Domestic Android developers earnings difficult: over-payment poor version

Android (Android) will become the Terminator Apple empire it?

With Google's latest quarterly earnings release, well-known technology blog writer Henry · Brocant article entitled "Android will subvert everything, RIM and iPhone dead never buried," the article, leading to the New York Times and other well-known Media comment. According to the source, Apple investors should be "scared to death" because Android seized 7 percentage points of market share in the United States over the past three quarters.

According to the data disclosed by Google, the number of Android programs installed by users worldwide has exceeded 3 billion. The number of program downloads in the first quarter of this year increased 50% sequentially and the number of Android devices activated per day reached 350,000. With the rapid growth in sales of Android handsets, the number of downloads of Android applications is rapidly increasing: this number has reached 1 billion times in 20 months, 2 billion times in only 5 months and 3 billion times in just 2 month. More and more handsets such as mobile phones and tablets start using the Android system and it looks like Google is going to repeat the search engine market victory in this area. Android brought to the industry chain what? Under the explosive growth, the entire Android industry chain how to eat profit? With a series of questions, the Daily Economic News launched an investigation. This issue of 3C Weekly, we will look to Android platform application developers -

In 2007, Google launched Android mobile operating system, sought after by the industry.

Although Android's market share continues to expand, but many of its developers in the industry chain is still in a difficult profit profiteering. Insiders pointed out that for the smartphone platform, the application and its developers are to draw the weight of the user, and the platform to attract developers, the most crucial factor is income. The reason why so many developers iPhone crave, and easy to make a lot of money associated with the Apple platform.

So Android platform application developers, the income situation in the end how?

Three percent of developers lose money

Analysys International conducted a survey in October 2010, and surveys showed that 31% of Android application developer teams were in a loss, with 19% of those earning less than $ 10,000.

"As of now, we have not made any money from the Android platform," said the person in charge of Xiaomi Technology to the "Daily Economic News."

Xiaomi Technology was launched in April 2010 and focuses on smart phone applications such as Android and iPhone, as well as mobile Internet application development. Its products include Mimiao chat, millet sharing, millet reading, millet memo pad, millet driver, mobile browser, etc. A product downloads are 200 million level, which is in the domestic Android developers in the upper level.

However, more than 2 million downloads of a single product did not generate significant revenue for millet technology. According to reports, millet technology products are free on the Android platform, there is no gain through advertising. Although the above person in charge did not disclose the specific operating costs, but he said that the current team of about 150 millet technology companies in the Android platform, the cost of the main cost of labor costs, office rental and product operating costs, which is a Not a small fee.

The experience of millet technology is not a case.

Joinmobile team was established in July 2010, the core members of the five individuals who had promoted the product "orange conversion" on the Android platform, although the market response is not bad, but did not bring any benefits. At present, the team has merged with the Colossus fantasy, changed to mainly engaged in iOS development, supplemented by Android development.

"Easy to remember" is an accounting product launched by Kingdee. Since the product was launched on Apple AppStore in May 2010, it has been in the top 50 sales charts for 8 consecutive months and the sales volume is much higher than the Android platform.

According to Wang Feng, vice president of Kingdee Business Network introduced at present the product is about millions of Android revenue, but compared with tens of millions of development costs, this part of the revenue is still meager.

Compared with the dismal Android, Apple AppStore last month, millions of dollars in revenue applications everywhere, such as the December 9, 2010 launch of the game InfinityBlade launch, sales of four days exceeded 200,000 sales, setting a $ 1.6 million revenue .

Android platform's first millionaire story, but also from the Apple platform ported "Angry Birds." The game earned $ 1 million in advertising revenue in the first month of the Android platform, but far behind its $ 10 million in AppStore revenue.

The industry chain for its owner

In an interview with the "Daily Economic News", Li Liang, founder of Beijing Ruide Yingzhi Company, said that for application developers, in the Apple ecosystem, developers do not need to care about the channels and distribution of products, as long as the products do OK on the line, but Android is not so simple.

Wang Jun, vice president of "mobile phone" company seems, when Android came out, the industry are very excited, I hope this open platform can be bigger and bigger, however, it is precisely because of the platform open, Android has some problems, of which, Too many Android versions, and not compatible with each other so that developers have a headache.

Wang Jun frankly, compared to Apple iOS, Android platform development much lower degree of difficulty, but compatibility is a bottleneck. "For example, 10,000 users with Apple, we only once developed it, but for Android, 10,000 users may be divided by 10 manufacturers or operators, developers need to develop 10 times from the same number of users In the income. "

Wang Jun believes that the opening up of the Android platform has created a false impression to the outside world that opening up can reduce costs and win more users. In fact, in an open mode, every role in the industry chain is its mainstay, Even all parties want to involve a wider area, which increases the developer's development costs and maintenance costs.

Valley wind feel very much the same. According to him, in order to ensure Kingdee's "easy to remember" products running properly on Android, need to send someone responsible for the day each responsible for the hardware platform with the Android platform to communicate and do product adaptation, which will add an additional 10% cost.

Lv Miao, founder of RyeStudio, and Wang Pengfei, CEO of Beijing Smart Snapshot Information Technology Co., Ltd., believe that different versions of the adaption make the Android platform products cost 30% more than iOS because one software needs dozens of hardware vendors Different adaptation.

"The biggest difference Android developers face with the iOS platform is that the latter is more like a traditional software developer for developers, so it can be a good game to sell in the AppStore, and Android must participate in the industry chain . "Innovation Works dessert OS Project COO Huang Zhuang said that the future prospects of Android we can see, but now open source led to various versions split. For developers, this is a very high cost, and second, maintenance is very difficult.

Poor payment channels

Currently, Android camp urgent need to solve the real problem is how to make money. However, due to poor payment channels, many development teams find it hard to profit from selling their products.

It is understood that at present, Android platform, there are about two profitable channels for domestic developers: one is to download and pay, the second is advertising. Download Pay is the most basic Google AndroidMarket charges, developers just upload your own development software, set the price, the user download, developers can get income.

However, the reality is that AndroidMarket's payment channels are only open to 13 countries and regions, and Asian countries other than Japan are unable to pay for paid applications. This has caused AndroidMarket income in China is difficult to scale. In contrast, Apple AppStore allows users from 90 countries to purchase applications.

Gu Feng pointed out that due to the lack of payment channels, "easy to remember" charge products can only be purchased through the Taobao shop or official website. After successful payment, the user will get a registration code, which binds an account.

"There's no convenience through third-party embedding, and if you do not have a third-party account, you're probably going to have to forfeit your payment," Sheng Man, head of GameTox, an application development team, told The Daily Telegraph.

In addition, too few domestic paid users, but also Android developers is difficult to profit one of the reasons.

According to Li Liang revealed that his company sold on the Android platform, a video player, is the use of free application plus advertising mode, the user if you do not want to see the ads, you can pay to become an advertised version, however, in the product Less than 5% of the more than 3 million end downloads are really willing to pay.

This means that for the Chinese Android developers, the most viable way to make money right now is to use free advertising model, but the profitability of this model is still not optimistic.

At present, there are very few ads on the Android platform in the Chinese market. Sheng Man pointed out that the company a section downloads 40,000 times the product through the Android application built-in advertising revenue of only 78 US dollars.

"Android operating results far from Apple, and other means to make up for revenue." Li Liang said that at present 80% of developers are in need for the layout of the Android platform for a variety of large companies, and independent development team as long as the strength, Most will take into account platforms such as iOS, Android, Symbian and WindowsPhone for more revenue and reduced risk.

However, Wang Pengfei believes that the Android industry chain profit model is still exploring, compared with the advertising profit model, Pengfei more inclined to do a good job in the case of products, implanted industry applications.

Despite the current survival of developers difficult, but Valley believes that Android is still a sunrise platform, the current dilemma there is another reason that Android phones in the domestic market share is small. Data show that as of the third quarter of last year, China's Android handset ownership of more than 300 million, and Nokia 2010 in the Chinese market in the first three quarters of 60 million sales far.