Android Marketplace: Our Second Mobile Apps Marketplace Report
Why are Android mobile application developers happier when they are developing for Apple’s iPhone? To find the answer just “follow the money.”
With the fastest growing smart phone user population in the world, a growing list of devices from multiple manufacturers, and increasing number of mobile operators promoting the platform, why should top Google Android developers have anything to complain about? Yet in our first quarterly satisfaction survey of Android developers they expressed unhappiness about the support they are receiving, how hard it is for customers to find their applications in the store, and in total revenue earned.
To be sure, Google’s developers are much happier than those we surveyed last month using Nokia’s Ovi Store (see our separate research note; Android Marketplace and Ovi Store Head to Head). Google has done many things well and developers are generally happy with the way the store functions, happy with the app submissions process, and with the reports they receive from Google. As a result, Android is second only to Apple in total applications and in the number of active developers.
But there are a set of issues that Google could easily address that would quickly increase the success of top developers in building and selling applications to Android users. Doing so would increase developer’s focus on Android — currently mindshare of even these top developers is shared with Apple. It would also encourage more of the top developers from other platforms to move to Android rather than iPhone.
Number one amongst developer complaints is that the store has filled with “low quality” applications, making it difficult for good applications to be discovered by customers. A dramatic change in the way Google highlights its best developers and applications is needed for Android Marketplace to achieve the level of satisfaction that top iPhone developers feel toward the Apple App Store.
Improvements in developer support and communication are also needed if Android Marketplace will replace Apple’s AppStore as the top mobile applications marketplace.
TO SEE A SAMPLE FROM THIS REPORT click here to visit Scribd.com:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/37214064/Android-August
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