Will Developers For Google Platforms Make Any Money?
Posted on 25. Jun, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey in Features
It was brought to my attention recently an article talking about overall dollar amounts that developers make for their applications that are sold in top mobile marketplaces. Basically, a huge amount of money has been paid out to developers for Apple’s iOS, while Android has seen very little in revenues to those who create for that platform.
The fact that so little apps have been sold in the marketplace, coupled with the fact that there are more Android phones now being outsold by iPhones, brings up a few thoughts.
One is a recent report that says developers are indeed interested in making apps for Android tablets and smartphones; the problem is that this may be true, interest is not turning into solid numbers for the Android Market. For whatever reason, the overall amount of money that is going to app developers for Android is still small despite the interest. That’s a problem. Is it possible that Android users expect all of their apps to be available for free? That is indeed a possibility.
That brings the Chrome Web Store into the picture here. Expected to be the way that users will be able to buy apps when Chrome OS comes to market, one has to wonder whether it will be a boon for developers or not.
One way to prevent the same problems that Android is now experiencing is to launch an incentive-laden paid advertising model for the Chrome Web Store, one perhaps not unlike AdSense for websites. This way, developers can see that they need to create applications that captivate a large audience. This way, popular apps are created for the mass market, and creators make money for doing so.
It may not work for all applications, but it is a great way to launch an app market until there is a diverse set of people using the platform, which may be the underlying problem that currently plagues the Android Market. Too many people with the same interests, and for whatever reason not willing to pay up for apps like those who use the iPhone do.
