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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!

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From Amazon App Store:

As part of our ongoing effort to help our developers reach new customers, you can now submit your apps for distribution later this year in Japan. In addition, we are only a few weeks away from launching the Kindle Fire family of tablets in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. To be prepared, localize and submit your apps now in the Amazon Mobile App Distribution Portal.

We’ve included some resources below to help you localize and market your apps worldwide.

How to Localize Your Apps

How to Market Your Apps

How to Optimize Your Apps for Kindle Fire Tablets

AWS re:Invent
Don’t miss your chance to attend AWS re:Invent to hear from AWS experts and mobile app developers like you to learn how to make the most of AWS. The AWS re:Invent conference will be the perfect opportunity for you and your team to dive deep into AWS and partner services that will enable you to improve time-to-market, address scalability issues, optimize performance, and lower your costs.

Follow us and stay up to date with our developer blog and Twitter. Post your questions on our developer forums or, if you need extra help, contact the Amazon team directly.

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We have mentioned before that Microsoft Windows is definitely there in terms of developer mindshare. However, developer support towards iOS and Android is so dominant due to those platform’s reach, and for Android, it was also considered by developers to be the easiest to develop for:

However, now it seems like Microsoft has been able to take advantage of something they have done so well for so long in the PC space: Provide excellent tools to ease development. According to Taiwanese ISV’s, development costs for Windows Mobile is 1/3 rd that of Android, mainly due to the development tools. The claims from Taiwan are actually quite staggering, and it would be interesting to hear if other developers in other countries feel the same.

Of course, reach is still a problem for Microsoft, and it is quite clear that Windows as a phone OS still struggles when you look at at markets like the US:

So the question the becomes, what will it take for Microsoft to increase its market share?  Well, the obvious is more phones that people want to buy. For quite some time, Nokia has been the only company putting out any new Windows Phones, which of course Microsoft paid a hefty price for. Nokia is also an early supporter of Windows Phone 8, but the question remains whether the new Lumia’s will move the needle with consumers (Tomi Ahonen and Asymco seem to think they will not, which is too bad given Elop’s statement that this may be Nokia’s last chance).

However, there is hope in that other handset manufacturers like Samsung and HTC may move the needle, and they have certainly made good looking devices. Whether any of these first batch devices are good enough is quite questionable, but probably Windows Phone 8 is only a “Galaxy Siii away” from grabbing significant market share (I realized the pun in this one after writing it).

We fundamentally believe that consumer sentiment and loyalty is fickle, and really it should only take 1 really, really good device for consumers to embrace Windows Phone 8.

So assuming there will be good phones out there, what are the other things Microsoft has to get right?  Well, there are a few. There has to be a healthy app eco-system beyond development tools. This is where Microsoft may be struggling, by closing the non-Microsoft shops and forcing sales through Windows Marketplace. While a closed system works well for Apple, we do not subscribe to that other players should follow the closed system strategy. iTunes is actually not good for the majority of app developers (90% make less than expected according to Vision Mobile), and having one place for discovery and purchase simply creates and over crowded space too quickly. Furthermore, the large app stores offer very little innovation in terms of content presentation, discovery or marketing (excluding Amazon here as they are the stand out as expected).

To get a healthy app eco-system, one must also have good business models in place. It should mean a free choice of in-app billing systems, so as to not constrain what developers are using. Here Microsoft for now is making the right decision by allowing developers to choose what they want to use.

So do we believe Windows Phone 8 will become a viable third OS?  If some really good devices get made, and Microsoft does not over regulate the app market eco-system, there is no denying they will have the backing of the developers, and then eventually the consumers.

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To make money on your app, there are two things to focus on to make money: Distribution and marketing.  Marketing is a complex field, and while developers hope to rely on the viral factor and word of mouth recommendations, having Facebook sharing buttons or newsfeed posts simply will not make it for you if you rely on that alone, thus you cannot get away from spending on marketing – and probably spending quite a bit.

The flip side – increased distribution – allows for your app to be discovered in multiple places, for you to possibly build more SEO, perhaps even get feedback from a smaller group of users on small app stores – allowing you to adjust it before you go out wide. Alternative App Stores (is that an expression to be capitalized yet?), or Alternative Android App Stores (as there are very few iOS listing alternatives out there) are really just what any new organization is trying to be: An editor of content, attempting to present interesting content to you in the best possible manner and make money in the process.  They can also be the best avenue for making money, simply because competition is less.

We have tried to do some research to assess which app stores are the best ones, and that is the basis for the current selection of app stores we have selected for our CodeNgo plans . We have also dug up a number of good blog posts on the subject and wanted to share some of them with you:

What about mobile operator stores? Are they still relevant? Yes, probably (although many argue for a limited period of time), but distribution there is often exceptionally difficult (which we hope to address at CodeNgo soon). What we are missing though is a good list of international app stores, i.e. not targeted towards the English speaking world.  Besides which stores work best in China, even an overview of international stores in key markets like Brazil and South East Asia are hard to find.  If you do know of some, please contact us, share your experiences, and we will make sure to spread the word about them and consider adding them to our plans.

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August is nearly over, and so are the holidays for most.  The blogosphere is a bit slow, but luckily some eager beavers have been writing great mobile blog posts, which makes us excited to yet again host the Carnival of the Mobilists.  Thanks to the contributors this week for keeping up the quality content about the mobile industry.

Be sure to follow the COM on Twitter (@TheMobilists) to find out what’s happening within the COMmunity. To help spread the word, please tweet this post using the hash tag #com280.

BYOD

Most would be familiar with BYO (which in Australia is actually quite accepted to do in a restaurant). Add the ‘D’ to this, and you presumably get a headache for CIOs all around the world. Brian Katz takes offense to those complaining about this issue though, arguing that people have been bringing their own devices for years.  We completely agree with Brian.  In fact, Time Magazine recently ran an article on how BYOD is a game changer for education. Message to CIOs: Embrace it! Thank your lucky stars, and get with the program.

What apps are and are not

Two seemingly different stories relate to the very same topic:  When developing mobile apps from an enterprise perspective (whether to your partners or employees, or to your customers), one needs to define the mobile experience as a subset of the overall experience, not as an isolated mobile experience.  Jeff Hasen’s article on Mobilegroove’s summary of the Mobile Insider Summit gives a good account of Wells Fargo’s approach to mobile, and how their mobile apps and services interact with their overall offerings and other distribution channels, physical or online.  Equally, the Lowe’s example shows how their mobile apps tie into their overall CRM efforts.  Brian Katz again talks about this issue in summarizing a Twitter chat on Enterprise Mobile Apps, which is well worth a read.

Pick of the week

Many attribute the mobile data explosion to the iPhone or to Smartphones. But feature phones are perfectly capable data phones, and the app economy would never have taken place without reasonable data plans from operators. Yet, operators have not moved with the times, as Lisa Cinagiulli points out in the article “What We Learned from Kindergarten Now Applies to Mobile Data Plans“.  We loved this article, as it points out the need for personalized data plans not just based on usage, but on the family’s usage (which is clever if you are an operator, knowing that treating your customers nice when they are kids just may make them stay on at a later stage).  Of course, we would prefer near unlimited plans, with caps applying to the data hogs (frequent YouTube’ers and the likes) and let the rest of us not worry about usage!

Lastly, we encourage you to read our post on how mobile app developers increasingly are required to be marketers in order to achieve financial success with their apps. We offer some advice on how you can embed features in your apps in order to attract users, rather than spend it all on SEM or display.  We thank you for reading, and encourage you to look out for next week’s COM, #281!

 

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Message from Vodafone:

Firstly, thanks for using our shop proposition ‘Vodafone AppSelect’ to distribute your apps.

We’re writing to let you know that over the coming weeks we’ll be making a number of changes to the Vodafone Apps Publication Platform. These changes will be related to the following:

• A new improved, streamlined publication platform including a new front-end for developers, updates to your reporting, device configuration and front-end user management.

• The introduction of charge to bill in-app billing which introduces new opportunities for you to monetise your apps, including micro transactions and demo versions.

To operationally manage these changes the Publication Platform will be taken offline from 3rd September 2012 until late October 2012. During this period you will be able to:

• View your existing uploaded content but you won’t be able to make any updates / changes to it or upload new content.

• View your existing account profile information but you will be unable to make any changes to it.

• Access the “My Reports” section of your account and interact with your reports.

If you submit an app before 3rd September 2012 it will go through our QA process as usual, please note that you will not be able to submit after the 3rd September. If it passes our QA checks then it will follow our normal publication process. If it fails the QA checks then you will need to resubmit again once the Publication Platform is back online late October 2012.

If you need further support or have content already in Vodafone AppSelect that needs to be removed, please do not hesitate to contact Vodafone developer support at http://developer.vodafone.com/support/ticket/ or contact us via email dev.support@vodafone.com.

We’ll keep you informed of progress as we make the updates and appreciate your patience during this time.

The Vodafone developer team