

Ask YC: Mobile application developers- use GetJar? - hv23

I'm trying to better understand the mobile application distribution ecosystem, which GetJar.com and other sites play in. It seems to me like GetJar is the leader of this space (any opinions about that?) and I'm hoping to find some more information about it.<p>Do any mobile application developers on the Java, Flash Lite, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Symbian, or Palm platforms have experience using this site to distribute and test beta versions of your application? 
If so, what type of experience have you had with this site, and have you paid for premium spots or  used their Pay Per Download program? How valuable is the beta testing community, and is the feedback they offer any good?<p>Are there any other mobile app distribution sites you would recommend, that have either similar or superior download rates to GetJar?<p>Thanks a lot, I've been digging but haven't been able to find too much information about this topic.
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jsjenkins168
To be honest, the only mobile application distribution site which will likely
matter in a year will be the iPhone AppStore. Its likely to go live this
month. Google has mentioned they will come out with their own app distribution
site for Android but it is unclear when this will be or how much impact it
will have.

The iPhone is going global and with the carrier subsidies, it will be cheap.
My suggestion is to focus your efforts there.

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aggieben
_To be honest, the only mobile application distribution site which will likely
matter in a year will be the iPhone AppStore._

That doesn't seem likely to me. As popular as the iPhone is and will be, the
millions of Blackberries and Palms and WindowsCE units out there aren't simply
going to disappear, and in the aggregate will account for greater market share
than the iPhone.

~~~
hv23
Right, as impressive as the iPhone's early showing has been, and despite the
fact that it IS steadily gaining market share, the fact remains that it still
holds only a small percentage of overall smartphone market share, in the US
and even more so worldwide. The same is likely to hold true with Android- the
fact that the mobile industry is so heavily controlled by the carriers who are
resistant to change and proliferation of handsets is going to make it hard for
any one platform or phone to completely dominate the market.

The fact remains that mobile developers need to concentrate their efforts on a
variety of platforms, so my question is- once they build their apps, where do
they go to get mass distribution? After doing some more reading, it seems like
GetJar mostly occupies a niche as a mass beta-testing service-- what other
places are useful for developers to get distribution and gain traction?

~~~
aggieben
Maybe this is an opportunity for a startup :-)

