The numbers are in, and they are BAD! The Android Market was never expected to start pulling in as much sales as that of the iPhone, but the numbers revealed by an Android developer are almost… well, embarrassing.
In a blog post by Matt Hall of Larva Labs a “privately held software company based in New York focused on mobile entertainment applications for the T-Mobile Sidekick, iPhone and Android platforms”, he shares his sales data, and opinion about what might be the problem with the Android Market’s model.
So how bad are the numbers? Well, what does this say:
The word you’re looking for is OUCH!
Larva Labs is responsible for two top selling applications, RetroDefense and Battle for Mars which are currently in the number 12 and number 5 spots, and RetroDefence was even number 1 for a while. Both apps sell for $4.99, and despite this the author is getting a meager daily average of $62.39! They compare this to the $3,500 a day for a game on the number 5 spot on the iPhone AppStore!
Some of the problems they believe might be responsible for this poor performance are:
- No screenshots of application in the store
- 325 character application description limit
- The only payment option is Google Checkout
- Free applications are more highlighted that paid apps
- Failed / stalled downloads, credit card verification delays
People cant be expected to research their application online before buying it on the store, screen shots are a must! And the 325 character limit, try explaining all the features of GMail in two and a half tweets!
Google is
supposedly working on adding more payment options to their Android Market, and the developer claims that the download and verification issues are decreasing over time, as the Market matures.
With Android being free, open source and based on Linux, it perhaps attracts a similar ecology as that of Linux, where nearly all application are free and open source, however this nature of the store is something that an average Android owner will be oblivious to.
Android and the Android Market both need some work before they can successfully compete with the iPhone. Many annoyed and infuriated developers are bound to stop developing for the iPhone, and they need a place to go.