Anyone else see this? Popped up in my feedreader (off the HackerNews feed)
http://www.newsweek.com/id/216788/page/1
http://www.newsweek.com/id/216788/page/1
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iPhone Devs != Rich
- Thread starter return7
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I saw the article through Gizmodo last night. It is somewhat interesting but this should come as no shocker that most devs do not become millionaires, especially with the competition and the amount of apps available. The Newsweek article does make a really good point about how many $.99 apps there are in the top 25.
If I were a dev I'd be careful about quitting you're day job to make a career out of iPhone apps in this economic climate. While tough, I'd say to do it both at the same time, until you become successful enough that you have an established & well known brand. This is why I don't really have a problem with devs charging upgrade prices for apps like Tweetie and Simplify Music.
The other main problem with this is jailbreaking and stealing apps. I'm glad that AT&T will now allow Skype over 3G as the only other main reasons to jailbreak it now are for backgrounder (hopefully solved with OS 4.0), Slingbox over 3G (hopefully solved with adoption of LTE), and free tethering (solved with competition and LTE). If these features are allowed, as they should be, I hope that they quit coming out with jailbreak updates. It is astonishing to read how many people are actually jailbreaking and using cracked apps.
If I were a dev I'd be careful about quitting you're day job to make a career out of iPhone apps in this economic climate. While tough, I'd say to do it both at the same time, until you become successful enough that you have an established & well known brand. This is why I don't really have a problem with devs charging upgrade prices for apps like Tweetie and Simplify Music.
The other main problem with this is jailbreaking and stealing apps. I'm glad that AT&T will now allow Skype over 3G as the only other main reasons to jailbreak it now are for backgrounder (hopefully solved with OS 4.0), Slingbox over 3G (hopefully solved with adoption of LTE), and free tethering (solved with competition and LTE). If these features are allowed, as they should be, I hope that they quit coming out with jailbreak updates. It is astonishing to read how many people are actually jailbreaking and using cracked apps.
Not everyone that jailbreaks uses cracked apps. A lot of people jailbreak to get some features that Apple doesn't allow, not to use cracked apps.
This is a good point. When I did actually JB it wasn't to bypass having to pay for things, rather it was to get landscape texting, copy/paste, etc. The simple things that most phones have that Apple opted to leave out.
True but many do use it for cracked apps. I've read an article that cracked app rates for one game approached 90%. I'm not sure how many do it but it seems significant enough to be a problem. Many devs need the money, like the iShoot developer, to support their families and it's a little disconcerting to see some of these statistics. The big companies can afford to absorb the loss, indie devs can't afford it.
Jailbreaking is too small of a minority to really care about in the grand scheme of things, and the people who use cracked apps are an even smaller subset of that.
I've run across many jailbroken iphones/ipods (done quite a few myself as well) all over the place, and most people have no idea how to even install a cracked app, they all stick to cydia apps.
I've run across many jailbroken iphones/ipods (done quite a few myself as well) all over the place, and most people have no idea how to even install a cracked app, they all stick to cydia apps.
If it keeps good developers in business, and the good apps in the store and being improved on, I'd pay for software updates as well.
Your post, in a sense, is almost a complete contradiction. I really don't know what the percentage is of people who jailbreak but I do know it's pretty easy and there are many videos that show you how to not only jailbreak but also install cracked apps. From reading some stories from devs, the rate at which those cracked apps are being used are a really significant part of their user base.
Don't get me wrong. I've also have a jailbroken iPhone 3G, for the reasons I stated earlier, but I hope there comes a day where jailbreaking is no longer necessary.
I'll be the 0.00001 percentile JB user then.....
I JB only to have a Cydia app that I pay for. I pay for iBlacklist (comes in handy for telemarketing calls, as my # is a business number). Notifier, Backgrounder, Winterboard are apps that Apple should allow, IMHO. iBlacklist should also be available in the app store (can do this with Symbian external apps, which is what I had before the iPhone).
I have no cracked apps, and have NO problem paying for apps that are worth the $ asked.
Devs should not be afraid to ask the $ that they think their app is worth, but obviously the app store marketplace might force them to do otherwise.
I JB only to have a Cydia app that I pay for. I pay for iBlacklist (comes in handy for telemarketing calls, as my # is a business number). Notifier, Backgrounder, Winterboard are apps that Apple should allow, IMHO. iBlacklist should also be available in the app store (can do this with Symbian external apps, which is what I had before the iPhone).
I have no cracked apps, and have NO problem paying for apps that are worth the $ asked.
Devs should not be afraid to ask the $ that they think their app is worth, but obviously the app store marketplace might force them to do otherwise.
Yep, the market makes it really tough to price things and not just drop like a rock. I'm too scared to figure out what our actual hourly rate would be most months (which is why we do this for fun on the side).
Yep, the market makes it really tough to price things and not just drop like a rock. I'm too scared to figure out what our actual hourly rate would be most months (which is why we do this for fun on the side).
Understood. But...Navigon's software is an example of being somewhat the contradiction.
At $70, they stayed in the top 2-3 of their category for almost two (I think?) months. At $90, they're still in the top 6 after their price increase. If you discount that 4 of those apps don't even do the same thing....then they're in the top 2.
So, the app store marketplace has customers willing to spend their money, as well as keep good software in the top ranks.... but I think this part of the app store marketplace is not where most devs are targeting their work though.... IOW, games, entertainment and 'make a quick buck' apps almost have to be 'flash in the pan' wares priced at $0.99. Apps for users that have a need (personal or business), are at the other end of the spectrum. Just MHO and observations.
Yep, certainly exceptions. And good for Navigon (making a good product and getting the word out, hopefully turning a product). I must admit, one of our 3 upcoming apps is an entertainment app -- we had an idea we just couldn't pass up (it's the one we're beta testing now). We'll see how it goes.
I'm certainly not disappointed by the App Store. There are just a tweaks I wish I could make (allow app updates to be review free, show top 200 in each category again instead of top 100). I'm glad we've had the opportunity to do something interesting. The 'quick buck' apps, or 99c crapapps, as I call them are, well, amazing. It's amusing that people charge 99c for junk I could throw together in an hour or two where we charge the same for what took us a year to get right. Competition is a funny thing, haha. Then again, most of them don't get very far with the junk..
Free Enterprise
1) The App Store will settle and the strong will succeed, the weak will be archived.
2) The rating system ensures exponential success if you make it to Top 25.
3) The seasoned, quality developers will be rewarded. I bought Tweetie and I will buy Tweetie 2. Developers like Phantom Fish of Byline fame and Tapbots of Weightbot/Convertbot fame are examples of quitting their day job.
4) Ingenuity and hard work will beat fart apps by the third-year.
1) The App Store will settle and the strong will succeed, the weak will be archived.
2) The rating system ensures exponential success if you make it to Top 25.
3) The seasoned, quality developers will be rewarded. I bought Tweetie and I will buy Tweetie 2. Developers like Phantom Fish of Byline fame and Tapbots of Weightbot/Convertbot fame are examples of quitting their day job.
4) Ingenuity and hard work will beat fart apps by the third-year.
