Mobile Evolution - Thoughts, insight, and experiences related to the mobile software industry

Yes, the AppStore review system is archaic and out of our control. Yes, the discoverability is frustrating and when the store breaks, we're out of luck. But would you really want to go back to the 'old way' of distributing mobile software? Let's look at what the AppStore fixed in terms of mobile software distribution.

Getting one new app noticed in a sea of 100,000 apps is impossible. However, each app gets one (guaranteed?) opportunity to gain a certain sales momentum through exposure on the by Release Date (aka new releases) list. If you're in a competitive category, your app may get a few days on the front page, or perhaps your app gets nearly a week. Either way, without this jumpstart, your app is destined to only garner a few sales. However, the Release Date lists are now broken--many apps appearing on the list have 2008 release dates (some are outdated releases for 2.0 only--not even updated for 3.0 software update for the iPhone and iPod Touch). If this problem is not fixed soon, ALL apps released in this current timeframe will be DOA. Our Serving Sizer Recipe Converter app falls under this predicament! Our first day of sales can be counted on one hand, instead of 10x that amount for a partial first day of sales.

UPDATE: Date Wheel is now showing up for sale on the AppStore. Here's the iTunes link.

We just received the email for which we've been waiting--Date Wheel has been officially approved for sale on the AppStore! Should be a few hours before you can access it for purchase. We're very excited to finally release for iPhone. We'll keep you posted and provide links as soon as we know. In the meantime, feel free to follow DateWheel on Twitter for up-to-the-moment updates. We also ask you to please submit a review if you would. Thanks!!

We finally submitted Date Wheel late last night to the AppStore. Now we wait. Apple has a new feature when you log in that tells you how long a typical AppStore submission will take. According to Apple, right now "96% of applications are being approved within 14 days." So, to show you what Date Wheel can do, I took a little screenshot showing the estimated timing if we are among the lucky 96%.

If you want to be notified of when Date Wheel for iPhone is ready for sale,

Which is trickier--coming up with a good idea or 'porting it cross-platforms? Does your company have a long list of ideas, or the skill set to develop across platforms, or both? Recently I read an article about the iPhone becoming more difficult to develop for, due to fragmentation. Besides other things (volume, the AppStore....), the iPhone has been attractive to develop for because it does not require many iterations or multiple phones.

Today we announced at Creative Algorithms that our Palm OS apps, Trip Boss and Date Wheel, have been "Classic Certified" for the MotionApps emulator app "Classic" for the webOS on the Palm Pre. (full press release here). What exactly does this mean?

Perhaps the most active part of marketing using the 4P's (Product, Price, Promotion, and Place (Distribution) is Promotion. Once you design your product, set your price, and select your distribution methods, not much additional effort in these areas is required. At this point, you must unleash your promotional tools.

Google recently announced on their blog how they intend to promote Apps for the Android operating system. The "store" will be referred to as the "Android Market" which will be more of a repository, or archive, of applications available for the platform. They did not spell out how commerce will be accomplished--just that free apps (and maybe free demos?) will expect support for now, with more decisions to be made later. This news is welcomed by developers who are frustrated with the semi-closed nature of the AppStore, but does pose some critical issues in its deployment. In this post, I will compare and contrast some of the positives and negatives of the Android Market (as it has been announced), the AppStore, and the current existing smartphone application distribution system.

The Chicago Tribune ran a story this week about local Chicago developers who are selling iPhone apps. Notable were Scott Corley of Red Mercury, who has a highly rated solitaire application, AcidSolitaire Collection, and Jim Brady, of Earthcomber, who will be coming out with a native app soon. Both Scott and Jim are a part of a local group of Chicago mobile (recently expanded from just Palm OS) developers who gather for food, drink, and conversation on a regular basis.

Price selection can be the most difficult and elusive part of marketing. How do you know if your selection is right? What happens if it is too low? What happens if it is too high? What if you need to change it? Is it possible to market to all types of customers—those who want cheap, those who will pay more, or those who won't buy if the price is too low? Sometimes pricing feels like a shot in the dark, but it really doesn't have to be that way. This post will explore different ways of pricing software applications, how to modify them if needed, and approaches for setting pricing tiers to ideally attract as many customers as possible.