By If you compared the Apple App Store, BlackBerry App World, Google Android Market, Nokia Ovi Store, and Windows Marketplace, what order would you GUESS their applications are in terms of average price? You might (or might not) be surprised that Android Market has the cheapest applications in that regard, at least according to Distimo.
Here is a chart comparing the average prices for each platform:
If you have enough idiots adding $1000 applications into the mix it can greatly skew things, but I think this speaks volumes about Android’s Open Source nature and the willingness of developers to offer FREE solutions. And if they’re free and ad-supported? I absolutely welcome those – after all, isn’t that the Google way?
An interesting twist is that compared to the US, UK & Japan, applications in “The Euro Zone” (Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain) were priced significantly higher by their counterpart developers on average.
Interesting conversation fodder but nothing ground breaking. Nonetheless, let’s hope Android Devs continue to pump out free and cheap goodies. PS: That doesn’t mean I’m not willing to shell out a pretty penny for a well polished app/game I truly need/want and will use.
[Via TechCrunch]
I think all apps should be free and add supported. It’s the way of the future for all software companies need to get with it.
I think these numbers might be skewed by the fact that blackberry apps generally do something useful, and are therefore worth paying for.
I just wish that one day, us Canadians will get paid apps here :(
free apps are not good for developers, ive been seriously considering developing for the Android but the lack of serious buyers is holding me back and i dont think that ads are actually profitable
@Delphi – personally I absolutely HATE adds. I wouldn’t use any software that tries to spit adverts at me.
It will be interesting to see how many “free” android apps are still supported a year from now. As Maj notes, professional developers cannot afford to be in a market where revenue < (dev+support) cost.
The higher prices of BlackBerry and WinMo apps reflect (a) sales to businesses and (b) an accurate reflection of the cost to support ongoing development and maintenance.
If the Android platform is going to be more than a geek playground, significant changes in application pricing is called for.
I have faith in Andoid app developers for the same reason I have faith in hundreds of open source Linux distributions where people do stuff out of passion and fun, something iCrap lineup just doesn’t inspire :) With big strong Google support foundation and developer challenges, I have a feeling Android will be the cutting edge of mobile OS just like Linux is in PC world.
Paid apps are more likely to have long running updates and support. If you go with free apps, you are better off choosing the ones backed by the big open source players (ASF, GNU and not by licensing but by foundation).