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I was wondering if there was anyway of someone porting bbm to s2 as my wife likes bbm but doesn't want a blackberry cos there crap.
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There will no BBM for Android ever. This has been discussed numerous time in xda.
Use WhatsApp. It's free forever even though they say it's a "trial". Actually it's a trial that never expires and extending itself when it's nearly expired.
While many industry watchers have suggested that Research in Motion give up its BlackBerry OS and adopt Android instead, RIM CEO Thorsten Heins (above) divulged exactly why the company avoided that route in a recent interview with the Telegraph.
And while RIM’s future seems especially bleak, after delaying its BlackBerry 10 release until 2013, Heins is still holding out hope that BlackBerry Messenger will be an enticing feature for its future devices.
“We took the conscious decision not to go Android,” Heins said. “If you look at other suppliers’ ability to differentiate, there’s very little wiggle room. We looked at it seriously – but if you understand what the promise of BlackBerry is to its user base it’s all about getting stuff done. Games, media, we have to be good at it but we have to support those guys who are ahead of the game. Very little time to consume and enjoy content – if you stay true to that purpose you have to build on that basis. And if we want to serve that segment we can’t do it on a me-too approach.”
Heins is basically reiterating his earlier position on Android, though now it sounds like RIM was closer to adopting Google’s OS than previously thought. I can’t blame the guy for avoiding the Android pile-on though. Looking at HTC’s disappointing earnings report today, it’s clear that there’s really only room for one Android manufacturer at the top — and RIM won’t be unseating Samsung anytime soon.
Personally, I still think RIM has a better shot at repositioning itself as the premiere Windows 8 enterprise partner. Sure, Nokia is struggling with its Windows Phone partnership, but that doesn’t mean similar deals will fail (especially if RIM focuses on a single lucrative market). And it’s certainly better than waiting for BlackBerry 10 to debut next year.
On the topic of BlackBerry Messenger, Heins reiterated that he doesn’t want to bring the service to other platforms. “That’s what attracts people to BlackBerry,” he said. “This is our BlackBerry experience we can deliver – there’s no other system out there where you can read, write, check if you’ve read my message. We want to make it as differentiated as possible.”
Apparently, Mr. Heins hasn’t heard of iMessage, Kik Messenger, or the multitude of other modern messaging services that boast more features than BlackBerry Messenger.
In the same interview, the CEO noted that RIM may have to seek outside help when building BlackBerry 10 devices to keep up with the iPhone and Android. Though I can’t imagine who’d be crazy enough to pay for the privilege to build a BlackBerry 10 phone.
KcLKcL said:
There will no BBM for Android ever. This has been discussed numerous time in xda.
Use WhatsApp. It's free forever even though they say it's a "trial". Actually it's a trial that never expires and extending itself when it's nearly expired.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, WhatsApp is like the WinRAR of Android.
It trumps BBM anyway - which i doubt will ever be on Android as it trumps RIMs only monopoly on Android.
mufcmsy2012 said:
I was wondering if there was anyway of someone porting bbm to s2 as my wife likes bbm but doesn't want a blackberry cos there crap.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use gTalk and whatsapp, and I have about 500 contacts on both
Swyped from my Samsung Galaxy SII
The number of tablet apps designed for the iPad is much greater than those designed for the Nexus 10. However, in some cases the Nexus 10 doesn't need an app to do the job better than the iPad.
For example, trading on the CMCMarkets Web site needs Flash which is available on Windows or Android browsers but not on the Apple browser. Therefore, a seperate app is required on the iPad to trade on CMCMarkets and the one available is not as good for trading using the Windows or Android browsers.
So, although the iPad has more tablet designed apps than the Nexus 10 some of them are to compensate for not having Flash.
I'm all Android, but iPad's app ecosystem is great, even if they don't have flash.
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Actually many apps are created on iOS because it lacks Flash, but that's no excuse for developers not to create them for Android, especially now that Flash is officially off Android. But you can access very much on Nexus 10 through a flash-supported browser, that is a minimum for me before buying a $500 device.
Is there a browser BTW which allows splitscreen, or one that has a large screen widget to use on desktop?
locoboi187 said:
I'm all Android, but iPad's app ecosystem is great, even if they don't have flash.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem with the iPad, for me (and i owned one briefly before i sold it,Wifi iPad2 16GB) is that the apps cost more than the Android equivalents sometimes and sometimes an app is free on Android but you need to pay for it on IOS.
The iPad apps are great when they are tablet optimised, there are more of them, but if you get an app that's not optimized unlike Android where it fills the screen, the app stays phone sized on the iPad, which is just weird.
Then when you add in a crap keyboard, no widgets (this was a biggie for me) and a restrictive ecosystem it ended up being sold.
Which was great as it helped with the cost of my just ordered Nexus 10.
Each to their own.
TheBlueRaja said:
The problem with the iPad, for me (and i owned one briefly before i sold it,Wifi iPad2 16GB) is that the apps cost more than the Android equivalents sometimes and sometimes an app is free on Android but you need to pay for it on IOS.
The iPad apps are great when they are tablet optimised, there are more of them, but if you get an app that's not optimized unlike Android where it fills the screen, the app stays phone sized on the iPad, which is just weird.
Then when you add in a crap keyboard, no widgets (this was a biggie for me) and a restrictive ecosystem it ended up being sold.
Which was great as it helped with the cost of my just ordered Nexus 10.
Each to their own.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One of the great benifits of Android is that you can change it to suit yourself. For example, I love the Hackers keyboard with the row of numbers on view like the Galaxy Note and the easy access to the other characters using the shift key.
Gaugerer said:
One of the great benifits of Android is that you can change it to suit yourself. For example, I love the Hackers keyboard with the row of numbers on view like the Galaxy Note and the easy access to the other characters using the shift key.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but i also think its one of its weaknesses for the average joe, the iPad is simple, Android can be confusing due to the number of options.
I hoping what I saw from Skype 3.0 yesterday, could be the start of developers taking android tablets more seriously...
I have read that there is also the added benefit that app devs for android don't have to re-optimize their apps for tablets (resolution etc. like many devs had to do with the release of the retina iPad AND the original release of the ipad with supporting the larger screen size) apparently all the apps are able to scale up resolution without having to re-optimize...at least I thought I read that somewhere!
TheEmpyre said:
I have read that there is also the added benefit that app devs for android don't have to re-optimize their apps for tablets (resolution etc. like many devs had to do with the release of the retina iPad AND the original release of the ipad with supporting the larger screen size) apparently all the apps are able to scale up resolution without having to re-optimize...at least I thought I read that somewhere!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Optimization =/= Upscaling
Upscaling is not exactly but somewhat like stretching everything to fit the screen. There are algorithms to make it look better but that's the basic idea.
Optimization is making images and an interface directly for a tablet. This won't need any stretching and such and will always look better.
The apps for Android tablets are bad.....they just are. If you deny that, then you're not interested in a serious conversation on the topic. You're just biased towards Android to the point where you will make any excuse possible to make it sound better than it is.
I love Android as and OS, but Android tablets are just not worth it at this point. Apps like:
- ESPN Scorecenter
- Ebay
- Pandora
- Chase Mobile
- Amazon Mobile (doesn't even exist for Android tablets yet)
- Facebook
SUCK on Android tablets. And these are all FREE
mva5580 said:
The apps for Android tablets are bad.....they just are. If you deny that, then you're not interested in a serious conversation on the topic. You're just biased towards Android to the point where you will make any excuse possible to make it sound better than it is.
I love Android as and OS, but Android tablets are just not worth it at this point. Apps like:
- ESPN Scorecenter
- Ebay
- Pandora
- Chase Mobile
- Amazon Mobile (doesn't even exist for Android tablets yet)
- Facebook
SUCK on Android tablets. And these are all FREE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or you just don't care about a single one of the apps mentioned. Okay, I do use eBay for notifications, but I couldn't care less about its look.
mva5580 said:
The apps for Android tablets are bad.....they just are. If you deny that, then you're not interested in a serious conversation on the topic. You're just biased towards Android to the point where you will make any excuse possible to make it sound better than it is.
I love Android as and OS, but Android tablets are just not worth it at this point. Apps like:
- ESPN Scorecenter
- Ebay
- Pandora
- Chase Mobile
- Amazon Mobile (doesn't even exist for Android tablets yet)
- Facebook
SUCK on Android tablets. And these are all FREE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- ESPN Scorecenter - Don't care
- Ebay - Don't care
- Pandora - Only use it on my phone
- Chase Mobile - I use the web site
- Amazon Mobile (doesn't even exist for Android tablets yet) - I use the web site
- Facebook - It's good enough for what it does
I'd take quality (Android) over quantity (iOS). iOS has a ton of useless crapplets. Can't do without Groove IP, Lecture Notes, Droid48, Google Maps/Navigation/Streetview/Gmail/Docs/Translate/YouTube, OnLive and many more.
mi7chy said:
I'd take quality (Android) over quantity (iOS). iOS has a ton of useless crapplets. Can't do without Groove IP, Lecture Notes, Droid48, Google Maps/Navigation/Streetview/Gmail/Docs/Translate/YouTube, OnLive and many more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That makes absolutely no sense. iOS and Android both have very high quality apps and both have some pretty useless apps as well. For every app you listed (probably with the exception of maps, LOL), there's a high quality iOS equivalent app for it.
Anybody with half a brain could find an app to suit their needs on both systems.
Randomwalker said:
Or you just don't care about a single one of the apps mentioned. Okay, I do use eBay for notifications, but I couldn't care less about its look.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Techie2012 said:
- ESPN Scorecenter - Don't care
- Ebay - Don't care
- Pandora - Only use it on my phone
- Chase Mobile - I use the web site
- Amazon Mobile (doesn't even exist for Android tablets yet) - I use the web site
- Facebook - It's good enough for what it does
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly why we won't see that many tablet apps. People get so worked up when an app isn't holo themed but no one cares about having tablet apps. Android users just don't care and when users don't care, developers don't care. When folks start getting as sensitive to the lack of tablet optimization in an app as they do with an app that's not holo themed, that's when we'll start seeing more tablet apps.
I care and I make it a point to contact developers to ask them about a tablet version of their app. Be the change you want to see. Start caring and devs will follow.
-email developers and ask them for a tablet app
-let your voices be heard! Leave a comment and don't be afraid to dock them a couple stars for the lack of tablet optimization.
-don't be cheap!! Reward developers who taken the time to optimize their apps. I think the second posters in this thread said apps were too expensive or something. Seriously. Apps cost less than a cup of coffee at Starbucks.
This mentality that stretched out apps are just as good is absurd. People love to use the argument that stretching an app is better than what the iPad is doing. While that may be true in some cases, iPad users rarely have to worry about such things. Any app that you'd likely use on iPad will probably have an optimized version for it.
I know this may not be the most serious thing in the world but honestly, complaining about it in forums isn't going to do anything. Be proactive. Let developers know what we need and if there are enough people who want it, it will surely get done.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2
mva5580 said:
The apps for Android tablets are bad.....they just are. If you deny that, then you're not interested in a serious conversation on the topic. You're just biased towards Android to the point where you will make any excuse possible to make it sound better than it is.
I love Android as and OS, but Android tablets are just not worth it at this point. Apps like:
- ESPN Scorecenter
- Ebay
- Pandora
- Chase Mobile
- Amazon Mobile (doesn't even exist for Android tablets yet)
- Facebook
SUCK on Android tablets. And these are all FREE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think anyone will deny that Apple has more tablet apps. I will disagree that android apps are bad. I don't think your assessment is fair.
I've never had problems with a few of those apps that you listed. The others I haven't used.
Saying android tablets aren't worth it because a few apps on Android aren't as good is only true to you. I don't use my tablets only for those apps, and when I need those apps, they are there they get the job done just the same.
Sovs said:
Anybody with half a brain could find an app to suit their needs on both systems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For anyone with half a brain I do highly recommend iOS devices with its limitations and restrictiveness. Even Apple's cofounder Steve Wozniak commented that it's good for mentally challenged people:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/01/14/even-woz-thinks-the-android-bests-the-iphone.html
"...people who are just scared of computers altogether and don’t want to use them. The iPhone is the least frightening thing. For that kind of person who is scared of complexity..."
The thing is if google wants devs to develop more tablet optimized apps they should start by polishing their own.
Just look at the horrible compressed music art in the play music app, i ****ing hate how it downsamples whatever your album art is, now look at the album art on the iPad music player, the full res art looks great. I have ordered my 32gb Nexus 10 but this seriously ticks me off as i own an iPad 3 and a TP. Don't get me started wih the clock app.
Google's own Google+ app works better on the iPad3 than the Nexus 10
ridiculous...
Could not agree more I have a note 2 for phone and ipad 3 for tablet. I also have a nexus 7 and android tablet suck in the app department big time it's not even funny. Ipad has it beat by a long shot and this is why ipad is so popular. Plus all developers concentrate on iOS and ipad before they even consider android. It's a shame I wish they were at least equal but don't matter what specs android tablet have if they don't have the apps majority of your normal users will not buy it period.
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I know this is a little off topic,. but thought it should be seen. Here is the article that i copied and pasted with the URL below to the story, thanks.
There has been lots of action in the mobile industry this week.
First, Samsung is launching a much-anticipated new smartphone in New York this evening--a phone that many observers think will vault it ahead of Apple (AAPL) and the rest of the smartphone industry.
The existing version of this phone, the Galaxy S3, has already put Samsung on a par with Apple, with many phone buyers preferring the Galaxy's large screen to the smaller one on Apple's iPhone 5.
Samsung's new phone, the Galaxy S4, will be even bigger, and it is also expected to have several other new features that may make the iPhone look old and boring in comparison.
Related: Everything You Need to Know About The Samsung Galaxy 4S
Samsung, the Korean TV giant, has come out of nowhere over the last few years to become the world's largest smartphone seller. This rise has surprised both Wall Street and Apple. Apple's stock has tanked. And with Samsung now poised to leap past Apple, Apple executives are suddenly on the defensive.
This week, in a surprising move that has rubbed even Apple fans the wrong way, one of Apple's senior executives, Phil Schiller, gave interviews to The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg in which he trashed the Android operating system that powers Samsung phones.
"When you take an Android device out of the box, you have to sign up to nine accounts with different vendors to get the experience iOS comes with," Schiller told the WSJ. "They don't work seamlessly together."
He went on to say that "Android is often given as a free replacement for a feature phone and the experience isn't as good as an iPhone."
The points that Schiller made about Android--that it is fragmented into different versions and that it's not as simple to use as Apple's operating system--were reasonable. But coming as they did on Samsung's big launch day, the comments seemed defensive, classless, and even desperate.
Apple's founder and CEO, Steve Jobs, was famous for trashing his competitors' products. But Jobs' picked his spots carefully. His criticisms came on Apple conference calls or at Apple events. He didn't try to steal competitors' thunder on their product launch days.
Also, in the days when Jobs was ridiculing the competition, Apple really was miles ahead of everyone. But it no longer is. So the sudden show of bravado seems even more tone deaf.
The last big development in the smartphone industry this week is that the executive who has built Google's (GOOG) Android operating system from the ground up, Andy Rubin, is being replaced by another Google executive.
Google appears to want to "unify" its two operating systems, Android and a laptop-based operating system called Chrome. This move makes strategic sense: In a world in which "mobile" is now a continuum between laptops and phones (with tablets in between), it's silly to maintain two separate operating systems. And it looks as though, in this unification, Google has chosen between two executives and decided to have the new combined effort led by Chrome boss Sundar Pichai.
In a trend that is reminiscent of the PC industry in the 1980s and 1990s, the Android operating system has become the dominant global mobile operating system over the last several years.
Apple's operating system, meanwhile, iOS, has been reduced to a niche player.
In "platform markets" like these, in which third-party companies build apps and services that run on top of these operating systems, market share is very important.
So if Samsung's new phone is a big hit, and Google's Android continues to gain global market share, Apple's challenges are only going to increase.
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/dail...ve-samsung-launches-huge-phone-145732269.html
This is not development. Smfh..... To the article. Didn't mean this to sound that mean. Just a little mean
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2
This is probably in the wrong section and will probably be moved. but i call bull**** on this! Samsung smokes apple out of the water, and im just talking about the Note 2.. And i came from an iPhone just last year!
I love the iPhone and I love android. Both for different reasons. The iPhone always "just works". Which is fantastic and boring at the same time. Android works great or needs help working great which is all the fun we do
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hopesrequiem said:
I love the iPhone and I love android. Both for different reasons. The iPhone always "just works". Which is fantastic and boring at the same time. Android works great or needs help working great which is all the fun we do
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well this is my first android phone where it "just works".. on top of the freedom that comes along with it, by far, the best phone on the market. It's already awesome!
Wrong section . People fail to realize that Android statistics include the cheaper, lower end phones. Samsung caters to those who want the high end devices as well as to those who seek a low-cost for, while apple does NOT.
So they are comparing their ONLY phone which is their HIGH end to a variety of androids from the GN2 to some android phone you can pick up for pennies on the dollar. Those who I have spoken to that talked bad about androids were talking about phones I've never even heard of. What they should do is compare the satisfactory ratings for specific phones and see which one comes on top...oh wait...already done that and saw the results
So many editors are so quick to jump the gun and publish an article with HORRIBLE sources and populations in which the statistics were gathered from.
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So if this is off topic why would you for any reason think it goes in development? I mean you've been around since 2010..... come on man! Reported.
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Thread has been moved, and unfortunately I am going to have to close it also. All talk of "iPhone vs. Android" or "Apple said this" tends to get ugly fast. Trust me I despise Apple just as much as most of us do, but this isn't the place for it.
As the title says, are in-app purchases as effective as I'd like to think they are?
As we're all fully aware, there are a lot of people around the internet who will do whatever they can to get a game or app that they shouldn't be able to.
Obviously developers have to make money when they choose to because otherwise they could be making a loss and not want to continue to develop any more. What is their best option to make money?
1) They could have a price on their app/game but once paid for, no more money will need to be spent in the app/game.
2) They could use the popular method of creating a free version and a paid version.
3) Have the app/game free of charge but have in-app purchases to make some money from it.
There are of course downsides to each of the options above but in my mind, the best option is 3) because it's not as easy to be able to get around the paying system. The only way around, that I can currently think of, would be by using cheat systems such as GameCih.
Whereas with the other 2 options, it's fairly easy to be able to bypass the required payment.
A perfect example of in-app purchases working is with Shadowgun Deadzone.
If the app had not been free, chances are I wouldn't have been interested in it because I couldn't test it before buying.
As the game is free, I tested the game out and because I thoroughly enjoy the game, I've since bought in game gold numerous times and will continue to do so.
I know that not everyone will have the same mentality as me but it proves, in my case, that in-app purchases work.
What are your thoughts on in-app purchases or what do you feel are the benefits of simply putting a price on the app/game?
From my experience, In App Billing is really good.
In my truck parking game, 3D Truck Parking, there are about 4 level packs for free and 1 that you have to buy with IAB. I must say that I got a lot of purchases daily!
IAB is better, you don't have to maintain two different versions, its easy to set up. Also users can't cancel an order they make through IAB & its linked to their accounts. On a normal paid app you can copy the apk and cancel the order, making it easy to steal.
When i started to work with android app i did two version free and paid. Now i'm sure that it's wrong. One free application with in-app payments is the best choise.
Question
Hi Guys!
I'm writing my academic thesis about the market of the app stores and I would like to interview some developers about the monetization, revenue models etc... If you could answer some questions please contact me at [email protected] It would be a great help! Thank you very much!
Freemium and IAB
Hi,
I believe Freemium is a good model for many apps, specially games.
And IAB is the best option to support the Freemium model, to my experience.
I tried other options such as free app with paid apk acting as an unlock key, which is a quite popular model on the Play Store, but not as powerful and flexible as IAB.
So I would really recommend IAB, specially latest version 3 which is easier to use.
Make sure you use the helper class provided by Google, but be careful, there are a few bugs in it...Look for fixes in stackoverflow !
Good luck!
Eric
I can certainly say I wish I had implemented in app purchasing instead of a free and paid version of the same app. As mentioned before, the ease of not having to maintain two versions, as well as the advantage of free app entry is a big plus. Definitely the way to go if the app is designed in a way that makes sense for that style.
In-apps are gr8, the only problem is that the app must be developed rly good (if not excelent i.e. nice in-game economy) to encurage ppl to use them. Freemium FTW!
I would love to move to IAB but I already have a paid/free app combo in the store. That would just be another app to maintain
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Just to say, Google Play bans ALL apps with in-app purchase here.
Besides, I can't but any apps in GP.
What a shame, Google.
F2P is here to stay
When you look at the top grossing list on both Google Play and iTunes you will see that, in fact, free-to-play titles make more money than paid titles. Of course, market for premium titles will still exist, especially for high-quality utility apps but in games F2P is dominating and, I think, this trend will continue.
As you experienced yourself, this model is super-convenient for players, you can test a game and, if interested, pay for additional items, etc. The only one thing which is tricky is keeping balance, ie. not making a game pay-to-win.
Last but not least, it's so much more exciting from a dev perspective to have 1 million of players enjoying your title than 10k Making money of them is yet another matter.
As a user I still like the idea of purchasing an app once and using it for as long as I like, but maybe I'm getting old...
I don't like the pay2play model, for example in real racing 3 you can only race a couple of rounds and then your car needs maintenance. This maintenance takes just long enough to hate it, but with in game coins you can make it happen instantly, which you can buy with real money.
The same goes for buying new cars: you don't make a lot of money racing so buying a new car takes ages (if you don't pay for quick maintenance that is) but you can again buy credits with real money to make it faster.
This probably makes for a continious money flow for the developers, but it annoys me; I would much rather just pay once and then play forever, and after that maybe pay some more for some dlc or something, but i don't like paying just to keep playing...
I don't mind what model developer choose. But I'm really disappointed by the lack of proper filters in Google Play. Free and Payed is not enough! It's cheating that demo or IAB applications are listed together with really free applications. There should be at least third category, which would gather demo, IAB etc apps - apps that aren't fully free. I would also love to have "open source" category.
Google's IAB is simple to implement in the app/game, but it has a huge disadvantage: if no server verification was implemented, then it is very easy to automatically hack IAB, there are many hacking tools available. Server verification is not an easy to implement. At least, a dedicated server is needed + experience in server programming.
IAP is good, but takes work
I have deployed apps with both IAP as well as the free/paid model.
IAP allows a single app with combined ratings and DL count (and free apps get more casual attention)
IAP takes more work - code, testing, and setup in portal
Paid apps on different app stores are easy. IAP solutions from each app store are not compatible with each other.
I plan to use IAP as the primary model on my next app (as well as ads), with no paid version. We'll see how that goes. I decided to try subscriptions, which is a tougher sell.
For a first app, however, the free/paid model may be much easier for many devs. Just hit a switch to show the no-ad layout (or whatever other features the paid version has) and dump the separate apk up on Google Play.
BTW I blog on ad networks and Android app stores at http://www.projectjourneyman.com. I created a report with charts showing my experience with a paid app as well as a free app w/IAP on Amazon and Google Play (plus paid app on Nook). Getting it signs you up to my email newsletter, but you can unsubscribe right away if you want
As a user I agree with an earlier poster that a once off fee for a full featured product is the most satisfying.
The biggest problem is IAP is that it needs to be very well implemented and generally this is not the case. More often than not it becomes a pay to win scenario which is just silly.
Too many games entice you to make a payment and then you feel you've been robbed as there was little value in the purchase.
I understand it is a good business model to get money from your hard work as a developer but personally I find it almost unethical. It becomes a little like gambling where games are addictive and require you to keep feeding in money to continue playing. This is not dissimilar to the pokie machines (aka slot machines) which are a very political issue here in Australia. I can imagine this pricing model in mobile games also becoming a political issue for similar reason if it is not self regulated by developers.
Also, hacking IAP apps is often pretty easy to do to avoid payment so this model is not immune to piracy.
Developers who depend on freemium might find their market drying up when their customers finally realize it's really a scam.
Im sorry for putting it this way but it's more honest to say so.
Freemiums are making money right now because of new smartphone owners who dont know any better.
But just like kids growing up, they will realize its better to buy outright a game than to keep throwing money into a game to get in game items just to play it well. It becomes pretty expensive later on.
The gold rush isnt going to last.
Here's my 2p's worth as a consumer, not a developer. The Freemium model is OK if its implemented correctly. Hill Climb Racing and Jetpack Joyride are two examples of what I believe to be decent titles. They're both so well made I have ended up spending real money on them both, not because I had to in order to progress or complete them (I'm looking at you Glu Games) but because I enjoyed the titles so much I wanted to play faster and support the developers. As for Real Racing 3, well I've got all the cars fully upgraded and I've never given EA a f***ing penny, nor will I.
There are limits.
I personally love the free / paid app model and almost all the tools and system apps I now use or have used were free versions I found invaluable and subsequently paid for. Hell, I've even bought 'Donate' versions that are exactly the same (Orux Maps) purely because the apps are that good.
Ultimately if people want to steal your work they'll find a way. Theft isn't going anywhere. But neither is the desire to reward decent work that is genuinely good value. I guess the way to get paid is to strive to create something of value.
bong4316 said:
Developers who depend on freemium might find their market drying up when their customers finally realize it's really a scam.
Im sorry for putting it this way but it's more honest to say so.
Freemiums are making money right now because of new smartphone owners who dont know any better.
But just like kids growing up, they will realize its better to buy outright a game than to keep throwing money into a game to get in game items just to play it well. It becomes pretty expensive later on.
The gold rush isnt going to last.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not agree, not all games use aggressive freemium model to milk the money from the users. In-app purchases are often used to buy additional unnecessary content (for example, extra levels) or to remove ads (because all free games are supported by ads). So the game just gives users a choice: either live with ads, or convert game into ads-free version.
nishyt said:
IAB is better, you don't have to maintain two different versions, its easy to set up. Also users can't cancel an order they make through IAB & its linked to their accounts. On a normal paid app you can copy the apk and cancel the order, making it easy to steal.
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totally agree! IAP is much better!
When it comes to market share amongst smart phone users, Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS are the leaders. Both Android and iOS come up with an excellent operating system which makes the usage of mobile phones altogether exclusive and captivating. A huge market base of users using iOS and Android has pushed thousands of app developers across the world to come up with great and highly useful apps.
App developers have always had to face stern competition and this led to losing out on a strong user base. Most of the people end up downloading apps which are top ranked. The Google Playstore or iOS’s App Store are the places where people get their apps, games and other utility items. Now whenever the end user is browsing through apps or games, he would surely end up installing a higher ranked app. This issue does not let small players to fight through the competition.
If you happen to be an app developer developing apps for both iOS and Android, then here is a detailed article to let you know about the easiness of getting an iOS app ranked well as compared to its Android counterpart.
The Developmental Costs
IOS apps are significantly cheaper to develop. An iOS app will cost around 35% less than what you to spend for an Android app. The main reason for this is the amount of time required to develop an app. Android apps require almost 2-3 times more time than iOS apps for development. What it means is that you can rather use that part of cost to improvise your app. A better app automatically gets a stronger hand. Most of the Android apps are a bit poor at their nascent stages.
Demographics and Reach
Now the next big thing about rankings is the type of audience or user base. Generally, iOS users are from more financially stable countries and have a better level of technological ease as compared to Android users. This ensures that the end users are pretty much genuine and are actually getting the best of the apps. As a developer you must know the importance of having users who are genuine and actually get the most out of your app. A genuine like or appreciation definitely ranks up an app higher.
Approvals and Competition
A very infamous thing about Android apps is that they get approved easily by Google, now this means that whoever develops an app for Android is going to get a sure shot approval. This increases the competition between app developers. A great amount of competition never really lets your app blossom. In case of iOS getting an app approved is quite difficult. They have a stern system which makes quite a few checks before your app goes live. This means that there are lesser apps and hence a lesser amount of competition.
Offerwalls
Google lets you have offerwalls. Offerwalls somewhat ensure that users are getting continuous offers or incentives to download new apps. This means that users keep on downloading new apps for the rewards that they get. Here, the amount competition again shoots up and developers see their ranks getting hampered. In case of Apple, they do not allow offerwalls; this means people do not download apps just because of the incentives. The user base is a bit smaller and thus competition is not as fierce as Android.
These were some of the reasons why it’s a bit easier for developers to get their iOS apps ranked better than Android apps. There are several other factors as well which include application features, hardware capacity, time engaged while using an application, the OS version on the user’s mobile phone. People having an iPhone have an upper hand in terms of having better hardware configuration and this enables them to have a hassle free app experience. iOS is a bit more stable and flexible than Android and this lets developers experiment with new things and make the user experience even more engaging. Apps on iOS automatically end up having better ranks easily than Android with so many features and facilities.
I agree with almost everything you wrote. I disagree with you when you say that developing iOS apps is faster than developing for Android.
I worked for an enterprise that has apps developed for Android, Windows Phone and iOS and iOS application took much more time to be finished than the time required to finish Android and Windows Phone versions.
marcioandreyoliveira said:
I agree with almost everything you wrote. I disagree with you when you say that developing iOS apps is faster than developing for Android.
I worked for an enterprise that has apps developed for Android, Windows Phone and iOS and iOS application took much more time to be finished than the time required to finish Android and Windows Phone versions.
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Hello! thanks for commenting on this post. I appreciate that. Yes, the time-frame can vary app to app depending on the genre and size.