P Diddys tyres

Despite my lack of attention to you, lovely blog readers, I have been storing away interesting articles for a day of motivation. Spread the word! That day has arrived, and you’ll be getting not one, but two posts, in less than 24 hours.

Delusions of people actually caring aside, I suppose I could justify the wait because John Carmacks (not-so) recent diatribe has taken me some time to mull over. For those of you that aren’t familiar with the name, Carmack is one of the gaming industries most well respected developers, and his development house, iD software, have created some of the most well known games of the past 20 years, Doom and Quake, being the two most obvious examples. Think of him as the nerd version of James Cameron, he may not be making the best games around at the moment, but his technical skill is breathtaking and his CV speaks for itself. When he talks, people listen.

During a recent Q&A session, in which Carmack showed off some of the latest games he had got running on the iOS platform, including upcoming shooter ‘Rage’, Carmack was asked by an audience member about iD’s support for the Android platform. In response, Carmack asked the audience how many of them had spent more than $20 on the Android app store. The result: not many. And in fact, while I am approaching having spent that sum myself, currently I believe it is less. Carmack went on to say that he has been monitoring Android closely, and iD will eventually bring their products to Android, it just won’t be in the next 6 months. So, is that part of the reason for the disparity between the size of the two app markets?

My point is this. While figures are constantly released giving us the market share of each of the mobile platforms, what we know very little about is the market itself. Demographics, average spend per user, total spend, click through’s, and what kinds of apps are being bought, is all data that is very hard to come by.

Can we make assumptions about this, and more importantly, without aforementioned data to hand, is that what developers are doing? Is it fair to say that the same people who buy into the idea of a free, open platform such as Android running on phones that cost less than a return flight to Kuala Lumpar, also prefer free apps? In the same way, is it true that the same people who are willing/able to shell out £750+ for an iPhone 4 may also be more willing to pay for apps for that device? Compare this to the automotive industry, P Diddy does not put Halfords Value tyres on his Maybach.

What all this means, is that, despite Carmacks reservations about developing for a platform whose users are not splashing the cash, its quite possible that Android, with its increasingly large market share, and users hungry for free content, currently makes a compelling case for Ad funded apps.

Cupcakes and Eclairs.

Wow, what a gap. Its got to the stage where its almost embarrassing to come back and post after this long away. Like when you don’t send a thank you card to a relative that’s sent you a birthday present. Luckily the internet has no such grievances, and, given the lack of readership, legions of fans won’t exactly be baying for my blood.

Casual surfers, who have tripped upon the site on the way to somewhere else, may be excused for thinking that maybe nothing has happened over the past 2 months. Well, of course, that is simply not true. However, from an personal standpoint, the biggest change has been the upgrade of my HTC Hero from Android v1.5 (aka ‘Cupcake’) to v2.1 (aka Éclair).

The change itself was a bit of a mixed bag. It bought along hardware optimisations, in the form of improved responsiveness of the OS, better support for HTML5, a better keyboard and a few other things, which you either know about already or have no interest in knowing. But just like your mums packed lunch, its not all chocolate and crisps. The homemade bread of the bunch is that some of my apps have just stopped updating. The HTC weather app being the worst offender. Luckily the app stores ‘Weatherbug’ provided me with a simple and free solution to that. Additionally, it seems to now refuse to tell me I have received texts in the notification bar, though email notifications are admittedly, much improved.

Discussions about Éclair aside, it is the app store that seems to have undergone some of the most radical changes for casual and power users alike. First of all, it’s prettier. The hot girl with the funny nose, has finally had that rhinoplasty. A new white background and black text makes it easier to read, and somehow, for a less cluttered interface. Additionally, the number of top level categories has been extended, so if you have something in mind, it is easier to at least begin the search in a more specific section. Even better, upon entering said categories, you get three easily selectable sections with which to browse in, Top Paid, Top Free, and Just In – all are pretty explicable. There maybe many more changes that I am yet to observe, but the aforementioned make massive inroads into the Android app market mess, that I had previously heavily criticised.

It is this kind of progress that is going to really attract developers, and advertisers to the platform. With Androids market share now outperforming Apple, at 17%, progress does need to be made on this front, and it appears Google are both aware of the fact, and committed to doing so.

Is that free?

So much to talk about! So little time!

Its all news news news this week. I've started seeing iPhone 4s 'in the wild'. Over the weekend the owners were especially evident. Out on the tube on Saturday afternoon they could be spotted a mile off after queuing for hours, just look for the the dishevelled, smug looking guy with a posh paper bag. Legend has it, that the O2 store was even giving out bags saying 'iPhone 4 - I've got mine' - though to be honest, they may as well have written 'mug me now' on them. For the stat monkeys among us, they've sold 1.7m since launch.

Meanwhile, Google are trying their best to shout over the rabble that Apple has created. CEO Eric Schmidt claiming that Android Applications now number over 65000, up over 15000 - just this month. Brilliant news for the end user, and in line with the every increasing number of Android Handsets being sold. I make no secret of being a big fan of Google and Android, and their more open applications framework. However, what is concerning is a recent report by Larva Labs - a mobile app developer on the amount of revenue being raised on Androids market. At the risk of recycling statistics from this article, it Apple has paid out $1 billion to app developers since its launch, whereas Google has paid out a comparatively paltry $20 million.

From a personal point of view, I believe a lot of this has to do with the simple yet intelligent synchronisation of your iTunes account with the App store. It seems that buying apps from Android market place is just a tad more hassle to the average user - who, chances are, might already have a iTunes account. Equally, it may also be down to the sheer numbers of free Apps available on the Android marketplace. For the purpose of this article I had a look around to test if the marketplace had remembered my credit card details since the last time I purchased an app. The biggest problem I faced was actually finding a paid for app anywhere near the top of the 'most popular' lists. I can understand the average users mentality. Firstly, its sometimes hard to justify the investment in something you may only use for 5 minutes on the way to work (though Android does have a brilliant 24 uninstall and refund policy). Additionally, when you can get a similar app for free, why bother. Ultimately we will have to ask the question: will a lack of app sales eventually put developers off creating software for the platform?

I suppose this makes advertising revenue even more important, as we may well find it being the one thing propping the Androids application industry up.

Embedding

I have to admit to being entirely distracted in the last week. Work is the usual culprit, and in no small way, the beginning of the World Cup has played its hand in keeping me away from my computer. Anyhow, despite England failing to do anything to talk about on the pitch, Apple have been busying themselves with the upcoming launch of the next iPhone. As have the customers, with AT&T and apple themselves now refusing to take any further pre-orders, and in some cases, even pushing back the launch date (presumably to increase stocks at launch).

In any case, its coming, June 24 (to a lucky few).

Those of you more interested in actually using the device than looking at the possibilities it offers for serving ads might think the rest of the article will be irrelevant. Well, I'm pleased and sorry, in equal measures, to say that this is not the case. Ads will continue to be a very important source of revenue for Apple and its new mobile advertising partner, Quattro.

First up, I'd really like to examine IOS from the perspective of a consumer. The most immediate advantage is that a better advertising framework will continue to attract great developers to the platform, and you'll get great apps and games, sometimes for free! As well as this, you are going to see far better ad integration within these apps. There is nothing worse than an annoying ad that gets in the way of whatever it is you're doing. Apple have promised that IOS will make this a thing of the past. Remember the days, when you are on the final boss of Super Planet Destroyer 3 and the bus stops just a little too abruptly, and your finger hits and advertising banner, shutting the app, and shoving you into browser mode to go to the advertisers webpage. Instead, should this occur (some bus drivers will always be trigger happy with the brakes), Apple tells us it'll be far easier to negotiate your way back to the app, and it'll still be in the same place you left it.

For the developer, Apple claims we'll see far better use of embedded content. Streaming video, similar to that which really, has only come into its own on the net in the last two years or so, will be far more commonplace. We'll also see embedded ads become far more interactive, but lets just hope that they go further than "shoot the (insert animal here) to win $1m". Speaking of money, the deal is, that developers will receive 60% of revenue generated. Which, from the perspective of someone without much knowledge of historical revenue percentages from mobile advertising deals, sounds fair.

What wouldn't seem quite so fair, should you already deal with them, is that Apple has effectively banned developers from aggregating content with Googles MobiAd platform. I can understand this to a certain degree, as some say the MobiAd platform was swiped from within Apples grasp by Google, and so some bad blood may still exist there.

Allegedly, Ads are dynamically sent to devices which may mean that we'll see a larger variety of more relevant ads within the apps we are using. One of the fundamentals of advertising is that ads, are of course, far more effective if served to an audience with a pre existing interest in whatever is being sold.

Come June 24th and beyond, we'll see what the new hardware and software of Apples iPhone will let developers do. I hope it delivers more relevant and better implemented advertising to the consumer. Since, I am one.

Hate to say....

I now feel compelled to write the final part of this Android review in haste, due to the increasing glut of iPhone news that is almost all worthy of comment. Despite this impulse, I’ll do my best to give this article the finish it deserves. Maybe a little of what’s currently hitting the headlines will be relevant in a piece about the future of androids application market anyway.

What is remarkable, on both iPhone and Android, is the amount of free apps out there. These must be financed partly by the passion of the developers, partly by a desire to show off their talents and partly by financial incentives. I cannot claim to have any idea about the time lengths and difficulties of coding a smartphone app, so its hard to say whether this kind of model is viable over the next few years, or if we will see more developers start to desire some even more financial payback for their exertion. Supposedly an app entering the top 100 can expect to earn anything between $400 and $5000 a day, but then that leaves 149,900 apps earning far less than that. Techcrunch has some very interesting graphs and statistics on this here

What is clear is that both Google and Apple are both staking considerable amounts of money on mobile search, and that advertisers are prepared to, at the very least make some kind of foray into the mobile market. What is a very positive indicator going forward, is that some of the biggest names in the game, namely P&G and Nike, have recently developed Apps specifically for their brand.

I think as the Android platform matures, we’ll see a more consistent and transparent model for of ad supported payment for the app development market, whereas some apps now have no ads, some have a great many. What I hope is that, app development by big name brands also continues. These apps are usually of a high quality, and are good for both the brand and the consumer. The brand gets meaningful interaction with their product, and a campaign that can easily spread by word of mouth. The consumer gets a free app.

On the subject of paid apps, the future is a little more obtuse. Are people willing to pay money for Apps when they are so often viewed as a free commodity? My experience of paying for apps is more of a ‘foray’ than a commitment. I believe this will depend as much as whether we can adjust to spending money via our mobiles, like we did in the transition from shopping in the high street, and online, as it will on whether microtransactions are ‘micro’ enough for us to wear. If we can extrapolate from other industries such as video gaming, it does suggest that they may be.

So what does this mean? Well I’d hate to be quoted in 3 years time making a prediction that turned out wrong. On the flipside I do love to say ‘I told you so’. I’d suggest that as things look at the moment, we’ll see less apps being developed, and a consolidation of the developers into biggers studios, much like the videogame market over the past 20 years. This move will, however be counteracted by a better App funding system implemented by Google, in the near future, and as a result of this, I think we’ll see more ads in ‘free’ apps.

iPhoneyou

The new iPhone was announced today, big news for the umpteen Apple fans out there. I'll be continuing my review of the Android app market in the next post, but shortly after that, it'll be important to talk about some of the huge implications for mobile advertising that comes with the new iOS4.

In the meantime, I suggest you check out Engadgets hands on and first look articles here and here

The State of the Apt

With a week long holiday to Eastern Europe out of the way, its now time for the second part of my Android review! Hold on tight!

Unlike Androids dev teams, I won't divide this post into games and Apps, so its all going to be going in together.

Google execs recently touted 100,000 Androids units shipping per day. That's an impressive figure, and especially, since every casual journalist under the sun is clawing to get their hands on the next iPhone , or second best, an exclusive piece of news on it. Mainstream press aside, there is no doubt that the Android platform is gaining traction. In the same way a console lives or dies on the strength of its software, Android's success will only continue if its Apps continue to appeal.

So, hows it going?

Well, in total they currently number over 50000, and I do not plan to get to grips with every one of them individually. Instead I'll talk about the ones I've used regularly myself, and hopefully we can extrapolate this to the rest of the market. At the very least it might give those wondering if the Android device they are thinking of buying can do everything the iPhone can do.

With the number of Android devices increasing at a steady, and impressive, way, we can assume that as popularity of the hardware increases, App developers will also be keen to tap into this emerging market. Its seems like only a few months ago (January?) that there were 30000 apps for the device, so an increase of 20k in six months is impressive to say the least (iPhone currently has 150k in case you were wondering).

So, the apps I use:

BBC news Widget

Engadget Widget

Weather

London Tube Map

DoggCatcher podcast downloader

Youtube

Facebook

AdvanceTaskKiller

Retrocamera & FX Camera

Games - Robot Defense, Bebbled, Jewels, Maths workout, Spacephysics

Qype

Skype

Google Starmap

Finger Painting

Magic 8 Ball

Dice

and a fair few others!

Writing this down in a list makes me actually sit back and realise how many I've been using without thinking about it.

Among them Doggcatcher and Spacephysics are the only paid for apps.

Without giving it any thought at all, I could say, that generally, the apps I have used have been impressive. Read on to get to the nitty gritty. The ones I use the most, have two key attributes: They work and they are relevant/useful to me on a day to day basis. The ones that I use the least usually fail on one of these attributes. For example, the Tube Map app, is really very simple, but it does what you'd expect of it, you can scroll around the map, plan routes, and zoom in and out etc.

Google, unlike Apple, does not approve every release on Android, and as we covered last week a good app makes it mark on the basis of user reviews. What this means is that there is very little in the way of quality control, and this is especially prevalent when searching for more obscure apps. The Retrocamera app for example is very cool, and does a lot of things, but is slow, and hard to take pictures with, therefore I can never really be bothered to use it. It appears, that as a general rule, if an app crashes, is slow, or doesn't do what you wanted, it is discarded very quickly. We must remember that with 50000 apps out there, chances are there will be one that does work. Additionally, since I haven't actually invested anything in them apart from some time and bandwidth, I don't feel like I've lost anything getting rid of them. In short, we can say that when it comes to apps, I am a pretty fickle user, and I believe others must be as well.

In regards to the paid for apps, I suppose, by the same logic we can say that people are more likely to be a little more faithful. However, they are also more likely to expect more from the app. Doggcatcher, had good reviews, and I wanted my podcasts to appear on my phone so I didn't have to keep downloading them and transfering from my PC. I paid $6 for it, and it works well. Despite this, I have stopped using it, because my supposed 'unlimited' data plan, actually caps out at 1GB. Spacephsics I paid for after playing the demo, as its perfect as mobile game, and works great with the touchscreen - and is my number one recommendation for games on Android.

Of the free apps, I have seen BBC news and Facebook go through several updates, which has improved their performance and functionality no end (particularly with BBC, which was previously fairly buggy).

So to make some casual observations about the state of the Android apps market. I think its fair to say that choice is not an issue, and this will be continue to be even less of an issue as time goes on and Android hardware sales increase. Quality is an issue with some apps, but then this is a free platform, and so we must accept that. Paid for apps, in my experience at least, usually offer more functionality than their free counterparts (though this is not always the case, obviously), and are general stable.

Free apps, are a bit hit or miss. Many put out by major developers (Facebook, BBC, Google) are absolutely brilliant. But conversely, while some apps put out by indie devs can be absolutely brilliant (Tubemap, Magic 8 Ball, Dice) others are sometimes buggy or slow (Retrocamera, FX camera).

I'm still waiting for a Wheel of Tea app though...