6 ms·

Some Apps Do Sell: Developer Makes $750K in 3 Weeks on Android Market

111 points by arpit 15y ago

rhizome 15y ago
Has anybody ever said that apps don't sell?
- JCB_K 15y ago
  Yes, particularly when it comes to Android. Exactly the reason why Angry Birds is free and ad-supported on Android, as opposed to iOS.
  - code_duck 15y ago
    I don't think that's the best example - I think if any app would have been sure to sell on Android, it would be Angry Birds. My belief is that Rovio did that to experiment with different types of revenue for mobile games, because they could afford to.
whoisvince 15y ago
I was never one to argue that apps don't sell on the Android Market; however, I do believe that it's a tough business decision for a startup to invest time and resources to a platform that has a sell-rate worse than a fixed las vegas digital slot machine.
- arpit 15y ago
  I think it depends on the kind of startup. If your startup is trying to grow an audience around a service with a free app, Android is a good place to start, if you are dependent on sales of the app for revenue, I'd go with iOS.
  - Skroob 15y ago
    I don't see the compelling reason to start with Android in the free-app-as-front-end-to-web-service case. Is it because Android phones (briefly) outsold iPhones? Last I heard, iOS still has something like a 60% lead in install base, and the latest data says iPhone sales are outpacing Android phone sales again.
    - nextparadigms 15y ago
      iPhone sales don't outpace Android. Android has a 50% market share in new sales last quarter in US, and iPhones have I believe 28-29%. The news was that Android dropped from 53% to 50% when the Verizon iPhone was launched, not about iPhones outpacing Android in market share. They tried to make a big deal out of it, trying to show that it could be a downward trend, but it's nonsense. Android sales keep growing worldwide, and I'm sure it will rise above 50% in US by the time iPhone 5 launches (and take a hit again for a few months, and then rise again).
    - cageface 15y ago
      http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/?p=28237 http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/?p=28237 Android has 38% install base vs 27% for iPhone.
      - cageface 15y ago
        Hacker News, where the facts count for a downvote.
  - Roritharr 15y ago
    That was my thinking initially. I went to Android to create the first fundraising app for my competitive fundraising platform because i figured after some research that it would be easier to get people to try it out. The app was never intended to be paid so making a free app with the ability to use a proprietary in-app payment mechanism (PayPal) was what lead to a really easy decision (PayPals Android Developer Challenge was another nudge into the Android direction). The next step will be a webapp to which i'll redirect the iPhone customers. I didn't start with it initially because from the little research i've done, "wizard of oz"-style, people didn't find iPhone webapps stable and trustworthy enough to Donate Money via them.
- jrockway 15y ago
  Are you sure it's a good idea to develop iPhone or Windows Phone apps either? On average, those don't sell either... and they can be deleted by the Overlords for no reason whatsoever. Despite the extremely high risk, people do it anyway. I'm guessing the risk vs. reward is about the same with Android, but since there's no Kool-Aid to drink, there are more people wasting time on iOS apps. Just a guess, though. (As an Android user, I do think it's strange to pay $15 for the home screen when the whole OS is free.)
  - micampe 15y ago
    > (As an Android user, I do think it's strange to pay $15 for the home screen when the whole OS is free.) Why should the value of an application have anything to do with the price of the operating system that hosts it? Why not apply the same reasoning to the hardware you run it on?
    - jrockway 15y ago
      Because the OS already includes a home screen. When CyanogenMod ships with a processor, I'll be upset about paying for that, too. I'm not holding my breath, however.
      - Hostile 15y ago
        Writing a launcher takes work. I don't think it's ever strange to expect payment in return. Just because Google wrote a launcher at some point in the past doesn't mean that all future programmer's work in that area should be released for free. I happen to think this particular launcher is a gimmick, but it's clear that they put work into it and that it's very different than what Google ships.
        jrockway 15y ago
        Cyanogen uses ADWLauncher, not the one that Google provides :)
      - micampe 15y ago
- fleitz 15y ago
  There are a few advantages to writing apps for iPhone / Android, one lots of people are looking for consultants, when people hire consultants they want to see a portfolio, so you can increase your skills and possibly make some money building a portfolio while there is the chance of making money. It's much better than doing spec work. So what you do is to write trivial apps, when you get consulting gigs you can say "30 apps in app store", and have a portfolio of apps that look good, also, you write apps around features so you teach yourself the feature, etc, GPS, Gyro, Camera, BUMP API,FB Connect, etc. This is also an important part, spend time making your app look good. Customers can't see code quality, but they do see graphics. To customers good graphics == good code quality. Now if you have 30 apps and one happens to hit a niche you've got a great way to promote your other apps and don't have to do consulting BS anymore, and because you have lots of apps in the app store and lots of experience writing against the various features you can justify a much higher hourly because you'll be delivering their app faster. I definitely agree with you that writing a single app to try and strike it rich in the app store is foolhardy, unless you already have people signed up to buy it.
georgieporgie 15y ago
Any more information on security/DRM/anti-piracy on Android apps? From what I hear, it seems to be a significant problem, even for apps with ridiculously low prices.
- sehugg 15y ago
  Unfortunately the main problem is that Android devices allow arbitrary packages to be installed. There will always be someone willing and able to crack and distribute any given app that relies solely on client-side security. Your best bet is to roll your own obscure anti-piracy and hope you get most of your sales in the first few days, or look at a solution based on IAP receipts. The same problem exists on iOS, but jailbreaking is an extra inconvenience that only 10% or so of users will accept. Also I doubt many users think twice about downloading a pirated app nowadays (and they should, due to the very real threat of trojans). It's been over a decade since "don't copy that floppy" was replaced by the music/film industry's crusade.
- daniel_solano 15y ago
  The following is a good talk given at this year's Google I/O on how to use secure Android applications: http://www.google.com/events/io/2011/sessions/evading-pirates-and-stopping-vampires-using-license-verification-library-in-app-billing-and-app-engine.html http://www.google.com/events/io/2011/sessions/evading-pirate...
- jackolas 15y ago
  If you foster a positive community relationship, you don't get hurt as bad by it. I don't think its really worth the struggle. (See Swype for example, people would just like for them to take their money, I still don't know if you can buy it yet.)
naner 15y ago
An "absurdly high" price is $15? Also I'm not so sure the DRM has much to do with the app's success. I found pirated versions easily.
- arnorhs 15y ago
  well, in the android market apps tend to be on the cheaper side. You rarely see app for more than $5, so compared to the rest of the market, the price might seem high.
fedd 15y ago
SPB is not a single developer that made this success overnight. it is an established firm that made shells for smartphones for years.
- zrgiu 15y ago
  it's not 3 weeks either, it's over 3 months. A success no less.
- iam 15y ago
  This tells it all. Looks like they were developing it for at least 1 year, I'm guessing they had something to the tune of 4-6 people (if not more) actually working on the development. Still, if they keep up this revenue for a year, it could end up being some very nice returns. Will they really be selling ~$1m a month, or will it taper off soon?
immortalbeast 15y ago
Sounds a lot like Google Propaganda to prop up The Android Market.

111 points by arpit 15y ago

rhizome 15y ago

Has anybody ever said that apps don't sell?

JCB_K 15y ago
Yes, particularly when it comes to Android. Exactly the reason why Angry Birds is free and ad-supported on Android, as opposed to iOS.
- code_duck 15y ago
  I don't think that's the best example - I think if any app would have been sure to sell on Android, it would be Angry Birds. My belief is that Rovio did that to experiment with different types of revenue for mobile games, because they could afford to.

whoisvince 15y ago

I was never one to argue that apps don't sell on the Android Market; however, I do believe that it's a tough business decision for a startup to invest time and resources to a platform that has a sell-rate worse than a fixed las vegas digital slot machine.

arpit 15y ago
I think it depends on the kind of startup. If your startup is trying to grow an audience around a service with a free app, Android is a good place to start, if you are dependent on sales of the app for revenue, I'd go with iOS.
- Skroob 15y ago
  I don't see the compelling reason to start with Android in the free-app-as-front-end-to-web-service case. Is it because Android phones (briefly) outsold iPhones? Last I heard, iOS still has something like a 60% lead in install base, and the latest data says iPhone sales are outpacing Android phone sales again.
  - nextparadigms 15y ago
    iPhone sales don't outpace Android. Android has a 50% market share in new sales last quarter in US, and iPhones have I believe 28-29%. The news was that Android dropped from 53% to 50% when the Verizon iPhone was launched, not about iPhones outpacing Android in market share. They tried to make a big deal out of it, trying to show that it could be a downward trend, but it's nonsense. Android sales keep growing worldwide, and I'm sure it will rise above 50% in US by the time iPhone 5 launches (and take a hit again for a few months, and then rise again).
  - cageface 15y ago
    http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/?p=28237 http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/?p=28237 Android has 38% install base vs 27% for iPhone.
    - cageface 15y ago
      Hacker News, where the facts count for a downvote.
- Roritharr 15y ago
  That was my thinking initially. I went to Android to create the first fundraising app for my competitive fundraising platform because i figured after some research that it would be easier to get people to try it out. The app was never intended to be paid so making a free app with the ability to use a proprietary in-app payment mechanism (PayPal) was what lead to a really easy decision (PayPals Android Developer Challenge was another nudge into the Android direction). The next step will be a webapp to which i'll redirect the iPhone customers. I didn't start with it initially because from the little research i've done, "wizard of oz"-style, people didn't find iPhone webapps stable and trustworthy enough to Donate Money via them.
jrockway 15y ago
Are you sure it's a good idea to develop iPhone or Windows Phone apps either? On average, those don't sell either... and they can be deleted by the Overlords for no reason whatsoever. Despite the extremely high risk, people do it anyway. I'm guessing the risk vs. reward is about the same with Android, but since there's no Kool-Aid to drink, there are more people wasting time on iOS apps. Just a guess, though. (As an Android user, I do think it's strange to pay $15 for the home screen when the whole OS is free.)
- micampe 15y ago
  > (As an Android user, I do think it's strange to pay $15 for the home screen when the whole OS is free.) Why should the value of an application have anything to do with the price of the operating system that hosts it? Why not apply the same reasoning to the hardware you run it on?
  - jrockway 15y ago
    Because the OS already includes a home screen. When CyanogenMod ships with a processor, I'll be upset about paying for that, too. I'm not holding my breath, however.
    - Hostile 15y ago
      Writing a launcher takes work. I don't think it's ever strange to expect payment in return. Just because Google wrote a launcher at some point in the past doesn't mean that all future programmer's work in that area should be released for free. I happen to think this particular launcher is a gimmick, but it's clear that they put work into it and that it's very different than what Google ships.
      - jrockway 15y ago
        Cyanogen uses ADWLauncher, not the one that Google provides :)
    - micampe 15y ago
fleitz 15y ago
There are a few advantages to writing apps for iPhone / Android, one lots of people are looking for consultants, when people hire consultants they want to see a portfolio, so you can increase your skills and possibly make some money building a portfolio while there is the chance of making money. It's much better than doing spec work. So what you do is to write trivial apps, when you get consulting gigs you can say "30 apps in app store", and have a portfolio of apps that look good, also, you write apps around features so you teach yourself the feature, etc, GPS, Gyro, Camera, BUMP API,FB Connect, etc. This is also an important part, spend time making your app look good. Customers can't see code quality, but they do see graphics. To customers good graphics == good code quality. Now if you have 30 apps and one happens to hit a niche you've got a great way to promote your other apps and don't have to do consulting BS anymore, and because you have lots of apps in the app store and lots of experience writing against the various features you can justify a much higher hourly because you'll be delivering their app faster. I definitely agree with you that writing a single app to try and strike it rich in the app store is foolhardy, unless you already have people signed up to buy it.

georgieporgie 15y ago

Any more information on security/DRM/anti-piracy on Android apps? From what I hear, it seems to be a significant problem, even for apps with ridiculously low prices.

sehugg 15y ago
Unfortunately the main problem is that Android devices allow arbitrary packages to be installed. There will always be someone willing and able to crack and distribute any given app that relies solely on client-side security. Your best bet is to roll your own obscure anti-piracy and hope you get most of your sales in the first few days, or look at a solution based on IAP receipts. The same problem exists on iOS, but jailbreaking is an extra inconvenience that only 10% or so of users will accept. Also I doubt many users think twice about downloading a pirated app nowadays (and they should, due to the very real threat of trojans). It's been over a decade since "don't copy that floppy" was replaced by the music/film industry's crusade.
daniel_solano 15y ago
The following is a good talk given at this year's Google I/O on how to use secure Android applications: http://www.google.com/events/io/2011/sessions/evading-pirates-and-stopping-vampires-using-license-verification-library-in-app-billing-and-app-engine.html http://www.google.com/events/io/2011/sessions/evading-pirate...
jackolas 15y ago
If you foster a positive community relationship, you don't get hurt as bad by it. I don't think its really worth the struggle. (See Swype for example, people would just like for them to take their money, I still don't know if you can buy it yet.)

naner 15y ago

An "absurdly high" price is $15? Also I'm not so sure the DRM has much to do with the app's success. I found pirated versions easily.

arnorhs 15y ago
well, in the android market apps tend to be on the cheaper side. You rarely see app for more than $5, so compared to the rest of the market, the price might seem high.

fedd 15y ago

SPB is not a single developer that made this success overnight. it is an established firm that made shells for smartphones for years.

zrgiu 15y ago
it's not 3 weeks either, it's over 3 months. A success no less.
iam 15y ago
This tells it all. Looks like they were developing it for at least 1 year, I'm guessing they had something to the tune of 4-6 people (if not more) actually working on the development. Still, if they keep up this revenue for a year, it could end up being some very nice returns. Will they really be selling ~$1m a month, or will it taper off soon?

immortalbeast 15y ago

Sounds a lot like Google Propaganda to prop up The Android Market.