Apple's new stance on app subscription is an opportunity for Android

In-app vs Outside-app
Apple's retrospective rules changes to how in-app subscription works in their app store presents Android with a huge opportunity, because it reinforces the key philosophical difference between the two platforms, closed vs open. In-app purchasing has been a brilliant feature for publishers and app developers, because Apple has allowed apps to get around their 30% store charge by handling the purchase on their mobile sites themselves. Notable apps that use this method include Amazon Kindle, Spotify and Sky Sports.

Strictly speaking, Apple's rules didn't ever really allow for purchase outside of the app, they just chose not to enforce it. Here's the official line from the their guidelines.

App Store Review Guidelines :

11.2     Apps utilizing a system other than the In App Purchase API (IAP) to purchase content, functionality, or services in an app will be rejected

Now that has all changed, with Apple giving developers and publishers until 30th June 2011 to switch to using the In App Purchase API. You can understand Apple's reasoning behind this move. They've built and incredibly successful ecosystem for apps across some amazing devices. With publishers increasingly looking at the iPad and the future of subscription it was time to close the loop. Not receiving $1 on the cost of an eBook is one thing, but missing out on $30 for a $100 annual subscription is quite another. However, it will be very interesting to see whether Apple will really start rejecting Amazon's very successful apps, and exactly what kind of response that would receive.

Google's Digital Newsstand
At the beginning of the year, The Wall Street Journal reported that Google have been talking with media giants about the possibility of developing a e-newsstand for Android. The article suggests that Google are offering a lower fee than the 30% charged by Apple per in-app purchase and would also provide more data to publishers about their customers. The Wall Street Journal are careful to state that the who project may never materialise, but I'm not even sure that it has to for Android to benefit from Apple's change of heart on outside-app purchasing.

Open to outside-app purchasing
Android Market currently allows developers to include outside-app purchasing in their apps. Ironically, this is because Android hasn't actually supported in-app purchasing until very recently. Provided Google continue to improve on the e-commerce side of Android Market to make it more attractive for customers to actually buy apps and continue to allow outside-app purchasing, then the platform will become more and more publisher friendly. Maintaining the open market philosophy behind Android, in opposition to Apple's increasingly closed off walled garden paradise, becomes a real advantage over its rivals.


Source:  MondayNote


Source: Wall Street Journal

Nielsen stats show Android still fastest growing mobile platform, with the youngest audience

The latest stats from Nielsen show that Android's growth wasn't dented release of the iPhone 4. In fact, Apple's new device simply helped iOS not lose share.

Blackberry 30%
Apple 28%
Android 19%

Given the strengths of the Android and iOS mobile platforms, I can see both living comfortably with 30% + share of the smartphone market. It will be interesting watching how Windows Phone performs over the next 6 months. Given Microsoft's huge marketing budget, will it be able to achieve the kind of spectacular growth that Apple and Google have achieved?

Android's audience is younger
Those same Nielsen stats also show that the Android platform has a younger audience than its competitors. This is most likely the result of Google's open approach. That much maligned fragmentation allows for cheaper Android device options and more affordable allows you to reach a younger demographic.

Source: Mashable

Droidcon Day 2: Does Android have a dude problem?

Day 2 at Droidcon was a more traditional conference, with presentations and guest speakers.

She's in the 5%

Does Android have a dude problem?
Lady Geek's Belinda Parmar made a compelling case that Android is failing to get its message across to women. Quoting a report from UGov, Parmar pointed out that 57% of women admit to wanting an iPhone as their next mobile, but only 5% want an Android phone. Why can't the green robot communicate with women?

Google doesn't tell a consistent story like Apple.
Steve Jobs didn't found Pixar for nothing, he is a beautiful and compelling storyteller.  Apple created the app and tablet revolution by telling consumers stories about how these products will benefit their lives. Watch any Apple commercial and you can't fail to get the message, apps are fun and magical. Steve Job's introduction of the iPad is text book storytelling, he explains the "extraordinary" things the device does and why it is better than the devices it replaces.

Compare Apple's approach to the way Google market Android. Oh wait, they don't market Android at all.

Phone manufacturers can't be trusted to do advertising
Instead Google leave it to mobile phone manufacturers to promote Android, which results in adverts like this.



Now the Droid may have been a massive success for Motorola and the ad campaign must have worked, but it doesn't explain the benefits of Android and it alienates women. I've noticed that female responses to Android tend to be that it is geeky, that the phones are masculine or that they don't know what it is at all. Google really should start promoting the Android brand, as the phone manufacturers aren't going to do it for them.

Android is geeky
The girls are right you know, Android is very geeky. As an Android fanboy, I realise that we're too obsessed with phone specs and hardware. But that little robot is very cool as well. Look at some of the ways that Android's community use and re-brand him. He could do a great job explaining what Android is all about and we should help him. It is about openness, apps and phones that make us truly connected to the internet and help solve our problems.

Women want apps to solve problems
Belinda Parmar explained that although women love the iPhone, the majority who buy one don't actually then buy any apps. Those who do, buy apps that help them solve problems and are useful, as opposed to entertainment apps like games and books.

Android Market doesn't make it easy for non-geeks to buy apps
I know that I drone on about this a lot, but Android Market isn't exactly making it easy for people to buy apps. Until Google sorts out a one-click purchasing solution for the Market, women (and men who aren't geeky enough to figure out how to set up an account on Google Checkout) will continue not to purchase from it.

Google and phone manufacturers should work out how to reach women, because they're missing out on £0.6bn in revenue
Is that not reason enough to start marketing the platform properly to women?

Droidcon Day 2: Mobile trends that might surprise you

Day 2 at Droidcon was a more traditional conference, with presentations and guest speakers.






Mobile trends that might surprise you
Comscore's Jeremy Copp delivered some very interesting mobile trends that reminded me that I'm not the typical digital consumer.

• Only 25% of mobile owners in Europe browse the web
• Only 25% of mobile owners in Europe use apps
• But there were 15.3m extra mobile media consumers in 2010

The growth in mobile media consumption is being driven by social networking, with more people now accessing Facebook on mobile devices than via PCs.

Google is powerful on mobile, but not as powerful as on PC.

• 41% of mobile owners use their device for web searches
• 90% of PC owners use their device for web searches

Android is growing rapidly.

• The Android OS experienced 1329% growth YoY

Some things you might not realise about mobile.

• UK mobile users access Facebook for over 2,600,000,000 minutes per month
• 75% of mobile users in Europe don't use apps. That's a lot of room for growth in apps.
• UK mobile audiences consume 10bn page views per month on mobile browsers
• Only 38% of Symbian users use apps, compared to 90% on Apple and Android. Tells you a lot about the apps available to Nokia owners.
• About 11m European users access dating sites a month on their mobiles. Weird!

How Google can improve Android Market and sell more apps

Android Market is a bohemian dream. I love the chaotic and multi-cultural feel to the Android app store. There's something very cool about not being censored, being able to see Japanese apps that I can't understand and having to work out how to buy apps myself. The early adopter thing was part of my reason for going with this platform in the first place.

However, that freedom comes at a cost. There are elements of Android Market that really annoy me and I think are holding it back. At a time when Android is surging ahead of the competition in terms of phone sales, the app store has some serious flaws that Google needs to address.

1. No one-touch payment
This is a big barrier to selling apps. Google seems to be making it as difficult as possible for consumers to actually buy apps from them. The only option to buy apps is Google Checkout, which requires users to give their credit card details directly to Google in order to be able to make purchases. When will the introduce billing via carriers? No wonder Amazon are starting their own Android app store.

2. Full refund for 24 hours after purchase
This is wonderful for the consumer, but terrible for app developers and content owners. I can understand that Google don't want to police the Android Market. However, forcing developers to refund paid for apps within 24 hours of purchasing is a bad economic model for someone trying to sell apps. Apps with limited lifespans, such as comic book apps that I read once and then forget about, can simply be downloaded by users and then uninstalled at the end of the day, for a free refund.

Why don't Google take a more flexible approach to the refund and allow developers to alter the terms of the refund? Users will of course be more wary of purchasing apps, but then it's up to the developers to establish a good reputation.

3. App discovery
It's very difficult to discover apps within the Android Market. How ridiculous is it that I have to use an app, called AppAware, to find new apps to download. Okay, so iTunes is just as bad, maybe worse, but that's no excuse for not seriously trying to improve user experience within Android Market. There must be a better way of exploring apps other than, popular, featured and new. Google could do worse than take a look at the AppAware approach. Last FM emerged because no one could discover music on iTunes, so I guess similar services will start appearing for apps as well.

4. No moderation
I hate censorship. I don't like the way Apple decides what people can and cannot see on iTunes. However, Apple users do benefit from being protected from exploitation, because Apple cares about the apps that appear in its store. Google's hands off approach to Android Market means that Android phone users can be exploited by phishing apps and other evil applications. Given the recent stories about how unscrupulous developers are collecting personal data from Apple and Android users, Google needs to look at how they can combat these kind of apps, without losing the bohemian appeal of Android.

Nokia need to go Android

Nokia N8, with an OS that only its mother could love

I noticed that Nokia have turned to a Microsoft guy to try to revive the company's fortunes in the smart phone stakes. The only way that Stephen Elop can turn Nokia around is to embrace Android. Having spent years demonstrating that they can't develop mobile software, they need to bin Symbian and concentrate on making great phones again. Something they used to be able to do, but seem to have forgotten all about recently.

If they are going to hang onto Symbian, go open. Let the development community rebuild it and make it work. It is the community that makes Apple and Android strong, although in Apple's case it's more like a cult. Nokia need fanboys and fangirls to help it come back.