With the recent news that a major gaming company, Gameloft, is cutting their investment in the Android marketplace because of poor sales, I thought it would be prudent to investigate exactly why the Android marketplace is having such a hard time generating revenue.

<a href="http://www.electronista.com/articles/09/11/20/gameloft.cutting.back.android.game.work/" rel="nofollow">www.electronista.com/articles/09/11/20/gameloft.cutting.b...</a>

Before I delve into the subject at hand, I think it best to clarify some distortions that I've seen being repeated ad nauseum over the internet. Whenever I read an Android versus iPhone argument on the internet, the conventional wisdom blurted out by the neckbeards in the comments sections of places like Digg, Gizmodo and Techcrunch always go something like this:

&quot;Of course the iPhone has more apps than Android! The App Store had like a year head start!&quot;

Sometimes this exaggerated period of App Store exclusivity gets extended to a year and a half, and in extreme cases, two years. The truth is, Apple released their SDK in March of 2008, but the App Store itself didn't launch until July, 2008. The Android SDK, on the other hand, was released in November, 2007! The Android Marketplace? October of 2008. I'm not particularly good at math, but that would mean that Apple realistically gave their developers only a 3 month head start. This is pretty pathetic on Google's part when you consider that their developers had a SDK a full four months before iPhone developers.

So why has App development for Android stagnated, when compared to the iPhone? For one thing, the iPhone obviously had more of an installed base than Android, but that fact distorts a bigger problem with the Android market and it is this: Piracy is killing the Android Market.

First let me say that piracy is not a new phenomenon for either the iPhone or Android Marketplace, but the problems for Android are worse by a factor of ten, for five major reasons.

<b>(1) Google makes it easy to pirate apps.</b>

Google offers DRM to Android developers, but it's optional, unlike the Fairplay DRM that Apple requires for apps on the iPhone. And unlike the iPhone, it is unnecessary to jailbreak an Android device in order to install pirated apps.

<b>(2) The Android Market has a lax 24-48 hour return policy.</b>

When the Android Market first debuted, much was made of the fact that you could get a refund for an app, unlike the iPhone's App Store. The reality of the situation is that the return policy actually makes it easier for someone to download an app, copy it and then return it for a full refund.

<b>(3) The Android Market has a poor buying experience.*</b>

While the method for setting up an account on Google Checkout is rather routine, the actual buying experience leaves a lot to be desired. For one thing, there is no way to buy Android apps from Google's web site. As you can see in the pic above, the Android Market on Google's site clearly states:

&quot;For a comprehensive, up-to-date list of the thousands of titles that are available, you will need to view Android Market on a handset.&quot;

In other words, transactions must take place on the Android phone itself. Many users are finding it much easier just to download bundles of pirated Android Apps posted on file hosting sites like Megaupload (pictured above) and Rapidshare.

To give you an idea how easy this is to do. It took five seconds of Google searching for me to find a bundle of Android games. The bundle contained 32 games, including a couple of games from Gameloft and one game featured as Android's top paid app. No wonder companies like Gameloft are not making any money! If I didn't have to jailbreak my iPod Touch and could just download a bundle of games in five seconds, maybe I wouldn't want to pay for my apps either. Maybe.

<b>(4) The Open-Source community that Android appeals to, does not like paying for software.</b>

Earlier I outlined exactly why the screams of &quot;the App Store got an earlier release&quot; was a ludicrous argument when you actually compare the SDK development cycles for both platforms, but I wasn't entirely fair. One of the bigger reasons why developers are finding it easier to make money on the iPhone is due to the 100 million users that already have credit card accounts on iTunes. For a seasoned iTunes user, buying an App is as simple and opening iTunes and hitting &quot;buy.&quot; iTunes users have been conditioned to pay for content. Android users have not.

Of course, it can be argued that this has always been a big problem with Linux based platforms. Open source communities are usually overloaded with people who think that software should be free, which brings me to my next point.

<b>(5) The Android Market didn't support paid apps until February of 2009!</b>

The cold hard reality of software is that developers go where the money is and that has consistently been the iPhone. By gimping a paid app structure from the start, Google killed any chance that major companies would take them seriously. When your user base has been conditioned to expect apps for free, it's hard to convince them to start paying at a later date.

So what can we conclude from this? While Android's approach to the Android Marketplace has certainly given it an elevated stature with developers, particularly those in the Linux community, Apple's approach has actually engendered more of a stable platform to deliver content and this naturally translates into more money. Apple's recent promotion of In-App purchases has given developers another tool to use in their fight against piracy. The option to verify users on both the server of the developer and Apple makes it almost impossible to pirate some apps, since a hacker would have to figure out a way to fake an In-App purchase receipt.

Of course, the iPhone App Store is not without problems. For every success story, there are equally embarrassing stories about the inconsistency of Apple's approval process and Apple's rather draconian attempts to make jailbreaking illegal. There has also been a race to the bottom in the iPhone App Store that has hurt the profit margins of some developers, particularly those who migrated their apps directly from the Mac platform.

Of course, these controversies don't seem to have made an impact outside of the developer community and Google would do well to adopt some of the better aspects of Apple's market, particularly the use of DRM to protect Android Apps and the ability to browse apps on Android's web site. If Google truly wants to extend the range of Android outside the realm of open-source geeks and attract big companies like Gameloft back to the Android Market, they have to take this piracy problem seriously. While I'm a self admitted Apple Fanboy, some viable competition for Apple would be good for all of us.

<b>Note:* Since posting this article, T-Mobile has rolled out a new feature that allows Android users to charge Marketplace purchases to their phone bill. This is a positive step forward, at least for T-Mobile users. It remains to be seen whether Google will actually make an app that compares to iTunes.</b>

Related Links:

<a href="http://eddiekim.posterous.com/my-android-app-sales-figures" rel="nofollow">eddiekim.posterous.com/my-android-app-sales-figures</a>

<a href="http://larvalabs.com/blog/iphone/android-market-sales/" rel="nofollow">larvalabs.com/blog/iphone/android-market-sales/</a>

<a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/10/when-it-comes-to-in-app-purchases-on-the-iphone-games-social-networking-and-books-rule/" rel="nofollow">www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/10/when-it-comes-to-in-app-pur...</a>

<a href="http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2009/10/15/in-app-purchase-in-free-apps-a-shot-across-the-bow-of-iphone-piracy/" rel="nofollow">www.mobilecrunch.com/2009/10/15/in-app-purchase-in-free-a...</a>

<a href="http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/07/jailbreak/" rel="nofollow">www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/07/jailbreak/</a>

<a href="http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/02/apple-says-jailbreaking-illegal" rel="nofollow">www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/02/apple-says-jailbreaking-ill...</a>

location:banda hilir,melaka shoot by: Moja HOI &amp; Hakim Yusof Lomolama

Nikon 50mm Series E onto Kodak Ektar 100 via Nikon FA
About 7:45 pm, June 6, 2009 - in the shade of the building.

Why use Kodak Ektar 100 Color Negative Film ? I made a flickr gallery to show some of the images that persuaded me : <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/92687153@N00/galleries/72157622267236611/">www.flickr.com/photos/92687153@N00/galleries/721576222672...</a>

Mandriva linux 2010.0: WindowMaker desktop

Opening Applications -&gt; Developement

Instalacion Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala

Linux Hatchling Shared Hosting Hostgator Coupons for 16 December

<a href="http://www.workinghostgatorcoupons.com/hostgator-coupon/hostgator-coupons-that-really-work-on-16-December-09/" rel="nofollow">www.workinghostgatorcoupons.com/hostgator-coupon/hostgato...</a>

...with some help from msi wind under windows xp =)

archlinux openbox screenshot 20th Dec 2009

Strobist informations:
* 1 Nikon Speedlight SB-600
** mounted on the camera
** 14mm + embed light diffuser
** 60° orientation

This is a shot of the g-code that I used to create a decent star shape.

To be able to take panoramic pictures I recompiled the Linux driver for the flatbed scanner and changed the maximum paper length. This way the camera can rotate as much as I want it to. This is the very first attempt to take a picture outside. The scanner needs a 24V power supply, so I had to hook up some batteries. The weather was very windy, so the result sucks because the grass and the camera were vibrating. Colors are still off because of the lacking IR-cut filter.

The DROID has been rooted.

Still a geek.

Photo : Jiel Beaumadier, 2009

Sure... specially when &quot;sudo apt-get install&quot; appears.

Latest desktop. Xubuntu 9.10 with a photo called &quot;First Spaceflight.&quot;

El paseo del viernes frente al ministerio.

The new Phrak poster done for Arch Linux developer and team leader, Phrakture. The ownders of the Skeletor copyright threatened to sue us, so we came up with an alternative, more modern version of a skeleton-guy. The Phrak lifts a car over his head, confirming the Arch Linux community myth.

Lo poco bueno que me dejo la enfermedad: 8 kilos menos!!!!

JUAJAUJAUJAUA

lastima que mi panza no acusó recibo...

Le jardin botanique de Montréal s'anime la nuit avec ses nocturnes dédiées à son jardin chinois.

La foule se pressait, battifolait et s'émerveillait devant ces miriades de lumières colorées.

~~

The Botanical Garden of Montreal is waking up at night with a special opening dedicated to its chinese garden.

The crowd was stuck on the lights, enjoying and playing around them.