What does a localized app mean?
To decide what type of app local or global you want to build, we need to understand what both mean. Local app is an application that provides some community specific needs. It’s an app that was designed to develop some specific purposes of people that live in a particular country or area. For people from other countries, such apps can be not even uninteresting but pointless.
Global app is an app that covers a large territory and has no limits for downloads. Usually, such applications are not tied to any country or nationality.
Best local apps examples
We all know the names of the most popular worldwide applications that are famous and recognizable all over the globe. Apps like Instagram, Facebook, Vine, Tinder or Periscope probably need no special introduction. However, there are lots of apps that gained huge popularity in a particular country or area. Let’s take a look at them and the stories behind their success.
Taobao
Taobao is an e-commerce app that works similarly to E-bay or Wish apps. The project was developed by Alibaba group in 2003. It has a C2C business model (customer to customer) and gives small business and retailers an opportunity to work on Chinese online shopping market. The app had more than 370 mln users in 2010.
Taobao website screenshot
There are two ways how sellers can make a deal. They can announce a fixed price on some goods or to auction. Each customer can rate a seller, comment his work or complain in a case of indecent treatment.
Now, the app and site work all over the world. Nevertheless, China and Chinese speaking countries are still the main customers here.
Teen Patti
Teen Patti is a gambling card game, developed specifically for the Indian audience. Why? Because it’s a traditional game for Indian people which they can play now in a mobile app and on the site. The game itself is a simplified version of poker.
Teen Patti app screenshot
For many years there were no games specially designed for the Indian market. People tend to adopted western trends instead of creating something for themselves. To tell the truth, for a long time there was no such need as only a few people had smartphones at that times. However, it has changed and as we all know, if there is a demand there will be an offer.
Pandora Radio
The story of Pandora Radio app creation is amazing. It all started many years ago when a group of enthusiasts decided to process songs in a very unusual way. They hired professional musicians who defined 400 characteristics of each song and put all this data into a database. The project changed its purpose many times. What we have now is a music app which memorizes your preferences and offers you the songs with a strong likelihood that you will enjoy them even if you haven’t heard them yet.
Pandora Radio app screenshots
The app is available only if you live in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The reason of such limited geography is music licensing. However, we hope that it will change soon and the app will be available all over the world.
More - Choosing App Localization For Your App Based On the Target Audience