Posted By Notes - MassMobile Software Devs’ Meetup (4/21/09)
Thanks to everyone who came out to last week’s MassMobile Software Developers meetup; we had nearly 30 people attend and had a very strong technology-focused discussion. Here are our notes from the meeting:
iPhone SDK 3.0 - Overview and Implications
- Many user-focused features in iPhone OS 3.0, including video capture, copy/paste and system-wide search
- SDK 3.0 allows developers to sell in-app content
- Still subject to 30% fee to Apple
- Free apps will not be allowed to sell in-app content; Apple (and Android) trying to maintain barrier between free and paid apps
Push Notification Services announced (ability to send notifications directly to iPhone)
- Very easy to use - you set up a server, it talks to Apple’s server, Apple’s server talks to the device. You should only use the original owner account which you first created with Apple to administer the server settings!
- Push notifications appear quickly, you can customize the message and the sound. Users can be given option to launch the app once they receive notification
- Background processes are still not allowed
Cupcake update for Android - Overview and Implications
- Cupcake is the nickname for latest version of Google’s stack for Android (SDK 1.5), which will launch in May; it will be available on the G2 (HTC Magic) and via OTA for existing G1 users.
- Cupcake includes a new version of the OS, which includes features such as
- Touch screen keyboard
- Accelerometer based orientation switching
- Stereo Bluetooth plus raw video and audio support
It also provides updates to built-in apps such as:
- “Camcorder” with ability to upload directly to YouTube
- Updated webkit (for improved web browser)
- Faster GPS
New developer tools are provided, including:
- SDK targeting (picking which version your app targets)
- AVDs (ability to create hardware profiles in the emulator)
- Activity Task Framework (manages handling of background threads)
- Ability to create home screen widgets
- Voice recognition API also available (potentially enabling user to interact with app via voice)
- However, Google has been arrogant about Cupcake, blames crashes on the applications
- Using undocumented APIs is bad because when they changed them in cupcake it completely breaks apps.
- The official Changelist for Cupcake has not yet been released
Coding on Apple vs. Android
- Android is managed, iPhone is native
- Anything which can be done on iPhone can be done on Android; vice-a-versa is not true
- It is easier to make pretty apps on Apple because they have better widgets and a clear style guide
- Google provides very few style guidelines
- Similar to PC vs Mac shareware scene; PC has more apps because its easier to make them, but Mac has prettier apps
BlackBerry: Which OS to develop for
- App World, and most apps, support a lowest common denominator of BlackBerry OS version 4.2.1
- Different screen sizes and versions make testing a nightmare
- 4.5 is MUCH better to develop for than 4.2.1, but many app world users are on 4.2.1
- BB has support for using preprocessor directives to get around some application version nightmares
- There are approximately 1000 apps on the BB AppWorld, but much less are viewable on a Curve or older BlackBerry
Delivering updates to end-users
- Users tend not to update their apps unless they are forced to; web analytics suggest that 30% of people are not using latest versions of mobile Operating Systems
- Some apps force update; on Android they show a dialog saying “you must update”, which then takes you to the App Market for downloading
- Updating firmware on Apple is more of a pain (requires docking)
- Backwards compatibility is an issue on both platforms
- Apple is good about convincing users to update; they will put must-have features in version 3.0 such that users will update the OS
- Applications on Android which update very frequently cause users to complain
Copyright / Protection
- Android
- One solution to pirated apps is to rely on a web service to push mandatory updates causing it to download their content from a new URL. When a version gets pirated the webservice can disallow that version from getting updates and require the users udpate to a new (not yet cracked) version. This works particularly well on Android because it is easy to push updates.
- Copy protection feature on Android is completely broken and must be avoided at all costs (often results in app not showing up in search results)
iPhone
- Any successful iPhone app will get knocked off
- Often times, people will open the bundle and steal the graphics directly for use elsewhere; difficult to determine and standard recourse is to complain to Apple
- iBeer was able to get Coors to remove their copycat iPint app by filing a lawsuit
App Stores/Markets/Worlds
- The level of control over distribution that app stores require differs by platform:
- iPhone does not let you use anything but the App store to distribute apps
- Android lets you distribute outside of the market, but the user must enable a feature on their phone to enable these downloads
- BlackBerry’s “Vendor Guidelines” do not appear to prevent developers from selling apps listed on App World elsewhere
App Market Fees
- Opposing opinions on whether Apple’s 30% cut on was reasonable given 3% fees for credit card processing, but better than before when the carrier took 50-75%
- Google does not make any money off the market, it all goes to the carrier; this is probably why they are not moving quickly to fix market problems.
Free vs. paid apps
- Abandon rate for free apps very high on Android, paid app download rate is still low; one attendee had a free apps with 42,000 downloads, but only 800 for the Pro version
- Having a free and pro app can cause issues when customers uninstall the free version after buying the Pro version, because that has a negative impact on ranking
Other platforms/devices
- Nokia’s Ovi Store coming in the next month - SDK available
- Palm Pre - timing is bad as Apple will likely have a new device out by the time the Pre launches
- Netbooks are a growing market and the need for low-cost OS may provide an opportunity for Android to capture market share
- Set-top box market is another opportunity; Flash is coming to set-top boxes and Android could also play here; Apple’s approach doesn’t work here because their platform is too restrictive
- Microsoft has tried for many years to own the set-top box space (Media Center); finally finding some success here with XBOX 360
Turning a popular app into a successful business
- The majority of app companies that have been funded are game makers
- Game model is good because it engages users, which also makes ads more effective
- In-app monetization opportunities also (e.g. selling levels, sequels, etc.)
- Games have a shorter release cycle and a game maker can therefore generate many games
Still very few examples of profitable app businesses
- Ad model isn’t working yet, rates still extremely low
- There are a few success stories, but they are the exception, even if they are the examples that are trumpeted in the media and elsewhere
Advice for app developers
- Apps constantly need to be upselling to be profitable
- If possible, engage users outside of mobile (e.g. website, etc.) and build a community
- App store should be looked at as a distribution network, and not a money maker
- Unlikely someone would buy a company just for the mobile app, since they are easy to recreate; instead they are buying the users or community
- Individual developers may also want to consider doing contract work to mitigate risk while continuing to improve their skills
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