A little over a year ago, Verizon announced their intention to create a multi-platform app store for devices running on their network. This was met with a decidedly Chilly response because customers and commenter’s feared that Verizon would supplant native app stores to push their own.
Fast foreward to today. Verizon sucessfully launched their app store on Blackberry, with those devices still shipping with the native Blackberry App World installed, and now they want to do the same thing to Android. And no, this isn’t the end of the world (At least, it doesn’t have to be).
(Source: http)
Read moreA recent article on Engadget recently quoted the CFO of Electronic Arts where he said that the company was very interested in Android as a mobile gaming platform, but “I think the next big positive way to push better growth in mobile will be the deployment of an App Store equivalent for the Android operating system.”
Seriously?
Granted, I know the market needs work, and it’s not the most intuitive thing for customers looking to discover apps. But they DO have an app store.
Engadget also mentioned Gameloft, one of the larger publishers for iOS. Gameloft has several of their most popular games (including N.O.V.A) available for android, but the only way to get these games is to purchase them through Gameloft’s own website and side-load them onto your device.
But Why?
The Android Market’s not perfect, but it’s still the best (and most used) way to get applications to consumers. Sure, their game might get buried initially, but even buried in the app store, I’d be willing to bet they would still sell more that way than they do by selling only through their website.
But is the Android market really that bad?
It’s not perfect, and I’ll be the first to admit to that. In fact, if I ever get around to it, I might even blog about it. But that doesn’t mean it’s not profitable.
Let’s look at Openfeint, a very popular social gaming network that started out on iOS and just moved to Android this week. With titles like FruitNinja (you’ve seen it in the official iOS commercial) they are the kings of quick, simply, and addictive games.
But do their games sell?
FruitNinja was released just this past week, and in that time it sold over 10,000 copies (the range in the market is listed as 10k-50k). Another application, called minisquadron, sold between 5k-10k copies. These are just two of the estimated 50 apps they will launch on android this month. At $.99 a download, a minimum of $15k in revenue this week isn’t too shabby.
How did they do it, even without an “app store?”
Openfeint doesn’t have the marketing clout of EA Games, and yet they still had a press release when they announced their Intent to develop for android, and another when their products actually launched.
Gaming is one of the areas where iOS has an advantage over any current platform, so when a company that made it big on iOS announced they would start porting apps, tech journals took notice. Once the games initially launched, every major android blog ran a story about it, giving Openfeint essentially free advertising for the event.
But what about the difficulty of finding Openfeint games? They created an “app store” app to showcase applications that take advantage of their network. Inside the app, you can view preview pictures, shortcuts to movies, and if you’re interested in the game, you’re one click away from a direct link to the market place of the game itself, meaning you never have to dig through the market to find their latest titles.
So if Openfeint can do it, why can’t a company like EA do the same? A lot of EA titles include DLC right? Why not tie in mobile apps?
With the recent posts about Locked Boot loaders, Custom ROMS, and the “when will we get froyo.” questions, a lot of new people are asking what rooting is, and more importantly, why should they care about it. Rooting can be a bit confusing to understand at times because unless you have a linux computer, you’ve most likely never had to deal with it before. I’m not a computer programmer, or an android programmer, but I spent a lot of time reading about rooting before I started to try it so hopefully I can Clarify some things.
Recently, this link was brought to my attention about a story over at Android and Me. Gameloft, one of the larger names in Mobile Gaming, recently started porting over some of their most popular iOS titles to android. Sounds great, right? But there’s a catch, they’re not using the Android marketplace to distribute content.
Instead, would be users need to navigate to their website from your handheld and purchase it from there, side-loading (loading a program from outside the market) it into your phone. (Sorry ATT customers). Their reasoning for that is that the android market is still new and they are exploring alternative ways to get their products to consumers. But is this really the case, or is it, like Android and Me wonders, part of some larger conspiracy?
Read moreAndroid Central recently posted an article with a press release from Motorola stating rather explicitly, that they weren’t in the business of making Dev phones. The Motorola Droid’s Developer friendliness seems to be a fluke forced on the company by business agreements (Verizon and/or Google) and from now on, they were going to make sure everything’s locked up tight and if you want a phone with custom roms, you should buy a developer phone.
There’s just one problem with that Motorola. Until this announcement, the Droid line was assumed to be the CDMA development phone. Where does that leave those of us on Verizon? Or more specifically, what options to we have for stock android now that no current phones ship with it and we can’t hack it on?
As I posted earlier, I prefer the look and feel of Motorola Hardware to anything coming out by HTC or Samsung, but with Moto’s active blocking of the development community coupled with the fact that all their new devices coming out are running something other than stock android, it looks like I won’t be purchasing another motorola phone.
So where does that leave me? I don’t like Motoblur, Sense, or Touchwiz. For me, it’s all about the stock experience. The Motorola Droid is STILL the only phone on Verizon that gives a stock android experience, and by the looks of it, the Droid2 will ship with philblur, so if I want to get a new phone, I have to choose between losing my ability to root/custom rom or buying a phone with (to me) inferior hardware. In either case, I’m current fucked when it comes to finding a phone with out of the box stock android on verizon.
I really hope Motorola realizes what a huge error this is. Sure, only makes up a minority of users, but we’re a statistically valid minority, enough that blocking rooting will hurt their bottom line. On top of that, Verizon will offer NO stock android phones once they retire the droid, which alienates a whole slew of others.
So goodbye Moto. The Droid 1 is by far the best phone I’ve ever owned (hardware and software). But with your removal of Stock UI options, and your seeming disdain for the rooting community, it looks like I’ll need to look elsewhere for my next phone.
What about you? Do you care about rooting, or is the whole thing a non-issue with you? What phone should those of us who love rooting on Verizon look at next?
I have the Motorola Droid. I love the Motorola Droid. The thing is a workhorse and will take almost anything you can throw at it, including bleeding edge custom roms. But with the discovery of the DroidX’s locked boot loader, the future of customized Motorola phones looks grim.
Read moreRecently, Android Central, posted a link about how a very popular app in the marketplace, Astro File Manager, recently updated. The New update added several features, but also included in app ads.
Android central’s question was simple, “If your favorite app add ads, would you leave it?” I think the question itself points to a larger one.
Do we, as the android community, want to foster a marketplace where developers will push the platform to it’s limits, or will we just settle for whatever we can get for free?
It’s no secret that the Android marketplace is a bit of a catch all at the moment. You have your high quality professional applications sharing the same virtual shelf as “sexy girl time 4” iterations. There’s a lot of really great apps out there, most of them still free, but finding them is a bit of a crap shoot.
But Android is GROWING. Over 160,000 devices are added to the ranks every day. Big app developers like Openfeint and several large media companies are all looking at the platform as the next big thing, and this is great for consumers.
But there’s one thing that has them nervous about Android, and that’s the topic of monetization. At last count 57% of the apps on the marketplace are free, and of those paid apps, most don’t see more than a few thousand downloads, and those are the lucky ones.
Believe it or not, not all developers spend hours in front of their computers developing a program for you to enjoy just because they like to see you smile. Sure, satisfaction of a job well done is part of it, but there are some people who are trying to make a living (or at least supplement one) by making applications for your phone.
For a developer, there are three different ways he can try and make some money off of his product.
- Charge money for the download- While this is the most obvious way to make money on his product, it’s also really risky. At the moment, most android owners seem unwilling to pay for an application, at least those that cost more than $.99. The argument could be made that most paid apps arn’t worth purchasing, and while this is certainly true for some apps (I’m looking at you sexy girl time 4) for the most part, it’s just us justifying our desire to get everything we want at no cost.
- In app advertising- You know what I’m talking about. Those little squares that pop up along the border of the application from time to time. Don’t you just hate them? But here’s the thing. They cost you nothing, they’re barely there anyway, and their presence gives the developer the potential to make some cash. I think Google needs to do some serious work to the advertising system still, but its not something we should be complaining about (more on this later)
- Ask for Donations- This is the “ideal” option. If we like an app, we’ll navigate to that developers paypal account and send some cash their way to tell them to keep up the good work. But how effective is this? I’m not an app developer, but if someone who is a developer and asks for donations reads this, could you tell me how effective this is for you? I’d be willing to bet the numbers arn’t all that high.
Since the article that started this topic was about advertising, let’s look at it a bit more. There are applications on the marketplace that will help you block all ads on your phone and in the browser. Some custom roms include this functionality as a default. But here’s the kicker, if ads arn’t effective for the advertisers, they’ll stop paying as much to the developers to display them, so the developer is down to two choices to try and make money. Realistically one choice, because the average developer isn’t going to expect donations and put out the same quality of work as he would if he was already getting paid.
So where does this leave us, the consumer? If the developers can’t make money without charging, then the only quality apps we’ll get will cost us money, and high end developers won’t even consider the market. The market will still be a mess of shoddy, never updated free apps and a slim collection of premium apps.
If we want a better market, we NEED to make it possible for developers to make some money on their products. So what will it be? Are we going to work with developers to foster a marketplace that benefits us with quality and them with cash? Or will we just complain about costs, block ads, and accept whatever anyone will throw at us for free?
This article was originally posted at Android Central. Reposting Here:
With the announcement of the Incredible, X, and a slew of other handsets, some of you may be considering Verizon as your next carrier (or if you’re with Verizon, you’re considering making the jump to smartphones) and the whole process of contracts, early termination fees, and upgrades might seem like a daunting amount of information to sift through before you purchase. Hopefully, this can help clarify some things for you.
I used to manage a Verizon Wireless Premium Retailer store. This means that while I don’t understand EVERYTHING about the inner workings of “big red” I have a slightly better grasp than most. If I say something that’s blatantly false, please point out the correct info and I’ll fix it as soon as I can.
Contract Basics: Early Term Fee and Contract Expectations
Your customer agreement is a contract between you and Verizon saying that you’ll pay them for service for a set amount of time (or longer). In exchange for this agreement, you get certain perks (customer service, warranty exchanges over the phone, etc) and if you agree to sign on for one or two years, they will give you a phone for a significantly discounted price.
This is where the Early Termination Fee (ETF) comes in. This has two purposes. The first is to make up for the discounted prices of the device. The second is to make up for the lost revenue from a cancelled contract (or more accurately, to ensure that you keep in contract for the 2 years).
For smartphones like android, the Early Termination Fee for both one and two year contracts is $350. For every month that you maintain service, Verizon removes $10 from the ETF amount. This means that if you canceled after 1 month, the ETF would be $340, after 2 months it would become $330, etc.
The contract (and thus the etf) ONLY require that you continue service with verizon in some form for whatever your agreement with them is. This means that you can raise (or lower) your minutes, add (or remove) data—providing your phone doesn’t require the feature—whenever you want without extending your contract or worrying about getting smacked with an early termination fee.
What does this mean? Say you buy the new DroidX at the launch, signing a new contract for them on an unlimited everything plan. If, six months down the road, you decide that you don’t really need unlimited minutes, and maybe you switched to using Google Voice for all your texting. You can call up customer service, lower yourself to a cheaper plan without any penalty. Say that in a year, you decide you don’t need a smart phone anymore and pick up a cheap flip phone off Ebay and activate it. Again, no penalty.
Typically the only time your contract is extended is if you receive a new phone for a discounted price (activation, upgrade, etc) or if you accept some promotion for re-signing a contract, such as “get 100 bonus minutes a month free if you sign up for an additional 2 years.”
So while you are “locked in” to Verizon for one or two years, you’re not locked in to a certain plan, or even a certain phone for that length of time.
Contracts, Phone Pricing, and Upgrades:
Before we start talking about when you can upgrade your phone, how much the phone will cost, and if it has a free pony, we need to cover the Three basic contract “terms” offered by Verizon. These terms have the same monthly cost associated with them, but they change the upfront cost (and upgrade date) of the devices dramatically.
Standard two year pricing: This is the typical contract that verizon wants to sign you up for. Whenever you see a phone advertised for “$199.99” or “bogo” it is for a two year contract. This contract give you the cheapest price up front for the phone and more “perks”than other options, but it also requires the longest commitment and wait time before you’re eligible for cheap pricing again.
For two year contracts, you can upgrade every twenty months. This means that if you got the DroidX at launch (7/15/2010), you’d be able to get promotional pricing again on 3/15/2012.
One thing to remember is that any special promotions like buy one get one sales, special “coupons,” New every 2 discounts or “24hr sales” will only work with Two year contracts.
Two year contracts have two other benefits that are different from what the other options offer. The first is that if you agree to another two year agreement when you’re eligible to upgrade, you’ll receive an additional discount (an extra $30 to $50 dollars depending on your plan) on top of the promotional price. If you’re content with verizon’s service and coverage, this is a nice added benefit to the agreement.
The second benefit is what’s called an “Annual Upgrade.” This is available to any single line or primary line on a family share plan that meets a certain plan criteria. If your account qualifies, you can upgrade to a new phone every 12 months at standard 2 year pricing (plus a $20 annual upgrade fee).
To qualify for an annual upgrade, single line plans must have a Plan package $59.99 or higher BEFORE adding any features, such as email&web. This is any Nationwide Talk plan above 900 minutes, or any Nationwide Talk&Text plan. For family share plans, Family Nationwide Talk plans over 1400 minutes or any Family Nationwide Talk&Text plans qualify. Remember, $9.99 share plans or any “legacy” plans (such as Americas Choice) do not qualify for annual upgrades.
One year contracts: Like the name implies, this is a one year agreement with Verizon. Store reps, and most phone/online reps will not mention this option because it’s less profitable for the company and more importantly (at least for them) it makes them a LOT less money in commission. For you the user, you’ll be expected to pay a slight premium (typically $70 more than the two year price) in exchange for the shorter contract.
A lot authorized retailers (like the one I worked for) won’t even offer one year contracts as an option because it means they end up losing money on the deal. Just like coupons and special offers only work with 2 year contracts, most “spiffs” (what Verizon pays the retailer to help cover the discount of the phone) only work with 2 year contracts as well. If you want to go for a one year contract, your best best is to do it online.
What a one year contract allows you to do is to get new phone ever 10 months for a discounted price. For android users, this can be a huge benefit since it seems you can’s sneeze before a new android phone is announced. It’s not an “anytime upgrade” but it’s about as good as you’ll get if you want some sort of discount on your new toy.
Month to Month contracts: For those of us who like having the best devices as soon as they come out, or if you’re someone who hates the idea of being tied down for any period of time, this is the best option. There are absolutely no discounts on the phone itself (no coupons, special offers, etc will work with this contract) so you’ll be paying the “sticker price” of a phone. To give you a point of reference, the sticker price of the Motorola Droid is $559.99 while it is only $149.99 on a two year agreement through verizon.
So why buy a phone this way? Purchasing a phone retail also helps sooth that irrational anger we as consumers can get when we go to get a new phone and the salesperson quotes the retail price since we can’t upgrade yet. And if you’re like me, knowing that the phone in your pocket is a $600 piece of technology instead of a $199 special makes you take extra care of it. But these are psychological benefits, but there are also very tangible benefits to consider.
For one, buying a phone at retail cost means that you can end your contract with Verizon whenever you feel like it. For some customers (such as myself) this is a big enough benefit for them to forgo contracts completely. If you’re someone who likes the latest and greatest (and you take care of your phones) selling your old models to friends or on ebay will help soften the sticker shock somewhat.
If you are currently in a contract with Verizon, you can purchase a new phone to put on your line at full retail cost without extending your contract, so if you’re thinking of switching to Verizon, but don’t want to spend the extra money now, you can always sign a one or two year agreement now, and then buy the “next big thing” at retail whenever it comes out. Conversely, if you’re on a month to month plan and want to sign a new contract (1 or 2 year) for a new phone, you can do so at any time.
I hope I cleared some questions up about how Verizon contracts and upgrades work. I know that there is a lot I didn’t cover in this guide, but hopefully it’s a good foundation for us to build on.
