4 ms·

Android is a Viable Revenue Stream - Advanced Task Manager application

76 points by arron61 16y ago

wmf 16y ago
Good news, although a utility that works around OS problems that should never have existed isn't exactly a good example IMO.
- CrazedGeek 16y ago
  They don't exist: http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/04/multitasking-android-way.html http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/04/multitasking-...
  - wmf 16y ago
    I'm not sure which is worse: that Advanced Task Manager fixes a problem in Android or that it's a placebo.
    - chmike 16y ago
      The problem with the backgound taskS is that we don't how how much battery they drain. I found out , for instance, that GoogleTalk is a huge battery drain. I have a FM radio on my device and this one really sucks. It simply won't stop and drain the battery in a few hours. The GUI is crapy too any way. So I don't use it. The key problem people are fighting for is to save battery life time. This is the only reason people are using this software. Backups and such are not as much a problem. Any software that will contribute to save the battery lifetime will be a hit. An equivalent of the unix top for instance. The battery life time is the nuisance number one on smart phones. This is why the iPad is a master piece and all these me too players are a joke regarding this. It's the energy, stupid. HTC is apparently planning to release devices with faster cpu. What's the point if the phone can't run more than 6h with a GPS app, even if continuously connected to the cigar plug? Bluetouth enabled because of driving. The result is that I end up restricting my use of the phone to save battery and this is frustrating and not smart (phone). So looking around to find means to save battery, the ATM app pops up immediately and it worked for me. I could extend battery lifetime from 1 day to three days by keeping it clean.
gamble 16y ago
Ironic that one of the best-selling Android apps would be an app that so many Android users swear isn't necessary.
- houseabsolute 16y ago
  I won't swear it _isn't_ necessary (and I'm not an Android user, quite the opposite, I dislike it), because I haven't used all Android configurations and programs to be sure it has no beneficial effect. But it is definitely something that shouldn't be necessary. Of course, sales for items like this where necessity is very subjective really have no bearing on whether or not they provide any benefit. Otherwise the hundred-million dollar a year industry that is homeopathy would not exist.
  - bad_user 16y ago
    > Otherwise the hundred-million dollar a year industry that is homeopathy would not exist Just because there are crooks in the world that became rich by seeling fake homeopathic remedies, that doesn't mean there aren't homeopathic remedies that work. The placebo effect doesn't work on me because it is in my nature to be pessimistic about everything. Having asthma also makes my lungs sensitive to any cold I catch. Paracetamol [1] doesn't work on me. Oscillococcinum [2] does. And I'm not into homeopathy, but I'm a tea addict and I know from personal experience the effects dozens of plants have on my body. Just last week I drank tea made from cherry tails ... it made me go pissing every half an hour (really useful when you've got prostate problems). [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracetamol [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscillococcinum
    - StavrosK 16y ago
      You know what they call alternative medicine that's been proven to work? Medicine.
      - bad_user 16y ago
        > You know what they call alternative medicine that's been proven to work? That's debatable ... There are lots of drugs whose effects aren't well known , being sold just because the tests on animals and humans have been positive. Here's one example ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotretinoin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotretinoin Hence, every 5 years or so drugs are pulled off the market because of newly discovered side-effects, like this one ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamizole http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamizole The Placebo effect is also used in the farmaceutical industry to sell old drugs under new names. There are dozens and dozens of products based on a combination of Paracetamol and Vitamin C. When speaking of the common cold, nothing new happened in the last 10 years. When you say "proven" ... does that mean from a statistical point of view? Yes, they do lots of tests on humans and animals, increasing the chances that the drug actually works with no really bad (observable) side-effect. But that's not "proven" to me ;)
chmike 16y ago
An application that could be useful is one that would help determine what app/service drains the battery. A correlation between running apps and battery consumtion would help. If google removed the ability to manage services or background apps, they got it wrong. Unless they provide a mean to optimize battery usage.
- nex3 16y ago
  There's a built-in listing of which applications use what proportion of the battery.
  - minus1 16y ago
    I had to look this up. It's Settings->About Phone->Battery Use
    - zootm 16y ago
      You also get diverted to it if you tap "Why?" when the "Battery < 15%" notification appears, for what it's worth. Took me ages to notice that since it's next to "Okay", and poorly-designed dialogs have me trained to assume that that's a "Cancel" button that does nothing.
  - chmike 16y ago
    It won't tell which application is draning the battery. When I had GoogleTalk it would show 93% used by applications. googleTalk would appear for less then a second, then replaced by google map which I never used. BTW a more usefull app would by to display this data with a graphic. I use The app Battery Snap a lot. It shows the evolution in time of the battery usage. This shows how the energy evolves in time. One can see changes in the slope. The problem left is that we have no clue on the reason of battery consumption. In some case it can be an app (mp3) in others it can be because I lose GSM contact. It would really help to have more info on the slope changes. At least a hint on the possible cause.
augustl 16y ago
A shame the android market only offer paid apps in some countries. Only free apps here in Norway, for example.
- bruceboughton 16y ago
  It's flabbergasting to me that Google haven't fixed this. Cynics say it's because it boosts the ad income, but if you want to compete against iPhone and iPad, surely this is a huge boon in those markets and developer communities.
relix 16y ago
Very interesting, although he comes to some unfounded conclusions. Especially the "if I had increased the price I'm sure I could've gotten a lot more revenue" remark. Maybe 99 cents is exactly the sweet spot, or by lowering the price he might increase his sales disproportionally and earn even more.
nanairo 16y ago
While an interesting read, this article as well as the others arguing the opposite, are all anecdotal. What needs to be done is a proper statistical study on Android _and_ on the iOS and the results compared.
myth_drannon 16y ago
Related HN post - Why Android devs are losing money, and it’s not due to piracy : http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1609643 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1609643

76 points by arron61 16y ago

wmf 16y ago

Good news, although a utility that works around OS problems that should never have existed isn't exactly a good example IMO.

CrazedGeek 16y ago
They don't exist: http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/04/multitasking-android-way.html http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/04/multitasking-...
- wmf 16y ago
  I'm not sure which is worse: that Advanced Task Manager fixes a problem in Android or that it's a placebo.
  - chmike 16y ago
    The problem with the backgound taskS is that we don't how how much battery they drain. I found out , for instance, that GoogleTalk is a huge battery drain. I have a FM radio on my device and this one really sucks. It simply won't stop and drain the battery in a few hours. The GUI is crapy too any way. So I don't use it. The key problem people are fighting for is to save battery life time. This is the only reason people are using this software. Backups and such are not as much a problem. Any software that will contribute to save the battery lifetime will be a hit. An equivalent of the unix top for instance. The battery life time is the nuisance number one on smart phones. This is why the iPad is a master piece and all these me too players are a joke regarding this. It's the energy, stupid. HTC is apparently planning to release devices with faster cpu. What's the point if the phone can't run more than 6h with a GPS app, even if continuously connected to the cigar plug? Bluetouth enabled because of driving. The result is that I end up restricting my use of the phone to save battery and this is frustrating and not smart (phone). So looking around to find means to save battery, the ATM app pops up immediately and it worked for me. I could extend battery lifetime from 1 day to three days by keeping it clean.

gamble 16y ago

Ironic that one of the best-selling Android apps would be an app that so many Android users swear isn't necessary.

houseabsolute 16y ago
I won't swear it _isn't_ necessary (and I'm not an Android user, quite the opposite, I dislike it), because I haven't used all Android configurations and programs to be sure it has no beneficial effect. But it is definitely something that shouldn't be necessary. Of course, sales for items like this where necessity is very subjective really have no bearing on whether or not they provide any benefit. Otherwise the hundred-million dollar a year industry that is homeopathy would not exist.
- bad_user 16y ago
  > Otherwise the hundred-million dollar a year industry that is homeopathy would not exist Just because there are crooks in the world that became rich by seeling fake homeopathic remedies, that doesn't mean there aren't homeopathic remedies that work. The placebo effect doesn't work on me because it is in my nature to be pessimistic about everything. Having asthma also makes my lungs sensitive to any cold I catch. Paracetamol [1] doesn't work on me. Oscillococcinum [2] does. And I'm not into homeopathy, but I'm a tea addict and I know from personal experience the effects dozens of plants have on my body. Just last week I drank tea made from cherry tails ... it made me go pissing every half an hour (really useful when you've got prostate problems). [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracetamol [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscillococcinum
  - StavrosK 16y ago
    You know what they call alternative medicine that's been proven to work? Medicine.
    - bad_user 16y ago
      > You know what they call alternative medicine that's been proven to work? That's debatable ... There are lots of drugs whose effects aren't well known , being sold just because the tests on animals and humans have been positive. Here's one example ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotretinoin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotretinoin Hence, every 5 years or so drugs are pulled off the market because of newly discovered side-effects, like this one ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamizole http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamizole The Placebo effect is also used in the farmaceutical industry to sell old drugs under new names. There are dozens and dozens of products based on a combination of Paracetamol and Vitamin C. When speaking of the common cold, nothing new happened in the last 10 years. When you say "proven" ... does that mean from a statistical point of view? Yes, they do lots of tests on humans and animals, increasing the chances that the drug actually works with no really bad (observable) side-effect. But that's not "proven" to me ;)

chmike 16y ago

An application that could be useful is one that would help determine what app/service drains the battery. A correlation between running apps and battery consumtion would help. If google removed the ability to manage services or background apps, they got it wrong. Unless they provide a mean to optimize battery usage.

nex3 16y ago
There's a built-in listing of which applications use what proportion of the battery.
- minus1 16y ago
  I had to look this up. It's Settings->About Phone->Battery Use
  - zootm 16y ago
    You also get diverted to it if you tap "Why?" when the "Battery < 15%" notification appears, for what it's worth. Took me ages to notice that since it's next to "Okay", and poorly-designed dialogs have me trained to assume that that's a "Cancel" button that does nothing.
- chmike 16y ago
  It won't tell which application is draning the battery. When I had GoogleTalk it would show 93% used by applications. googleTalk would appear for less then a second, then replaced by google map which I never used. BTW a more usefull app would by to display this data with a graphic. I use The app Battery Snap a lot. It shows the evolution in time of the battery usage. This shows how the energy evolves in time. One can see changes in the slope. The problem left is that we have no clue on the reason of battery consumption. In some case it can be an app (mp3) in others it can be because I lose GSM contact. It would really help to have more info on the slope changes. At least a hint on the possible cause.

augustl 16y ago

A shame the android market only offer paid apps in some countries. Only free apps here in Norway, for example.

bruceboughton 16y ago
It's flabbergasting to me that Google haven't fixed this. Cynics say it's because it boosts the ad income, but if you want to compete against iPhone and iPad, surely this is a huge boon in those markets and developer communities.

relix 16y ago

Very interesting, although he comes to some unfounded conclusions. Especially the "if I had increased the price I'm sure I could've gotten a lot more revenue" remark. Maybe 99 cents is exactly the sweet spot, or by lowering the price he might increase his sales disproportionally and earn even more.

nanairo 16y ago

While an interesting read, this article as well as the others arguing the opposite, are all anecdotal. What needs to be done is a proper statistical study on Android _and_ on the iOS and the results compared.

myth_drannon 16y ago

Related HN post - Why Android devs are losing money, and it’s not due to piracy : http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1609643 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1609643