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Android Development Challenge II

Chris Fagan — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:34:14 +0000

Until now it’s been radio silence from out friends at google regarding the 2nd android development challenge. I ran across an interesting blog today at phandroid.com where they were able to dig up some news regarding the next android developer challenge. Google was origianlly slated to communicate time-lines, rules etc for this contest by the end of December 08. The good news is that the 2nd development challenge has not been canceled, only delayed. Here’s what google said:

“Regarding the second Developer Challenge, it definitely isn’t canceled but we haven’t announced plans for it yet. We said we would by last year (sorry about that), but we’re still working on how to structure it. The world is quite a bit different now than it was when we ran the first ADC, so we want to make sure the new rules/structure make sense, and we are of course taking into consideration everyone’s experiences with the first ADC. The second ADC will definitely not be a clone of the first ADC. We expect to have all this finalized and announce rules within a couple months. The event itself will likely run in the second half of the year.” – Dan Morrill

If you’re not familiar with the android development challenge here’s a summary of the first challenge:

+1788 developers submitted applications
+open handset alliance partners picked 50 finalists and each received 25,000 to either pocket or reinvest in their app
+top 50 finalists were given an opportunity to make a another round of edits and then submitted apps as final
+open handset alliance partners selected 20 winners! 10 received $100,000 and 10 received $275,000
+total prize money awarded was $5,000,000

If you look at the number of submissions v. the number of winners you’d have roughly a 3% chance of walking away with any money. The odds weren’t exactly in your favor! Keep in mind 1788 people submitted applications for an operating system that wasn’t even available for sale on a device! And, 100% of development and testing had to be done via your PC! Now that we have more than a million android devices out there and MANY more on there way who knows how many people will submit applications for the 2nd development challenge! Nonetheless, Froogloid isn’t discouraged and we’re always up for a challenge!

Howdy U.K. ~ You can now purchase a2b!

Chris Fagan — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:59:59 +0000

I’m happy to announce that our friends over in the U.K. can now purchase a2b! woot woot! Hopefully this means other countries in Europe will have access to paid apps very soon as well.

For those in U.K. we’d love to hear your feedback! Likes/Dislikes etc :) Obviously the queen digs a2b :)

Android Market Statistics

Chris Fagan — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 05:31:10 +0000

For those wondering how well paid applications are doing, here’s a few stats that I manually pulled from the android market this evening. By manual I mean counted on my fingers and toes :) Nonetheless, this should at least give you “some” perspective….

>Paid apps have been available for 17 days (2/20-3/9)
>There are 415 paid apps
>a2b is # 38 in popularity out of 415
>Top 40 stats:
- - 6 apps have between 1,000 – 5,000 downloads
- - 10 apps have between 500 – 1,000 downloads
- - 24 apps have between 100 – 500 downloads
- - Prices vary between $.99 - $9.99

iPhone v. Android/Google Phone

Chris Fagan — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:02:58 +0000

If I had a dollar for every time I was asked if a2b could be purchased on the iPhone I’d be able to retire :) So why doesn’t Froogloid build software for the Iphone? There are several reasons; not enough hours in the day, not enough capital to pay 3rd parties to port a2b, saturated Iphone app market, but the main and most compelling reason is we feel there is a tremendous amount of opportunity with the android/google platform. I recently touched upon this in my “Calm Before the Storm Blog” but here’s a few more points/things to consider.

In the mobile app world you have 4 main players; 1) the network carriers (T-Mobile, Verizon etc…) 2) the mobile phone manufacturers (motorola, LG, HTC etc…) 3) consumers who buy the phones/apps 4) and last but not least, mobile application developers (Froogloid). What if you had an operating system that was good for all players? Well, that’s exactly what android OS does! It makes everyone happy.

Let me tell you why…. First, the device manufacturers, they love android because the OS is 100% free! That’s right, no more paying symbian and other OS’s millions to license their operating systems. This equates to lower handset prices which ultimately means more handset sales. Network carriers are excited about android for 3 reasons; 1) innovative products equate to more subscribers 2) Android phones use data which equates to more value added services = more $$$. 3) Network carriers get 30% of all fee based application downloads! If I sell an app for $1, T-Mobile gets 30 cent and I get 70 cents…. google gets nothing (sort of). Guess how much of the fee based revenue apple shares with network carriers? 0%! Mobile application developers love android because it’s extremely easy to get your products to market unlike apple’s 6 month application process! Not to mention, once more android devices are released, your app will/can be distributed to almost any carrier in the world! More eyeballs on your apps = more revenue, it’s as simple as that. Consumers love android because they’ll have plethora of android devices to chose from unlike the Iphone. Also, android phones are/will be economically priced. Remember, no more OS licensing costs = lower handset prices! Don’t forget, consumers love applications! With android they’ll have an unlimited supply to innovative apps! So, what does google get out of this? Two words: “Mobile Search”!

If you don’t believe me, fine, but I’m not the only one that sees the opportunity. Android will overtake Iphone by 2012. http://androidcommunity.com/android-os-to-trump-os-x-touch-20090306

What are your thoughts? Technorati Profile

Get an android phone for less than 100 bucks!

Chris Fagan — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 17:45:45 +0000

If you’re dying to get your hands on a Google phone but you don’t want to spend $175! You’re in luck! www.letstalk.com is offering a great deal right now. You can purchase a T-Mobile G1 for $97.77 AND it comes with a free car charger and a 4gb micro SD card. The only catch is that you have to sign up for a 2 yr contract. To put this in perspective, I bought my G1 in Oct 08 for $175 with a 2 yr contract. Then I upgraded to 4gb card for another 30 bucks. So, 4 months later you can pay $100 less than I did and get a free car charger . Pretty good deal.

Froogloid Status. What’s Next?

Chris Fagan — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:11:40 +0000

Hi everyone, quick Froogloid status update. a2b has now been available via the android market for a whopping 12 days. Although, it’s seems like much longer! During this time we’ve added a few really cool features such as turn by directions, and emailing location information(google maps link with picture and note). If you haven’t tried em out, you should! Personally I’ve found them very useful.

So, what’s next? Well, We’re working on adding a couple of other requested enhancements. Hopefully we’ll have an updated version of a2b released in the next week or so. Once that’s done, we’ll focus on localizing a2b for Europe and possibly Asia. In parallel with our a2b efforts, a good friend has been heads down working on Key Ring. Unfortunately there haven’t been enough hours in the day to make significant progress on Key Ring to date but this will soon change. We’ve set a goal of April 6th for releasing Key Ring in the android market. With enough red bull and coffee this should be an attainable goal :) I’m really excited about Key Ring. I hope it’s as well received as a2b was/is!

That’s it for now!

When is a2b going to Europe?

Chris Fagan — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 17:59:59 +0000

I’ve received a few emails from folks in Europe asking when they’ll be able to purchase a2b. Unfortunately, the decision isn’t up to Froogoid. We’re merely pawns in Google’s conquest to take over the mobile app world. Which means, we have to wait for the google market to support paid app in other countries. Google’s communication has been limited, but here’s what they’ve said thus far ~

“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/”

Fingers crossed…. google will stay on schedule.

Speaking of Europe … our good friends at www.androidworld.nl Holland have recently reviewed a2b and it appears they like what they see. If you can read Dutch :) check it out. Or, do like I did and use google translator. Thanks Dimitry/Android World for the great review!

New a2b Features!

Chris Fagan — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 01:59:05 +0000

At Froogloid we absolutely value feedback from our customers. We received a few a2b enhancement requests, we listened and now we’ve delivered. Check em out! You won’t be disappointed!

Driving/turn by turn directions to saved location
Email google maps link with picture and free text note
Enhanced zoom logic on save location tab
Added icons to menu tabs

Enjoy! :)

Why Quality Matters?!

Chris Fagan — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 21:42:21 +0000

I just ran across a blog entry at Phandroid.com discussing the pros and cons of google’s 24 hour app return policy. I replied with my thoughts and figured it probably made sense to post them here as well. So here it tis..

I have mixed feelings but overall I think it’s good. To be perfectly honest, we’ve experienced a very low return rate with a2b.

Why? Several reasons:

1) a2b works! and works really well! We’ve found zero defects in production!

2) Our price is extremely competitive ~ $1.99!

3) a2b offers more features than other paid apps in our class (travel) [compass, GPS, camera, voice recording, free text notes, unlimited stored locations…on and on and on)

4) product support ~ I personally email every single person that purchases our app to say thank you and let them know if they have any issues they can personally contact me. If someone returns the app I follow up to see why they returned.

5) 4.67 stars out 5 with positive comments

In conclusion, build a solid product, support your customers, sell it at a reasonable price and returns should be a non issue.

The Calm Before the Storm

Chris Fagan — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:55:22 +0000

Growing up in Oklahoma, the phrase “the calm before the storm” was often used. If you see storm clouds, but yet the wind and sounds of nature were unusually calm, watch out, you’re about get smacked in the face with nature’s fury! I feel the same applies with the android operating system. Although, if android takes off, likely your house won’t go with it! :)

So here’s my point ~ right now there is only one android capable phone on the market, T-Mobile G1. The phone itself is okay, not as sexy as an iPhone but it gets the job done. However, the underlying operating system, android, is very robust. The G1 proved 2 things; 1) the android operating system works, and works well! 2) The mobile application development community, companies like Froogloid, Big in Japan etc, are very committed to building fun/useful innovative applications for the android platform. Android beta phase is OVER and it’s the calm before the storm!

So what’s looming in the horizon? Well, 48 open handset alliance partners ready and willing to build android capable devices and deploy them on their networks. Android is open, which means android can and will be available on EVERY carrier (i.e. Verizon, sprint, vodafone, TIM etc..) no matter what type of network ~ GSM v. CDMA etc. Imagine android as a snowball. Right now, it’s at the top of the hill and has juuuussstt started rolling forward. As it moves, it picks up momentum, and with this momentum consumers all over the world will start to use and hear about android/”Google Phones”. But it really all comes down to one very simple ideal ~ consumers want cool phones. If there are 2 phones on display, lets say oh I don’t know, maybe an iPhone and the G1. The average consumer is going to pick the iPhone because it has that wow appeal. The consumer has no idea what the android operating system is and honestly doesn’t care. All they want is a cool, user friendly phone that they can show off to their friends. Obviously google and the OHA partners get this. There’s not going to be one iPhone killer, it’s going be death by a thousand cuts! :) Here’s a few examples of the android capable phones we’re going to see in 2009!