On Thu, Jan 21, 2010 at 11:29 AM, Maps.Huge.Info (Maps API Guru) <[email protected]> wrote: > Face it, Android is a failure so far in regard to selling paid apps. > It seems that some sort of personality problem with Android is the > issue. People for some reason think Android apps should be free. I > wish it were otherwise, I really do.
This might be true statistically worldwide, but as a small test sample; the majority of my friends and family who have Android phones have all paid for a small percentage of their apps. The key seems to be the type of app you are selling. Few people seem willing to pay for a Twitter app for example (although donations are not uncommon), but I know many people here in the UK who have paid for the National Rail app, as free alternatives cannot provide the same experience, and it's a valuable resource when on the move. I've also found that games are paid for as long as they are of commercial quality, and usually with 3D graphics (I'm only talking about what people are willing to pay for here, not what games they prefer to play). > The only thing that makes sense to me as an Android developer is > adding advertising to my apps. I can see no other way to monetize my > huge investment of time and effort. The problem with advertising is > the current mobile ad providers basically stink. AdSense has a bar so > high in their beta program that very few apps can approach. How many > apps have 100,000 impressions a day? Not many. AdMob's ads are more > annoying than useful, I don't want to have rip-off quizzes or Viagra > ads on any of my apps, they will only cause poor market comments or > mass uninstalls. > > Anyone have an alternative? Well, regarding advertising alternatives, how about FunkyAndroid's OpenX widget? http://blog.funkyandroid.com/2009/12/14/funky-android-provide-android-openx-widget/ I can't comment on it as I haven't used it. There are other options I can think of for generating revenue. Whilst I'm sure you've considered most of them, but I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on their viability... * Licencing the app (and use the Android Market to offer the free "trial" version with instructions on how to buy a license and download the full version directly) * Selling it direct, or from another market (and advertise by other means than the Android Market search box). * Selling it on the Android Market at a relatively high cost (people often look at the price as a means of determining its quality before purchasing) Those are just some options I can think of right now, but it's rare that people discuss their experiences with trading models outside the regular Android Market method. I'd be interested to hear more on these experiences to be honest.
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