I am also an Australian software developer. I can state with absolute certainty that these figures are absolute bullshit. 92% of apps running in Australia are not pirated. It is absolutely ridiculous.
Anecdotally, as a developer I have sought our everybody I know with an Android phone, maybe half a dozen techies and half a dozen "normal" people. None of them are even aware of a pirate market in paid Android apps. The chances of 12 people in a row being in that 8% - impossible. More generally, my app is a live wallpaper. Here is an interesting stat. My uninstall rate dropped by 20% when I included instructions for how to run a live wallpaper. At least 20% of android market users appear unfamiliar with how to run a Live Wallpaper. Yet the statistics presented imply that 92% of Australians not only know how to install pirate apps, but also do so. Sound plausible to you? Australians are no more likely to pirate software than people in any other developed country. 92% of Australian android phone users obviously don't pirate android software. For that matter, 54% of Austrians don't pirate software either, but whatever fraction it is (I'm guessing a couple of percent at most), Australians and Austrians aren't going to be that different. The figures are clearly and obviously wrong. The most basic common sense should tell you that. On Aug 28, 3:58 pm, gosh <steve...@unimelb.edu.au> wrote: > Hi Dave, > > Thanks for the stats - as disconcerting as they are. > > As an Australian software developer I was very disappointed to see > Australia up top in the percentages on your scale of software pirates, > wrt to your app - which I find hard to explain, subjectively or > otherwise. > > I'll make a few points though (I'm assuming your figures are for your > utility 'Screebl Pro', via your link): > > * Having some background in data analysis, I don't consider sample > sizes under 300 to be statistically significant - which leaves you > with 4 rows of data at this stage. > > * Going on your app, the US is the only place where Android is a big > success thus far - I do know that 'utility' programs are a bit > 'techie' for most regular phone users, but I'm thinking percentages > here. > > * Android phones are fairly few on the ground in Australia (in my > limited experience with other Android owners - other owners have been > either software developers/publishers or university students, many of > whom are from overseas - many/most countries). That said, since the > 'main' telco here (Telstra) began selling Android phones here in April > 2010, some regular folk/mums-and-dads are now starting to buy them…. > i.e. The fact that australia is 4th in your list of overall downloads > is very surprising to me, given the great lack of Google/Android-phone > focus upon Australia - I thought it would be down around the NZ > figures. Note: Most ads I've seen for Android phones here do 'not' > even mention 'Android' at all (E.g. the recent ads for the Samsung > i9000 Galaxy S ) - so I assume its either a perceived marketing > negative, or its not worth the 'copy' space the single word would take > up. > > * As a former president of the Australian Software Publishers > Association, I know that Australians generally 'do' buy their software > when its not open source - which is the main precursor to a country > having a software industry. Its a part of the 'a fair go mate' ethos > here - so Indy developers are likely to do well here - and do, given > an avenue to market. > > * I do know that there are lots of software developers in Australia > 'very pissed-off' with Google in that we are unable to 'sell' our > programs in the Android Market (even though our customers can buy them > from elsewhere) - e.g. I've had programs sitting here collecting dust > for 12 months (yes, 365 days, one planetary orbit around the Sun [the > one thats 93 million miles away] - no actions, and worse, no words > about actions, from Google) come Tuesday this week > see:http://www.digitalfriend.org/blog/month2009-09.html- but that is > unlikely to cause a software developer to pirate other software > developers hard work. I certain haven't and wouldn't. That kama is > reserved for Google (and then Android), not for fellow software > developers. i.e. If you are unable to circulate your own work, ones > enthusiasm eventually dries up and withers on the vine, such that, in > my case at least, I've abandoned my daily usage of the Android phone > itself, and now use an alternative smart phone from a company with a > global perspective instead. > > * Its true that, within the list of countries wrt your downloads, > Canadian, Kiwi and Swiss developers also cannot sell their apps on > Google Android Market to their own customers - so if it was 'a > disgruntled developer issue' re Australia, you would likely see it > there too - but as I've pointed out, your figures for those countries > are statistically insignificant, so that doesn't constitute evidence > either way. > > * I'm not surprised at your figures for Japan - even major software > contracts with Japanese companies usually only require a hand-shake to > seal an honorable relationship. (I wonder if they even have local > lawyers? ) > > * As much as I am surprised at your figures for Australia, I am also > surprised at your figures for the US. They seem overly high to me. It > makes me wonder what your software does and how much it costs wrt > other apps? More so, it makes me wonder if the 'Lite' version is an > overly crippled version of the 'Pro' version, such that large numbers > of people are justifying an illegal download of the Pro version. I.e. > Is the Lite version 'really' useful in its own right - or is it little > more than 'an ad' that constitutes an expensive download to the > unwitting customer/phone user? It would also be of general interest to > know what the respective download numbers for your 'Lite' version are, > over the same period of time? (Note: I really have no knowledge of > your app - so these are just very general questions/ponderings by me, > and are certainly 'not' reflections upon your apps, Lite version or > Pro)… > > If your figures are indeed generally representative of Android apps of > all sorts, then yes, your experience is indeed a worry for all - and > it makes a Licensing approach totally necessary for paid apps - sad > but true, given the low retail cost of phone apps in general. > > Cheers > Steve > > On Aug 27, 7:15 am, keyeslabs <keyes...@gmail.com> wrote:> Actually, the > largest *contributor* to piracy was the US, but the > > highest piracy rates (as a percentage of total installs) were > > elsewhere. For example, the US has a piracy rate (on my app) of about > > 70%, but Australia is more like 92%. For the countries where apps may > > be purchased, here's the breakdown: > > > Country Purchases Installs Pirated Installs Piracy Rate > > Australia 26 321 295 92% > > Austria 6 13 7 54% > > Canada 25 96 71 74% > > France 23 104 81 78% > > Germany 38 161 123 76% > > Italy 4 36 32 89% > > Japan 467 467 0 0% > > Netherlands 24 98 74 76% > > New Zealand 4 8 4 50% > > Spain 7 63 56 89% > > Switzerland 7 21 14 67% > > United Kingdom 108 335 227 68% > > United States 2051 6105 4054 66% > > > The US isn't the highest, but still, it's disturbing how high the rate > > is in ALL of these countries where purchases could be made... > > > Dave > > > On Aug 26, 4:59 pm, niko20 <nikolatesl...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > Excellent analysis. Once again showing that you can't make assumptions > > > about a market without cold hard data to back it up. Your results > > > found that the largest piracy rates actually occurred in countries > > > where users COULD buy apps ! I guess USA is just a bunch of cheap > > > *sses :) > > > > -niko > > > > On Aug 26, 3:22 pm, keyeslabs <keyes...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > Recently did an analysis of piracy rates by country for my app. Found > > > > some very interesting tidbits that I think may be of interest to > > > > members of this group: http://bit.ly/bSaoBe > > > > > Dave -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Developers" group. To post to this group, send email to android-developers@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to android-developers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en
