Google sends Android into space

It was only ever a matter of time before Android colonised space. As part of a project to collect data from the edge of Earth's atmosphere, Google sent a series of Nexus S phones up into sub orbit using helium balloons. All of the footage from space of the little green robot was captured using the Nexus S. Looks like that phone has a pretty good camera. I wonder if anyone found the Android that broke away on re-entry, or whether he's still floating around out there?



Source: Mashable

Android Market updated - publishers and developers rejoice

Google have announced on their Android Developers Blog that they will be adding new features to Android Market, to improve things for both consumers and developers/publishers. In their own words,

"this new Market client introduces important features that improve merchandising of applications, streamline the browse-to-purchase experience, and make it easier for developers to distribute their applications."





Sounds great, so what's new?

• New categories for widgets and live wallpapers.
• Related apps features on individual app pages.
• Single page view on app pages, rather than tabbed.
• Refund window reduced to 15mins.
• App file size limit upped to 50mb.

The reduction of the refund window and the increased file size limit are clearly meant to appeal to games developers, who have voiced their concern about publishing into Android Market before. It's great to see Google improving on some of the known issues within the Market. Let's hope that this is the beginning of lots of updates that address the problems with purchasing and selling apps on Google's platform in 2011.

Source: Android Developers Blog

HTML5 vs Native Apps: Google Debate

I get asked quite often whether HTML5 is going to mean the end to apps. Normally, I respond that this isn't a clear cut answer, because different tech giants want different things for the future. One can imagine Google wanting a browser only future, but apps are so important to Apple that you can't believe they'd abandon a model that is earning so much revenue for them.

What do the experts think? Well, Google's Reto Meier and Michael Mahemoff recently debated HTML5 or Native for Mobile Development? at the Google Developer Day in Prague.

Angry Birds generating $1m per month on Android for Rovio

Rovio's Mighty Eagle Peter Vesterbacka talks about the success that his company are having with Angry Birds in a video for Google's AdMob team. One of the most amazing things that he reveals is the amount of revenue that their freemium model is generating on the Android platform, which he states will be $1m per month by the end of 2010. That's on over 5m downloads at the time of filming, but given that Angry Birds in now up to 7m downloads on Android, I'd expect that they've already surpassed that target.




Other interesting information in the video:

Retention
App retention rates are important. Angry Birds is at 80% retention. Focus on retention and not disposable apps.

Engagement
Time spent in your app is massive for advertising potential. There's no point going for the ad model if your app isn't engaging. Angry Birds users spend 65m minutes a day playing the game. That is insane!

Other revenue streams
Are there other revenue streams that you can access from your app? Rovio are launching a range of Angry Birds toys. Obviously, there's no point releasing a plush doll for your tube planner app, but alternative merchandising should be considered.

Source: Tech Crunch