I agree with you, and hopefully Google will improve the comments system, and the Market in general. Until then, take comfort in knowing that all developers face the same issues, so there is no conspiracy against you :)
I also got 2-3* reviews from people who could not properly run my app on their handsets. At least they mentioned the phone name, so other people with the same phones won't install the app. This is actually a useful comment for potential new users, even though the low rating hurts the average. To have a chance to respond to these comments, I set up a comments section on the app's site (DailyRoads Voyager), where I list all comments from users. To respond, I include a "Developer's note" in the list, so in the end it looks like this: http://www.dailyroads.com/voyager/comments Many potential users test the app first before reading anything on the site, and may post negative comments nonetheless. But, some users just might, and this is the only option I could think of. I am interested to see if other devs have something better in place... Robert Monday, February 1, 2010, 6:20:51 PM, you wrote: > So you are an Android dev, you've worked hard and you want to > distribute your app as widely as possible. > So realistically you have one distribution channel called the Android > market. (Yes I know there are alternate markets but they account for > less than 1% of my downloads and I would like to hear someone with a > different experience, but this is not the point of this thread). > So you publish your app on the Android market. And the user finds your > app. > But at the point of sale, you are at the mercy of market comments. > Don't get me wrong comments and rating system has its place. And spam > comments can generally be ignored. > But comments are harmful in all of the following cases : > 1. negative comments from rival devs (check the major apps comments > boards for some very troll like comments) > 2. comments from users who haven't taken the time to learn how to use > the app or contact you for help > 3. comments from users who have a handset where your app crashes but > this handset only makes up for 2% of installed userbase > 4. comments from users who have an old version of your app where the > bug they experience has already been fixed > I've seen my app selling well and as soon as a negative comment comes > in, sales more or less stop in their tracks. > Is it really fair to rely on this flawed comment system? > Couldn't Google give more emphasis on a rating and less on comments > (maybe an additional button click needed to get them)? Or a way for > devs to respond to comments? > Or how about having the market display comments in a random order so > we get a more balanced view and don't always have to see the latest > comment. > Or I like the idea of Amazon where you see : % of 5* reviews, % of 4* > reviews, etc. > What do other people think? -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Discuss" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-discuss?hl=en.
