AndroidZ.info Android Mobile from A to Z » Application Market

DailyHoroscope #1 most popular app on QVGA devices Android Market

Max — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:37:28 +0000

Yes, that’s right! DailyHoroscope (currently #9 most popular application on the Android Market in US) is #1 most popular application on QVGA devices. This is the new HTC Tattoo device with QVGA screen size.

We have written previously that it was number 4 in UK. I have been told that it is #5-6 most popular application in Israel. These local markets have a different set of applications. My guess is that UK phones don’t have “My T-mobile” app which is currently #1 in US, and probably some others like Pandora, which has a history of banning users from outside US.

Long awaited update to the Android Market is coming in Android 1.6 – codenamed Donut

Max — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:45:43 +0000

The long experienced pain of hard application discovery will be hopefully partially solved with the new update to the Android Market in Android firmware 1.6 codenamed Donut. The new market app looks completely different and somewhat user friendly. It is not clear however why there is a need to wait until new firmware update and not release the new market app as a separate over the air update or if the OTA update is not possible, it can be offered as an optional upgrade for people that are interested in getting it earlier.

Anyway, enjoy the video showcasing the updates to the market application.

DailyHoroscope application is available on BlackBerry

Max — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:08:24 +0000

DailyHoroscope application that was available on Android platform as DailyHoroscope for Android, couple weeks after G1 hit the stores and was very well received by Android crowd, is now available for BlackBerry users. It has been available for download from GetJar and Mobihand for 2 weeks now while waiting for approval on App World. On Juen 30 the application was approved to App World and since then was downloaded by many many users.

The application is ranked #4 in Entertainment, just a few days after the launch out of 125 applications in the Entertainment category.

If you don’t have access to the App World, or for some reason don’t want’ to install it, you can download the latest version of the DailyHoroscope for Blackberry application.

Here are some highlights from comments we have received on the App World:

“I have been looking for an app like this forever and I finally found the perfect one! Download now if ur into astrology! : )”

“Outrageously accurate most parts…. Almost scary! If you’re into astrology, a must have app!”

“I love reading this app everyday. Very useful and pretty accurate.”

“If you’re really into keeping up with horoscopes then this app is just perfect. Fun icons, easy to use.”

“This is a great ap, at first I couldn’t figure out how to update daily. I sent a question to the help desk and got a response in 2 min. Now it works great, and their customer service is the best I’ve seen! Thanks Max. ” Jenn

“The reading was dead on. It works great with my storm but you have to follow the suggestions the application offers before download exactly and it will work great. Icon and all, I love it”

“Great app, same as on G1. Thank u.”

“This app is just awesome! When I read the reviews saying that it was really accurate I didn’t believe it.. But is really is! Its shocking! The best app in my phone!!!!!!!!!!!”

“Can’t wait to check it tomorrow!!”

And the application is of course FREE!

Paid application to become available on Android mid next week

Max — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:24:46 +0000

Developers from US and UK can go to the publisher website at http://market.android.com/publish to upload their application(s) along with end user pricing for the apps. The, priced applications will be available to end users in the US starting mid next week.

From Android market blog:

“We will also enable developers in Germany, Austria, Netherlands, France, and Spain to offer priced applications later this quarter. By the end of Q1 2009, we will announce support for developers in additional countries. Developers can find more information about priced applications in Android Market at http://market.android.com/support/

Google Checkout will serve as the payment and billing mechanism for Android Market. Developers who do not already have a Google Checkout merchant account can easily sign up for one via the publisher website.

Also, Android Market for free applications will become available to users in Australia starting February 15th Pacific Time and in Singapore in the coming weeks. Developers can now make their applications available in these countries via the publisher website at http://market.android.com/publish.”

Will we start to see much polished applications as a result? From the comments on the Android market for various application, users definitely hope so.

From the developers prospective, many would probably be concerned with the fact that the developers have to open a Google merchant account, since all the transactions are supposed to be handled through Google checkout.Consequently will they have even less than 70% of the sales due to fees associated with Google merchant account?

SlideMe beats Android market with allowing paid applications

Max — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 02:57:48 +0000

SlideME, an industry pioneer in paid Android application, has recently announced support for mobile payments through its SlideME Marketplace, which is a available in the form of Android application. With the new release release of SAM 2.3, any developer from any country can sell their Android applications through (let’s abuse some notations) SlideMe market to users. The payment and thus dstribution is available to any Android users worldwide via SlideCollect. Which also incorporates paying through Amazon Payments accounts, major credit cards and other payment methods as PayPal, iDeal, bPay and many more….

“We are pleased to be offering SAM 2.3, the first and only Android mobile client that supports the purchase of applications in this exciting market,” says Shane Isbell, co-founder of SlideME LLC.

Will SlideMe cath on with the developers and consumers? There are definitely some much superior aspects to SlideMe market tnat to Android market:

“Payouts to developers are as high as 98 percent, much more favorable to the developer than any other Android market. There are also no country restrictions on application purchases. Anyone can buy or sell. This gives the SlideME Marketplace a truly global reach.”

What’s new in Android Firmware RC33 upgrade

Max — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 03:36:08 +0000

Couple of days ago, we received reports that selected users started to get RC33 firmware upgrades. As more users are getting the upgrade, we were able to see what’s new in this firmware version. While you will get a lot of connectivity and other bug fixes, what is most prominent in this release to our taste is the major update to the Android Market. Now when browsing, you will see an “Update available” notification next to an installed application if there is a new version for this specific application.

The ever nagging subject of Android Market comments was also addressed in this release. Many people (both users and developers) suggested to enforce moderation of the comments on the market. Google used the power of the crowd for the task – now users can mark comments as SPAM. Hopefully serially offensive users will be banned from the Market commenting altogether and we will finally stop seeing advertisements of ridiculous websites in comments.

RC33 also reportedly has the following fixes:

G1 screen hanging fixed
Forced WiFi logout on quitting IM
Messages Stability issue
Fix for reminders in calendar
Failure to download more than one e-mail from Comcast

Blackbery StoreFront the present and the future!

Max — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 03:26:11 +0000

Very interesting and insightful interview with Mike Kirkup, RIM’s head of developer relations was posted today by ZDNet.

Q: Google is fairly relaxed about which applications can go into the Android Market, and Apple is quite strict about keeping out App Store submissions that replicate functionality already on the iPhone. What level of gate keeping does RIM want to exercise over the applications that go onto Storefront?
A: We have the ability today for people to write apps for our platform, and we put no restrictions on when where or how they can distribute those apps — it could be through the BlackBerry site, or something like Handango.

What we’re trying to do is build up a catalogue of apps that are easy for customers to find and use. If somebody builds a better calendar app than the one that’s natively on the device, we don’t have a problem with that, and they are welcome to sell it through existing channels. However, we want to make sure no-one is violating any agreements, and their applications don’t use excessive network bandwidth or lewd content.

What do you mean when you say you won’t allow apps that use ‘excessive bandwidth’?
That will differ across different carriers. We are definitely going to be sensitive to people moving a significant amount of traffic over the carrier’s network without an agreement with carrier. The BlackBerry is very focused on managing network performance — we compress a lot of traffic and encrypt, in the case of enterprise traffic. The ones that are going to be in that range [will involve] streaming scenarios, video and audio.

There is quite a shift going on towards open mobile platforms, particularly with Android. Why would a developer address the closed BlackBerry platform when they could develop for a platform that is free to put on a variety of phones?
Our big value proposition for developers centers around the features and functionality we can provide, and our strong leadership position in the market. We have 21 million active users, and the majority are likely to use their device for more than phone calls.

Will RIM ever move towards an open-platform strategy?
We’ll find a balance between what’s the easiest way to engage developers and create a platform. One of RIM’s key advantages is that we build everything from the bottom up in our platform, from the radio to the Java stack to APIs. We provide a consistent experience across all our devices and across the world; it is difficult to replicate the experience across all these different devices [with an open platform].

Eighty percent of the revenues from applications on Storefront will go the developers or vendors. What happens to the other 20 percent?
We have costs associated with that channel, such as our partnership with PayPal. Anything left over would be shared with carriers or kept by RIM.

Will PayPal be the only payment mechanism for Storefront?
At launch, that will be only mechanism that will be available. As for after that, we have plans as to how to evolve the Storefront, but we will see after the launch.

How far back in the BlackBerry range will the applications sold through Storefront work?
It will work back to version 4.2.1 — basically any trackball- or touch-based device. We will make sure we provide developers using the [Storefront] channel a very large user base to attract their application.

Is there anything you would like to add?
We’ve designed the Storefront from the very beginning to be used for this purpose. There is lots of functionality in it to make it easy for application developers to support it — free trials [of applications] and so on. We also want to make sure we’ve worked really hard on the rating system to ensure we can provide a lot of value back to the community when people are looking to purchase applications.

via: ZDnet

Blackbery soon to open appstore and is accepting application submissions

Max — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 03:05:12 +0000

There’s no doubt that Apple is definitely contributing BIG innovations. One of the recent ones which was not directly celebrated by the customers, but which opened a lot of new possibilities and directions is the appstore.The idea is simple and yet genius – let’s give people instant access to the content specialized for their OS and device with convenient method for finding just the right content and zero effort installation process. The result – great success.

The Android adopted the idea and has its own Android Market. Google have learned from some of the mistakes Apple did with its appstore and introduced some new ones. Microsoft is rumored to be developing its own version of the applications market.

But wait, let’s get back to the mobile world. RIM (the developers of Blackberry devices) has been long rumored to be also developing its own version of the market. It is hard to say what is exact market share of Blackberry/Apple/Android/Windows Mobile/Others, but most of the experts and sources agree that the Blackberry market share is very close to the Apple’s iPhone and some reports show slightly larger market share. Te real problem with the Blackberry is the lack of cool applications. There are obviously reasons for that – the business model of RIM is very different from the model Apple has for its phones and yet this is the cause of the “problem” but there ought to be a solution nevertheless. And it seems like finally there will be a solution to shortage from RIM’s side.

RIM called for participation in developing applications for its phones some time ago (official press release). Recently they have announced that they will start to receive applications for evaluation to appear on its storefront (that’s basically how they call their version of applications market).

That’s definitely great news for companies and developers alike who are developing for Blackberry . The competition will be tough . Let the best prevail!