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From Google:

We’re writing to let you know that Google Play will be supporting tax-inclusive prices in Brazil. Prices set in the Developer Console must be tax inclusive. We encourage you to log into your Developer Console  and make any necessary adjustments to your pricing. To learn more, please visit our Help center at http://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=138000

We would also like to remind you that we have introduced Buyer’s Currency in Brazil. All prices for this locale will be in the Brazilian Real (BRL) currency.

IMPORTANT:  If you have not manually set pricing for Brazil in the Google Play Android Developer Console by Dec 17, 2012, Google Play will automatically assign Brazilian Real prices for your products. Google Play assigns a Brazilian Real price based on the price of your app in your home currency, converted to Brazilian Real using the exchange rate on that day. Google Play will also automatically add taxes based on the tax rate you defined in the Google Checkout Merchant Center.  This is a one-time conversion associated with the transition to the new Buyer’s Currency model. If you have already set your per-currency prices manually, Google Play will not override them.

You can continue to set and adjust the prices of your apps at any time, in your home currency and in any Buyer’s Currency available.

For more information about how Buyer’s Currency works, please visit the Google Play Help Center:

http://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1169947

We are aware that in our communication from December 12, 2012, we listed wrong currency for Brazil. Rest assured that the currency we are supporting is Brazilian Real. Please accept our sincerest apologies for the confusion.

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BlackBerry is arranging a “port-a-thon” to attract developers to the new BlackBerry 10 platform. In a 36 hour event, they will put a ton of technical resources and people at disposal for developers, and they’ve opened the goodie bag:

  • Developers receive $100 for each approved app (up to a max of $2000). Interesting twist as opposed to Google Play where you have to pay to submit
  • Developers submitting between 2-5 games get a free PlayBook tablet
  • A BB10 Alpha device is given to the first 100 developers who submit between 5-10 games
  • The first 10 developers who submit between 10-20 apps, get a BB10 Alpha app + a free trip to GDC in San Francisco
2012-11-15-BlackBerry-comp BlackBerry to developers: Help us please!

 

So the question is whether this will be enough to entice developers.  BlackBerry is a profitable platform, and generates significant revenues for those that are in their store, probably due to lack of apps. It is also interesting to note their heavy focus on games, no doubt due to their purchase of ScoreLoops and having Volker Hirsch head up this unit.

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From Samsung:

Dear seller,
Thank you for being a part of Samsung Apps.Please note that the following improvements will be made to the service.
Major changes
 – Countries with paid stores added : New Zealand, Nigeria
 – Countries with P-SMS added : Philippines, Kuwait, Qatar
 – Date of Implementation for Seller Office: November 09, 2012
 ※ Buyers can purchase applications and use the P-SMS payment method at the store of the applicable country from December 2012.
Additional Announcement
 – The function, ‘Add Device’ has been deleted: The function for adding a device has been deleted, as multiple device groups can be registered for a single item of content from June.
 ※ If you want to add a new device, click [Update Application] on the application details page.
 ※ If you want to register a new device group with a different binary, click [Add New Application].

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From Samsung:

We have made selling game applications in Brazilian stores more convenient.
 – Before : An MJ/DEJUS certification must be acquired.
 – After : If an application has an ESRB or PEGI certificate instead of an MJ/DEJUS certificate, it will be assigned the corresponding MJ/DEJUS age classification.
 – If it does not have an age classification from any official agency, it will be automatically provided with an 18+ rating for sales.
 – Effective from : Thursday 1st November, 2012
< Additional Announcement >
The checking process for Android updates has been changed.
 – Before : Version check by Version Name
 – After : Version check by Version Code
When updating applications, the Version Code of the binary you are updating must be higher than that of the binary previously registered.
※ The Version Name refers to the version of the application that is displayed for buyers via the channel.

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From Google:

We’re writing to let you know that we will be introducing Buyer’s Currencies in two new countries, India and Russia. All prices for these locales will be in the Indian Rupee (INR) and Russian Ruble (RUB) currencies, respectively. Please visit the Google Play Developer Console to set prices for these new countries by October 25, 2012.

IMPORTANT: If you have not manually set pricing for the additional countries in the Google Play Android Developer Console by October 25, 2012, Google Play will automatically assign Buyer’s Currency prices for your products. Google Play assigns a price based on the price of your app in your home currency, converted to each target currency using the exchange rate on that day. This is a one-time conversion associated with the transition to the new Buyer’s Currency model. If you have already set your per-currency prices manually, Google Play will not override them.

You can continue to set and adjust the prices of your apps at any time, in your home currency and in any Buyer’s Currency available.

For more information about how Buyer’s Currency works, please visit the Google Play Help Center:

http://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1169947

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From Samsung:

We understand that it can be a hassle to enter the binary file information when you register applications and we have tried to improve the Seller Office service based on your comments and opinions. Please note the following improvements have been made to device recommendations and category settings.

1. When you upload a binary file, compatible devices are recommended automatically.
– These improvements to application registration have been made for your convenience: some information entered in the manifest is now detected automatically and compatible devices are recommended based on that information, as well as information entered manually by the Seller.
– Target OS: bada, Android
– Auto Detection Items: App ID, API Level, Version (common), Mobile Network, VoIP (so far only available for Android), and more
– Other Manual Input Items: S Pen and more
– Effective from: Wednesday 10th October, 2012

2. Now, an additional category can be set when registering an application.
To help Sellers who had difficulty selecting only one category, because of the variety of features on their applications, you can now select up to 2 categories per application.
Primary Category: required / Secondary Category: optional
Effective from: Wednesday 10th October, 2012

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If you have published anything to the Vodafone AppSelect store, you would have recently gotten this message (although chances are you have not, which is probably why this message was sent out in the first place):

Due to technical and operational considerations, Vodafone AppSelect will now close on 21 November 2012, which is earlier than anticipated and originally communicated. Accordingly, please take this email as formal notice that we will be closing AppSelect and ending our agreement with you on 21 November 2012.

Question is, is this a signal of the coming fall of the mobile operator app store? Rumors are certainly plentiful in the marketplace and many have predicted their downfall. Certainly a lot of mobile operators have proven that they are not good enough to be retailers, but still there are others that have been moderately successful. Mobile operators can more often than not customize the home screen on phones, and they can provide direct billing. These are important pillars for discovery and easy of charging – but they still need to be experts at content retailing. The unraveling has begun – but who will survive among the operators?

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Everyone who develops for Android knows about the Google Play store. Slightly more sophisticated publishers go beyond Google Play and feature in the Amazon Appstore, Samsung Apps or possibly even Getjar. In report after report the number one thing developers look for when choosing a platform is reach. Naturally this also extends to the app stores that they choose to support. At CodeNgo we agree that reach is an important factor when choosing what stores to submit to but it’s not the only factor developers should consider consider. In addition to looking at reach developers should also look at the competition in your category, the app store’s track record of delivering installs and the promotional opportunities offered by the app store. With this in mind we’ll introduce you to 3 alternate Android App Stores that you should be in that you’re not.

Let’s start with Mobango, a multi-platform free app store. Mobango has over 8 million users and has delivered over 1 billion downloads to date across all content areas. It’s user base is strong in the U.S. and India followed by Europe and Asia. Their interface is clear and easy to use, but what we like best about Mobango is it’s promotional platform. They offer a non-incentivized cost per install program (aka pay per download) that delivers quality installs at a fraction of the cost of most other app marketing vehicles. Looking to drive installs for less then $1 per install? If so, then you’ll want to have a look at Mobango.

Another great independent app store that is just off the radar for most developers is the SlideMe App marketplace. SlideMe is preloaded on over 120 OEM’s devices and has global reach. We like it because it has a large user base (2nd only to Google Play according to SlideMe), it supports payment processors of your choosing at a fraction of the cost of Google Play and developers speak highly of it. The submission process is simple and the approval process comes back quickly!

Finally we get to the Opera Store. This one didn’t originally make our list but a combination of recent changes to the promotional opportunities through the store plus the popularity of the browser in developing markets (Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa) makes Opera unique among the major independent app stores. Don’t expect a huge lift right away but this store is one to watch.

If you’re not already in these app stores then you’re missing downloads today!

zemified_e 3 Alternate Android app stores you should be in but aren't