

Ask HN: Indie Markets other than iPhone App store - rick_2047

I know this is a very old school question to ask but I am new so just humor me please. I started looking into actual development of as an indie developer sometime when the app store was launched and from then on it seems its the only platform for the indie developers.<p>But I know there must have been other markets before the app store, where people can put there apps up for a small fee. I searched a lot but there was no convincing result found. (I think this is the kind of search where you just get lucky if you think of the correct keywords). So I as you people : "What are small markets, for indie developers where one can actually make money?"
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SwellJoe
It's called "the web". It's pretty awesome. There are no fees to be a
developer on "the web". There is no application process. You don't have to get
approval before selling your application on "the web", and no one can remove
your application from "the web" if it competes with existing functionality.
You can develop for any platform you like, and sell your app on "the web".

OK, so this is my somewhat smartass way of saying, "Why not stake out your own
plot of land, instead of sharecropping?" The bad old days when small software
developers had to go through distributors in order to reach the market are
gone; don't wish for those bad old days to come back. When you build your own
website, and your own community, those customers are _yours_. When you build
on top of an "app store", those customers belong to Apple, or Google, or
Facebook, whoever. If I'm putting in all the effort to build a loyal customer
base, I want that customer base to be mine.

~~~
az
The second half is well said.

I'm also thinking of producing something for mobile users. Does it make sense
to just stick with a web app or a mobile app is the way to go? (In my case I
need the gps of the phone)

~~~
SwellJoe
I didn't mean that "the web" is only for distributing web applications. You
can sell _anything_ from your own website. Mobile apps, web apps, installable
desktop or server apps, etc. I'm saying you shouldn't go looking for ways to
give your customers to someone else, if you can avoid it.

If you want to reach iPhone users, you pretty much have to go through the
Apple store...I question the economic value of iPhone users as a market, but
if that's the application you want to build, and you need access to the whole
phone, I guess that's the way you have to get there. But, I don't see any
reason to go looking for more "app markets" that impose those same
limitations, and separate you from your users in those ways. App markets are
not good for developers, and they aren't good for consumers, so why go looking
for more of them?

------
_delirium
Well as far as phone apps go, there is also the Google Android app store.
Smaller market, but fairly large and growing rapidly, and less crowded as far
as app-selling competitors go (so far). Also, developing for it is free and
doesn't require Apple approving your app.

For games in particular, there are a number of other indie-distribution
channels, like XBox Live Arcade. For other kinds of software, there's the
traditional "sell shareware over the internet" approach, which is declining
for the most part but still relatively robust on OS X. There are also web
apps, which can be supported either by ads or by selling premium add-ons,
among other possibilities.

