If my app fails on android market is it worth paying for an apple app store licence?

General (non-technical) Marketing and Monetization
#1

Hi just want some advice really…

My road map was/is
build app for android first
make money back on advertisements to pay for Corona SDK and apple licence (FAIL)

buy apple app store licence… make money…

So so far in the last 3 months my app has been downloaded
35 times and has 17 active installs…
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.googleeyes

…meh.

Should I take this is a sign that its not worth paying for a apple store licence or should I give it ago? [import]uid: 102413 topic_id: 24942 reply_id: 324942[/import]

#2

It’s comparing apples to oranges (yea, maybe the pun was intended)…

Lets take my game Turkeys Revenge (http://turkeysrevenge.omnigeekmedia.com) as an example.

I put it up free on the Apple store with ads back in November. It had an initial surge of a few hundred units and it slowly trickled down to 20 or so a day, then eventually 10 or so. It wasn’t near enough volume to make anything on ads.

When I got my Pro Corona license, I built it for Android and in the month and a half as a free app there, I have 11 active installs out of 21 devices. I stripped the ads put it up on Amazon for the Kindle Fire and have sold 15 units there at 99 cents and another 50 in a day while it was free. The same app on Nook is now at nearly 100 units @ 99 cents and is selling in the 5-10 a day range.

So from this Apple iTunes for a free app will out-sell the Android market place 100x as a free app. As a pay app, I gotta give my nods to Nook.

$100 a year to put stuff on iTunes isn’t much in the grand scheme of things and you can hardly go wrong there. [import]uid: 19626 topic_id: 24942 reply_id: 101267[/import]

#3

Thanks Rob,
Your post was interesting.

I tried to put my app up on the amazon market but it failed… on this…

  1. Launch the application. 2. Select ‘Press My Face.’ 3. Select ‘New Face.’ 4. Select a photo from the ‘Library’ or use the ‘Camera’ feature. 5. Size the photo and select ‘Done’ 6. Send a voice call interrupt to the test device; accept, then terminate the call to return to the application. 7. Observe that a blue grid is displayed in place of the image file selected in Step 4

I have no idea how to fix that as I can not test on my laptop…
A staff member has said it could be a bug…

Basically use my app then switch to something else then back and all the images become blurred and stretched. Odd.

I don’t think its a bug as loads of people would have had the same problem.

can you give it ago Rob, see what you think?
Also how do supply a file specifically for the nook and fire?
I can create builds for them but the amazon app market only seems to except one type? So I supplied a standard android file.
[import]uid: 102413 topic_id: 24942 reply_id: 101271[/import]

#4

Basically your app isn’t handling being interrupted by phone calls well. You can actually test this on the Simulator. If you have a Mac it’s like CMD-Down Arrow. That will send a suspend event to your app. Then CMD-Down Arrow will send a resume event. You should make sure your app handles that condition well.

My only Android device is a Kindle Fire and I can’t do a phone call test on it to see what happens.

Corona lets you choose to build for iOS, Android, Nook or Amazon/Kindle in the File->Build menu options.

Android, Nook and Amazon/Kindle are all Android devices that can use the same .apk file that the build process saves. Kinda bear with me, this is going to be a bit convoluted…

An app that you build with “Android” **WITH Corona SDK** can run on any Android device except for the Fire and the Nook. You can put that app up in Google Play and any other Android Marketplace… including Amazon. However, since that app is compiled with full features, it cannot install on the Kindle fire (has Google Mobile Services turned on). So if you want your app on the fire, you have to build a specific Kindle/Amazon build. That build should be able to run on generic Android devices, but it won’t have the full features (camera, gps, etc). If you’re app isn’t using them, then its not a big deal.

Now sitting off to the side is the Nook. Corona lets us build a version specifically for the Nook which I suspect is doing the same thing the Kindle/Amazon build is doing in stripping out Googles GMS, and other things the Nook can’t do. The feature set between the Nook and the Kindle Fire must be enough that Ansca had to do separate builds. I suspect that a Nook built .APK file can run on generic Android devices, but I don’t have a device to test with to confirm it. [import]uid: 19626 topic_id: 24942 reply_id: 101284[/import]

#5

If you build for KF or the nook, the APK will run on android. I use something called an “apk installer” from my galaxy S and it will install the game and be functional. But that is kind of a hack, as I am really just ripping the apk from one device and forcing it onto another one and not “building” for the device.

Ie, its just copying a file so to speak from one device to another.
From what I can tell, it seems to be a 10 to 1 ratio on paid apps for apple vs android. Keep in mind, I haven’t released yet (that’s another story lol) but I have many friends who have. What they tell me is if they get a bit of success in paid downloads, then that usually gets a 10x boost when hitting Apple. Also, what I know is that a single app won’t do it for you, it appears to me it’s the release of a multitude of apps that can bring attention to other apps and increase sales.

In fact here is a GREAT link and information on “real” statistics on what to expect. Compares “jackpot” apps vs apps that are moderate successes and goes into what real sales $ translates to in terms of sales for top 10, top 25 etc.
Here you go >>>>

http://thegamebakers.com/money-and-the-app-store-a-few-figures-that-might-help-an-indie-developer.html
It’s from Jan 2012 (I know SOOOO long ago haha).

It might make you depressed to know, but it’s realistic. I haven’t found much disagreement on the information.

Enjoy!

ng

-ng [import]uid: 61600 topic_id: 24942 reply_id: 101288[/import]

#6

Definately…your app is funny!!! I downloaded one similar ‘shakin’ change’ it had half million free dl, and over 1,000 at 2.06? a pop.

I’m sorry to see your’s didnt come close those numbers. I think its a matter of visibility.

What do you think went wrong, and what would you do different if you were do it again? [import]uid: 75779 topic_id: 24942 reply_id: 101304[/import]

#7

Guys,
Thanks alot for all the advice. Its been a good insight.
Rob, you just gave answers to all my bad eggs for googly face! Im going to be back on that this week.

Nicholas, thanks ofr the insight!

Rmckee Thanks! Thats the first bit of feedback I have had for it out side friends and family.

SO I think my road map now is…

fix bug when app is uninterrupted by phone call.
Upload to amazon market as kindle fire friendly app.
… And i think Im going to bite the bullet and get it on apple.
I have another app on its way that I want to see on the iphone as well.
Its odd that in the scheme of things there’s more android devices then apple. But when it comes to telling everyone to download my app its always an iphone they pull out there pocket! [import]uid: 102413 topic_id: 24942 reply_id: 101577[/import]