
Some Apps Do Sell: Developer Makes $750K in 3 Weeks on Android Market - arpit
http://www.readwriteweb.com/mobile/2011/06/developer-makes-750000-dollars-in-three-weeks-on-android-market.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+readwriteweb+%28ReadWriteWeb%29
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fedd
SPB is not a single developer that made this success overnight. it is an
established firm that made shells for smartphones for years.

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iam
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?

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naner
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.

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arnorhs
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.

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whoisvince
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.

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jrockway
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.)

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rimantas

      > and they can be deleted by the Overlords for no reason
      > whatsoever
    

Please, name a few _deleted for no reason_.

    
    
      > Despite the extremely high risk, people do it anyway
    

Extremely high risk of what? 400 000+ approved apps is an indicator of
extremely high risk, I guess…

    
    
      > but since there's no Kool-Aid to drink,
    

Only money to be made.

    
    
      > there are more people wasting time on iOS apps
    

And getting more then $2 billion paid.

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patrickaljord

        > 400 000+ approved apps
        > And getting more then $2 billion paid.
    

Which is an average of: 2 000 000 000/400 000= $5000 per app since 2008. How
is that a good source of revenue again? It's the same as Android, only a very
small percentage make a descent living out of it. It may be a bit more for the
iPhone (for paid apps only because android apps make more on ads on average)
but it's still very unlikely you'll make enough money to survive.

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rimantas
Your math implies that all apps are paid and each is developed by different
developer. Both are false.

And it is not the same as Android by far.

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rhizome
Has anybody ever said that apps don't sell?

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JCB_K
Yes, particularly when it comes to Android. Exactly the reason why Angry Birds
is free and ad-supported on Android, as opposed to iOS.

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code_duck
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.

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georgieporgie
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.

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sehugg
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.

