- Posts tagged Market Place
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Android or iPhone: Where is the Mobile Developer Money?
Android has more developers, yet its percentage of paid apps is much smaller than the iPhone platform. Why is that?
One might think the "open" nature of Android attracts a larger base of developers willing to contribute for nothing, but the fact is it's hard to sell apps on Android. You can only pay for apps in 13 countries, and you can only sell priced apps from nine countries. This is nuts compared to the iPhone's 90 countries, and just another Android "dirty little secret." Take heart, though, you can always sign a petition to make it better.
I know it doesn't have to be about money. Many people do labors of love for "free." Maybe it's a learning experience, a way to unwind, or a sense of community or connecting with people. These could all be valid payments for your work. Not wanting monetary compensation is a personal choice that can't be judged. Indeed, though I buy a lot of apps I appreciate "free" software as much as anybody.
Having said that, if money's what you're looking for the iPhone platform is clearly where you want to be in mobile development.
Dear Apple: Only 235,000 Apps? Only 47,000 Developers? Your "Closed" Model Sucks.
Total Active Apps (currently available for download): 234,915 […]
Number of Active Publishers in the US App Store: 47,370
I'm surprised Apple hasn't shut that site down for regularly publishing Apple's shame.
Meanwhile, I'm certain Android's freewheeling, "open" (except for the native API, or Flash), look-the-other-way, Lord of the Flies approach to app development has resulted in numbers that embarrass Apple's.
Right?
And even if the numbers aren't quite as high, I'm sure Android apps are overall of a higher quality, and will run on a higher percentage of phones than Apple's.
Right?
And even if fragmentation is a bit more of an issue, I'm sure Android developers are raking in cash from the reported 160K activations (potential new customers) per day.
Right?
For shame, Apple. Don't you know "open" always wins?
Google: You Too Can Be A Developer In The Privacy Of Your Own Home
Not only is the Android Market an open platform for developers (with no approval process, ala the App Store), but now we’ll likely see a vast array of specialized apps built by non-developers. This could radically increase the volume of apps in the Market versus the App Store.
I've written about Google's seeming goal of getting mobile devices on the web instead of running local apps. I outlined some things that could keep Android app quality relatively low:
- Fragmentation - Minimal app compatibility, or a lowest common denominator app that can't take full advantage of a device.
- Lack of vetting - Lets weak apps through, including potential security risks.
- Flash support - Another way of encouraging lowest common denominator apps.
I wrote "In short, while appearing to do all they can to let as many apps be available as possible, they've created a platform to breed lower-quality, inconsistent apps"
If there was any doubt about Google's desire to have lots of apps while keeping the app experience relatively weak, their latest move should make it clear: they're letting anyone write apps.
Google's App Inventor is like a late-night informercial: "Why bother learning a language and coding techniques, now anyone can be a developer with the Develop-O-Matic." I can see the infomercial endorsements now: "I was skeptical, but I just followed the simple steps provided. As a programmer I make more money each month than I ever dreamed of, and was able to quit my job snaking toilets at Wal-Mart. If I can do it, so can you!"
With everybody and their little brother submitting apps there's little question Android's app count will make huge gains. It probably won't take long before the number exceeds Apple's App Store, which is something they're gunning for. And with weak "competition" of local apps like this, Google's web-based solutions will look that much better, which helps lead people right where Google wants them.
I have no issue with lots of web and local apps; let everyone decide what works best for them. But what I see is Google poisoning the well from which local apps are drawn. They don't appear to want a fair fight, and make local apps too difficult (their market place appears to be a mess), generic (soon to include Jr. Developer Kit apps), and risky (potential privacy or security issues) so web apps look far superior by comparison.
Google is completely open except when they're not
Like any company, Google is open in what doesn’t make them money and proprietary as heck in what does. Android is open (under the Apache license, not GPL — which should give the philosophical FOSSies pause) but Google certainly hasn’t opened their search or AdWords platforms. Likewise Apple open sources WebKit (which Google uses for their browser) and OpenCL and Grand Central and FaceTime, but keeps their crown jewels equally closed. So enough already with the open stuff. You give me free services so you can mine my data, I sell my soul to you to use them. Deal. Just don’t insult my intelligence while doing it.
Good article. It's not the lack of "open" in Google's business I take issue with—it's just a business model, and a successful one at that. No, it's bullSchmidt statements from their CEO that bug me because he's rarely called on it.
Perhaps, albeit slowly, more and more tech writers will catch on like the one above. The open-but-not-really vs. closed-via-tiny-wall argument detracts from the actual products anyway. Offer something great, not rhetoric.
Android Developers Blog: We have a kill switch and we're not afraid to use it
we’ve also developed technologies and processes to remotely remove an installed application from devices. If an application is removed in this way, users will receive a notification on their phone.
Remember the discussion about Apple having a "kill switch" that could remotely delete apps from your phone? The tech punditry howled. Well, Google's got one and they're using it.
The blog post couches it in motherly, keeping-you-safe terms. Right. If Google cared about what apps they allowed in the market to begin with, maybe they wouldn't need to use this thing. Alas, vetting apps is not Google's strong suit, nor is it ever likely to be.
Google: With our weak vetting, how could this have happened?
Meanwhile, dozens of apps were found to have the same type of access to sensitive information as known spyware does, including access to the content of e-mails and text messages, phone call information, and device location, said Dan Hoffman, chief technology officer at SMobile Systems.
It seems clear that with unsigned apps and minimal vetting for its market place, Android's (well, Google's) priority is not security. When you're trying like mad to offer as many apps as the iPhone you don't have time for such things. Apps with security issues have been pulled after they've been on the market and enough users complained. It such cases the end user is doing the real vetting.
Problem is, not all apps are obvious about what they do. Sooner or later that comes back to haunt the end user, which leads to the real issue: Google doesn't care that much because the end user is not their customer. I'm not saying Google wants third-party apps to be invasive without user permission, only that preventing it isn't a priority. The end user doesn't pay Google for their services, and are not their customer.
Similar to Facebook, Google's customer isn't the one using the product every day, but rather the marketing, ad, and analytics firms that make use of the massive amounts of data being gathered. There's nothing wrong with this—it's just a business model—but it's important to know Google's customers to understand Google's priorities. Indeed, philosophically Google may not even have an issue with these apps. Google's been gathering your data for years.
I'd like to see Google take some action on this. Get ahead of the game and make changes to the market place for vetting this stuff. Google can talk "open" all it wants, but they have a responsibility for what's on their store. They have no issue refusing apps that violate copyright or other firms' TOS, but that's all in the interest of their real customers. It's time they treated the end user with a little respect and looked out for her as well.
