TamsPalm – the Palm OS / web OS Blog

The topic of software localization (aka the translation of apps) is a long and bitter one: for literally ages have developers been fighting about its merits and non-merits.

The fine folks from Distimo’s have now provided us with a few charts which could bring “clearance” into the clutter. Let’s dive in.

First of all, we see which sore has the most uni-national apps. Nokia clearly leads – this is what they get for repeatedly commiting “ovicide in China”:

This finding is further clarified in the figure below, which also mentions the strong role of Hutchison’s proprietary channel in Italy:

Finally, a chart which compares US and ROW popularity using the top lists of various app stores:

How has localization worked out for your company?

P.S. Get more data here:
http://www.distimo.com/publications/

After the launch of the Apple App Store, classic ISVs like MobiHand found themselves under pressure.

The company has now updated its developers backend. In particular, the following changes were implemented:

Product list:
The My Apps tab is now used to access your product list.
Product groups (master/slave) now show as just a single master item, with slaves managed within the product entry.
As always, begin product entry creation with the Create New button. The Overview tab will appear, and when saved, additional product detail tabs will appear.

Overview tab:
We’ve move the Features/Device-matching section to the Version/Files tab.
Currency-based pricing is now supported, in recent months, for dozens of currencies.
We’ve included, for a number of months now, a section for In-App Purchase products. (Android only: to use In-App Purchase, get SDK and documentation here: https://www.mobireach.com/developerdocs.asp)

Version/Files tab:
DRM: While the MobiReach System continues to support traditional registration methods on most platforms, users increasingly expect code-free delivery and installation of apps. On Android we support a straightforward DRM approach, which you’ll see listed in the available licensing options as “MobiHand DRM”. In order to use our DRM solution, all you have to do is to upload a license-free binary, and we’ll take care of wrapping it up with our DRM verification system. On initial use, and on a schedule intended to balance offline access use with secure license validation, the app will verify, via the MobiHand validation servers, the customer’s eligibility to use the app. (This will go live next week.) On all other platforms, including BlackBerry, you’ll find support for the traditional licensing methods.
File Upload: We support groups of versions of a product (master/slave groupings). These are now handled within a single product entry in MobiReach. For standard products with only one build for all supported devices simply upload a single product file; and for multiple builds for various devices on a platform, simply create a new build using the “New File (Other Devices)” button as needed. Also, note that on product groupings, each individual product file must be given a distinct “File identifier” which is appended as a suffix to the product name in some store contexts.
Trial files: We see a trend away from trial versions, and instead toward either full, paid products, or lite versions (continuous, but limited functionality) with up-sell to full versions. We support this and other “freemium” models with our In-App Purchase SDK. For upload, please create separate product entries for trial or lite versions, and for full products. (Note that, especially on Android, few of our stores now support time-limited trial versions.)
Devices: As always, MobiReach gives you total control to manually include or exclude specific devices from the list of compatible devices. The Devices tab has been removed, however, and it is replaced by a “Compatible Devices” popup in the Upload Files section.
Images: For Android, we now support a Coverflow image, used for display in some of our stores.

Not much to add here…

After the aquisition of AdMob, Google found itself with a second web advertising service – logically causing competition for Google’s own product, AdSense.

It is only logical that this has to be unified. A post on the official Google Mobile Ads Blog now reads as following:

We’re now pleased to offer a unified, specialized service for mobile web site publishers – AdSense, which we encourage AdMob mobile web publishers to move to. AdMob support for older WAP mobile web sites will stop on September 30. For sites and ads made to be viewed on high-end devices (like iPhones and Android phones), the AdMob product will be around for a little longer, but we wanted to give mobile web publishers plenty of time to start the transition.

The net result of all this is that if you’re an app developer, AdMob is your solution for monetizing, measuring, and promoting your mobile apps. If you’re a mobile web publisher, AdSense can help you monetize your mobile web content,

…

Find out more via the URL below:
http://googlemobileads.blogspot.com/2011/09/admob-is-for-mobile-app-developers.html

Traditionally, apps have cost the same across the various distribution channels – developers ate the difference in margin.

Research2Guidance has now sent out the following figure:

For me, two things stand out: first of all, Android apps are significantly cheaper than other apps. Secondarily, special-interest stores are even “cheaper”:

Full-catalog stores: independent stores that provide applications for all major mobile platforms, including Android, BlackBerry, Symbian, Windows Mobile, etc. Notably, full-catalogue stores are the incumbents of the app market, some having been launched way back in 2000. Back then the average app selling price was as high as US$20, with very few apps being given away for free. We have found that users of these stores are more accustomed to the idea of paying for apps, and the stores themselves are generally more focused on improving developer monetization opportunities, and offering a range of additional app promotion options, particularly when compared with MNO stores.
Platform specialists: niche stores concentrating on the distribution of applications only for a selected platform. These stores are relatively young, and only came into play within last two years, following the Apple App Store paradigm shift. They promote interaction among developers and users in their forums and offer lower average prices of Top100 paid apps than full catalog stores.

However, the general price trend for Android apps points upwards:

Interestingly, the average price of Top100 paid apps in Android Market is twice as high as the overall average selling price, US$6.47 compared to US$3.07 in June 2011. This means that many users do not mind paying a substantially higher price for what they think is a good application.

Hit the link above to find out more…