of apps on the web, on mobile platforms, on gaming consoles, on personal computers, and even on servers, the .APP domain will bring apps to the forefront of end-users and businesses, making it much easier for them to find websites relating to apps rather than searching through millions of different websites with undistinguishing top-level domains.

.APP will make the world of apps more discoverable to potential customers; it will serve as a medium for publishers to better engage and attract prospective programmers and users; and encourage innovation and productivity, resulting in world-wide economic growth.

Similar gTLD applications: (0)