Apps are the new black

There seems to be lots of fuss about 'apps' with Microsoft trying to stop Apple from trade marking the phrase 'app store'. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12173224

Apparently 'apps' are the new big thing in computers and will become as 'big as the Internet'.

Surely software applications (apps) have been around since computers were created. In other words, the selling to consumers of the new 'apps' is nothing more than selling software, which has been going on for quite a while now.

Many of us now posses hand-held devices, which are basically small computers. These devices require software to do things. So why all the fuss about 'apps'?

We wonder if it is marketing speak that has enabled some large companies to sell us software as 'apps' so we think we're getting something we couldn't get before?