Database Users

[Q] Do most Android users not download paid apps?

I'm working on a couple Android apps and haven't yet decided if I'd like to charge for some (something small like .99 or 1.99 USD), or make them free but have ads in them. I was leaning towards charging for them, but I noticed that Angry birds is a paid app on the iPhone, whereas the Android version is free and has ads. I thought this was interesting and I'm curious whether iPhone users are more interested in paid apps than Android users are. Anyone know anything about this?

They made Angry Birds available for free because they want everyone to play it, they are gonna make a paid-app later that removes the ads. I would gladly pay for that game even if I can get it for free.
So I actually don't think that iPhone users is more interesting in paid-apps than Android users.
Make one free app with ads and then have a paid-version that removes the adds, that way everyone can download and use it whether they are in a country with or without paid-apps. Or you can make a "premium" app that has more features than the free one. Just a couple of suggestions
When paid-apps wasn't available in Sweden, I got so frustrated on apps that were only available for paid-apps-countrys and had no free alternative with ads or less features and stuff.
Hope this helps.
EDIT:
And remember, if the apps are good quality they will probably sell, people don't want to pay for apps that look like crap and have no functionality. And also, have screenshots in Market because people want to be ale to check out how the apps looks and stuff before they make a purchase or download it

I used to try crippleware/nagware/adware on my PC and use a lot of it on my phone. I don't need a lot of apps so I don't buy many but I try hundreds.
Over the years, I have acquired lots of apps for my WinMo phone, many of which I still miss, INCLUDING A SIMPLE "PHONE TO OUTLOOK" APP! Make that app happen on Android and I will pay for it AND I won't mind iif you want to still collect ad revenue from it.

I bought all apps that were available as adware to remove the ads. Half my apps are paid apps. If the price is reasonable I have no problem paying for the app and supporting the developer.

I myself will only pay for what I feel are essential apps or if I feel the developer really just loves the community; I don't generally mind ads, but sometimes will be so annoyed i will buy the paid version.
Apps ive paid for up to this point:
Launcher Pro
Root Explorer
Rom Manager
Better Keyboard (Before i had swype)
Widget Locker
Set CPU
Chomp SMS (Really wish I didn't as the developer seems to be very confrontational with users)
I have donated to the following:
Smooth Calendar
Anderweb
and a few others ive sent a few dollars to for being supportive and not berrating their customers for not wanting to pay.

I do pay for apps if the price is reasonable . I think the most I have paid for an app is ~5 bucks

I've bought 3 apps for my phone so far. LauncherPro, BeautifulWidgets and SNesoid. Both Snesoid and LauncherPro have "trial" versions with limited functionality (but unlimited usage), whereas BW you just have to flat-out pay for.
I am definitely more inclined to purchase an app if I have chance to try it out first, if for no other reason than to make sure that it works correctly on my phone before I buy it, so having a locked-down version for free (and I mean, leave out some features for PRO users only), as well as maybe ads is probably a good move. that way you might get some money from ads in the free version, and a lump sum if the app is purchased.
Zeb

panguin said:
Right. Cause **** all those people who put in time and effort to make my phone do the things I want it to do, right? Bunch of no good leeching assholes. How DARE they try and collect recompense for all their hard work!
/s
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I agree 100%. I've paid for about 10 apps thus far and not just to remove ads, but to support the developer's efforts.

Yeah ive bought a lot of things, and like they are saying make a paid version and a trail to show people how it is if they like they will pay.

ya...i buy too.....
my phone
i`ve spend ~400€ on my phone and now spend more for apps?! no...not me!
one of the things who lead me to buy an android was the "open source thing".
i won`t ever buy an app for it!
allways search for a open source app that suits me instead of buying something.
ya, ya, ya...we must pay for all hard work and bla, bla, bla...so...by an WM or an iPhone
look at the example given. Angry Birds.
another? swype...allways beta
just my 5cents

i buy paid games and launcher pro plus as well ans a few other apps that are
payable and to all you people that say you support the xda but you have unpaid full app like pirating them you people suck. if you support something you shouldn't feel bad sending a few bucks to the dev.

rendeiro2005 said:
ya...i buy too.....
my phone
i`ve spend ~400€ on my phone and now spend more for apps?! no...not me!
one of the things who lead me to buy an android was the "open source thing".
i won`t ever buy an app for it!
allways search for a open source app that suits me instead of buying something.
ya, ya, ya...we must pay for all hard work and bla, bla, bla...so...by an WM or an iPhone
look at the example given. Angry Birds.
another? swype...allways beta
just my 5cents
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And yet you have a 'Donate to me' button. Well no support for you I guess.
I will always pay for an app if it's something I need or want. I generally like to buy from apps made by devs not companies who charge outrageous amounts for something. Like Documents To Go, if I had the knowledge I'd make the exact same thing for free and I guarantee people would donate to support my effort instead of charging $16, $17, $25 for an app.
So far I've bought:
SetCPU (even though you can get it for free in the thread here)
Rom Manager
'File Copy'
SU File Explorer
Mini Info
Some LWP's
Some games
and about 7 or so other apps

For me it's simple - I will spend my money on a good, quality app. I've got quite a few apps, and I love the fact that Google's market gives you the 24 hour trial period - so how can you go wrong?

I've paid for a lot of apps. About 90% of them I don't even use anymore.
I wouldn't charge too much for it. That would only lead to people paying, copying the apk, then refunding... Sadly.

ante0 said:
I've paid for a lot of apps. About 90% of them I don't even use anymore.
I wouldn't charge too much for it. That would only lead to people paying, copying the apk, then refunding... Sadly.
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Wow, I had never thought of that before

JGeZau said:
Wow, I had never thought of that before
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Good thing though is that they don't get updates...
More and more apps use license check now though, forcing you to redownload the app (Which I have noticed everytime I restore apps using Titanium backup). Which in that case wouldn't be possible since you refunded it
Google should make some license check too, everytime you open up the market it should check for apps that need licenses (i.e. paid apps), if none is found it could force you to uninstall it and not let you use the market until you have done so.

I think most people on this site are more willing to pay for apps then if you looked at some other forums because this is a forum for developers and they know the hard work that goes into these products. I buy a lot of apps, most under $3.00, If I don't find an app I want then I buy a soda there's not much of a price difference and people buy sodas millions of times a day so I don't see why so many people are so hesitant to buy apps. I think there needs to be an Android gift card like an iTunes card but that's for a different thread.

ante0 said:
Good thing though is that they don't get updates...
More and more apps use license check now though, forcing you to redownload the app (Which I have noticed everytime I restore apps using Titanium backup). Which in that case wouldn't be possible since you refunded it
Google should make some license check too, everytime you open up the market it should check for apps that need licenses (i.e. paid apps), if none is found it could force you to uninstall it and not let you use the market until you have done so.
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Yeah, I imagined they wouldn't get updates, but I wouldn't do it, I support Android development

I have paid for three applications, because they were the single best applications that delivered the most functionality.

This post has got me wondering, what sort of money would you expect to get from adverts and if there was an ad blocker installed on the phone would you still get paid? In other words would you get paid for having the advert built in or just on a paid per click basis?
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Amazon App Store Rocks

In case you haven't heard they give out a free paid app every day! Yesterday was Picsay Pro and today is Wolfram Alpha! Both great apps! I high suggest installing the app store and checking every day I'm not really sure what happens when the app get's updated by the developer though.

I uninstalled it because I was offended that it was notifying me about updates even though I hadn't run the app since a reboot...
I hate that presumption that my cpu and bandwidth is free for the taking, or that I even care that an app that I haven't run for a few days has been updated...
Also, I had installed a free app from amazon app store, and it wouldn't run after I uninstalled amazon app store (reasonable I suppose).
Otherwise, I buy a lot of stuff from amazon - I'm a loyal customer of theirs...
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA Premium App

I think the Amazon Appstore is a great alternative to the Android Market, but I'm glad we have both.
The Appstore is much more like Apple's App Store (and not just in name only). Amazon reviews and tests all applications, and if they don't work as advertised, are buggy, or have security issues, they get denied. One one hand, it's nice to know you can trust your app downloads, especially when there have been some rather notable security problems with Market apps.
On the other hand, there's nothing stopping Amazon from denying legitimate apps like Apple has a habit of doing. That said, I haven't seen any evidence they're doing that, and generally speaking I think Amazon is a rather trustworthy company (see the platform-agnostic Kindle software and their willingness to go toe-to-toe with record labels to give us Cloud access to our own music).
Oh, and ironically, the Appstore's search engine is about a bajillion times better than the Market's. I'll never understand why Google's Android Market search engine is so awful.
Of course, the free apps -- which are just discounted to $0 from the full price for a day, so they're handled exactly the same as a real purchase as far as updates go -- are just the cherry on top. But what a cherry. At first, I was worried they would just go the easy route and give out ****e apps. But that definitely hasn't been the case (with the exception of some "meh" games). In the slightly over two weeks the Appstore's been available, I've nabbed legitimately top-shelf apps like Shazam Encore, SoundHound Infinity, SwiftKey Keyboard, PicSay Pro, Wolfram Alpha, Weatherbug Elite, and a whole bunch of games, many of which are pretty darn good, like Fruit Ninja and Backbreaker Football. That's a lot of money saved (like $30 for apps I've listed here alone).

Amazon App store is GREAT
We need a second option from Google

I like how there aren't problems downloading apps and apps will correctly queue for download. With the Android market on 2.2 it will sit there and try to download multiple apps only to either error out on the download or do a continuous installing thing that you have to cancel anyway.

Darn I missed picsay!! How did that happen!!
One bad thing about Amazon...yesterday I went to play Angry Birds Rio, and it gave me an error saying that it didn't have a network connection to verify my purchase.
So if you are in Airplane mode, or don't have a connection, it sounds like the apps from Amazon won't run. Not an issue most of the time, but annoying nonetheless.

My morning ritual now involves checking the Amazon App Store.

does anyone know if you can transfer apps already purchased onto the same phone if we flash a new rom? i'm assuming you can, but the data saves might disappear

Apps can be installed on unlimited (I'm not sure about that, but I've got it going on 2) phones. Data might be transferable through Titanium but I've not actually tried.

ah cool. hopefully TiBU data restoring won't cause force closes because i know it sometimes does

Paying for apps

Just a questionaire, i'm trying to do some market research as I begin my personal app development project after I have finished my studies, thanks.

OK so what are the questions?

Yeah.. I pay for my apps.

Hi,
I would've loved a multiple-choice questionnaire because price is not the deciding factor. I paid 4,99 € for Juice Defender Ultimate without blinking, but I wouldn't pay a dime for an app that is half-way done, ugly and doesn't do what I need to.
Do ask if you want to know more about my buyer profile.
Cheers!

I pay for apps when the f4ck1ng Playstore lets me. Since I'm a citizen of an exotic European country, the Market has allowed me to buy just 1 app so far (Root Uninstaller). The other one (Titanium) I could buy off the dev directly. Other than that - "This app is not compatible with your N7000", meaning fcuk off.
As a result of that, I'm forced to use just free apps - not that I need many anyway - but it's humiliating and degrading.

chasmodo said:
I pay for apps when the f4ck1ng Playstore lets me. Since I'm a citizen of an exotic European country, the Market has allowed me to buy just 1 app so far (Root Uninstaller). The other one (Titanium) I could buy off the dev directly. Other than that - "This app is not compatible with your N7000", meaning fcuk off.
As a result of that, I'm forced to use just free apps - not that I need many anyway - but it's humiliating and degrading.
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That's unbelievable... what a fuc.. shame!!
What's the reasons (if any..) ?

If its worth it. I'm 50/50. Depends on quality.
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A free (limited functionality or ad supported) version to ensure it works properly on my devices with an in app purchase to unlock the full version. That last part is what I find missing in a lot of games and I hate starting over because I decided to buy the full/ad-less version

there should be an option saying " when the play store is available in your country !!"
it's sickening how one would like to buy stuff only to find that he's being blocked due to geo-based restrictions ,even when using market unlocker I still can't buy paid apps.
actually I once went through the trouble of creating a fake US address just to buy "Set cpu" from Amazon app store ,cause that's the only app store I can fool ,and even that is getting harder to do now a days.
it's just frustrating you know.......not to mention makes devs lose potential sales.

I've bought more apps in my 2.5 months on android, than my previous 3 years in iOS. Interestingly, there are more apps in the android world that I'm willing to pay for.

Ive recently just came over to the android community previously being an iphone user. Any apps i bought through the appstore i have repurchased through the marketplace. I find aslong as there is value for money then i will pay for it

chasmodo said:
I pay for apps when the f4ck1ng Playstore lets me. Since I'm a citizen of an exotic European country, the Market has allowed me to buy just 1 app so far (Root Uninstaller). The other one (Titanium) I could buy off the dev directly. Other than that - "This app is not compatible with your N7000", meaning fcuk off.
As a result of that, I'm forced to use just free apps - not that I need many anyway - but it's humiliating and degrading.
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Hey brother, have you seen this :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=24454758
Oh and on topic : I am buy all my apps. Think I spend about 100 bucks on play store by now....

lsbe said:
A free (limited functionality or ad supported) version to ensure it works properly on my devices with an in app purchase to unlock the full version. That last part is what I find missing in a lot of games and I hate starting over because I decided to buy the full/ad-less version
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Same here
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Why are so many apps incompatible?

I'm writing an article on the Nexus 7 and Jelly Bean, and I wonder if someone with more coding knowledge could help me out with something.
I'm wondering why so many apps are listed as "incompatible" with the Nexus 7. Is it the device configuration, or something to do with the way the apps are coded? Why would an app like NBA JAM work on a Galaxy Nexus but not a Nexus 7?

I think it's the default screen DPI value screwing things up.
Sent from my Galaxy S III

TheBiles said:
I think it's the default screen DPI value screwing things up.
Sent from my Galaxy S III
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That would cause apps to be listed as "incompatible" in the Play Store?
How can developers make apps more widely compatible? Shouldn't the Android SDK responsive design features take care of that?
Thanks!

A lot of the applications that are listed as incompatible are in fact compatible if side loaded onto the device, bypassing the Play Store.
I don't want to assume you are new to Android but usually within 2-4 weeks of a new Android OS launch, more applications will become compatible in the Play Store.

Nexcellent said:
A lot of the applications that are listed as incompatible are in fact compatible if side loaded onto the device, bypassing the Play Store.
I don't want to assume you are new to Android but usually within 2-4 weeks of a new Android OS launch, more applications will become compatible in the Play Store.
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I've been a Nexus user for a few years now, so I know that eventually apps will be updated, although it's always pretty annoying in the beginning. I'm just trying to understand better what developers have to do in order to make apps compatible with new devices and new versions of Android.

Many also show incompatible (such as Amazon) because they require a rear camera. They work fine when sideloaded (as mentioned above) but force close when trying to access the camera.

There's a build property for "highest version of android that this app will work for". Google advises against using it in the documentation, but a lot of devs set the max version to ICS anyway. Expect it to be corrected as more people get JB

pissed abbout google play store and samsung appstore and espetially amazon appstore

pissed abbout google play store and samsung appstore and espetially amazon appstore
hy,
im not sure if im doing something wrong but the google appstore is very incoherent, i dont even want to mention the other stores.
i was trying for example, to find resident evil 4 on the samsung store but found streetfighter 4 instead witch i cannot find on the google store nor anywhere.
streetfighter 4 was, by all sources on google first only exclusive for LG devices and then was expanded to some devices in japan, so i shouldnt even see it.
but alright thats the samsung store i dont expect much of that anyway .. but the google store is the same crap basically.
i go on my samsung s4 in the appstore app i press the menu button and select my apps and i got two tabs one says installed the other all.
on the installed tab i should see all apps installed on my device regardless if i got them from the samsung store or any other source i could have also downloaded an apk and installed it manually.
the i open my browser and go to the google app store .. what do i got there? i have on the left a link to my apps now i am supposed to get all my apps listed there ... and also one has that little gear icon witch is there for settings on it there is an option saying MY ORDERS that lists everything i ever purchased from the google appstore.
now the issue is that in the list of my apps on the browser i dont have the same items as on the list that the mobile app store gives me i am missing believe it or not even GOOGLE VOICE SEARCH witch appears on my mobile.
now the most retarded thing about this hole thing is that i got on my device in the all tap listed 2 samsung apps witch are the SAMSUNG HUB and PHOTO EDITOR when i go into details on both i get a message saying this app is not compatible with your device.
i cannot find neither of these apps on the google app store when i use the search embeded in the store app.
if this is really the android system then i take a crap on it. IS IT SO HARD TO MAKE THING COHERENT... I CANNOT IMAGINE ANYTHING SIMPLER IN THE HOLE PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT OF AN ANDROID SYSTEM. i dont want to get thrown to by all this trash produced by a bunch of different standards different appstores but as you can see also within each store itselt.
I SO REGREAD BUYING THE S4 ILL NEVER CHANGE FROM APPLE AGAIN.
is it really so that in the process of developing a system like android google or samsung or whoever just says ok ... we developed all the core stuff we dont care about the UI just get the thing ready for sale

Blah, blah, blah. Talking about incoherent. Maybe it's you.

jd1639 said:
Blah, blah, blah. Taking about incoherent. Maybe it's you.
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No its you my friend youre just to ignorant to see that android I a cheap piece of crap compared to apple and the reason why youre ignorant is because you cant explain yourself how that is because its not a problem at all to change this

then get an apple..

I'll give you twenty of the currency of your choice for your S4 + cost of standard postage to me (if it were me, I'd choose Euros as they're worth the most relative to other currencies).
P.S - This is the least coherent thread I've read in my almost two years on XDA (and I've read literally tens of thousands of threads). For that, you should be congratulated. It reminds me of the rantings of a patient at a secure psychiatric facility detained involuntarily.

I came from apple and I love my gs4, it does way more stuff than an iPhone ever can. Sure there isn't much games on the app store but I don't use my phone for gaming, I use my phone as intended a “phone". if you want to play games go see if you can run across the street through rush hour traffic to get to the other side or play Russian roulette, your choice. Go buy an Xbox or a PlayStation end of story problem solved.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337

MistahBungle said:
I'll give you twenty of the currency of your choice for your S4 + cost of standard postage to me (if it were me, I'd choose Euros as they're worth the most relative to other currencies).
P.S - This is the least coherent thread I've read in my almost two years on XDA (and I've read literally tens of thousands of threads). For that, you should be congratulated. It reminds me of the rantings of a patient at a secure psychiatric facility detained involuntarily.
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coherent means beeing related to each other in a unique form not 2 thinks being dependent on each other one way and the next 3 things on a different way.
You cannot treat apps on the play store on a different footage you canont have on diferent devices difrent funktionalities for what is supossed to be the same funktion.
This threat is the most coherent thing you have ever seen because it unifies in one hoherent writeing or threat all the issues noone wants to talk about on the other hand your everyday life is a incoherent think because you are running away from the through
P.s. youre a vierdo

Keep posting. You sound loopier the more you post (your last one reinforced the perception you created with your OP).
Edit - Also, thanks for responding to my post & not anyone else's. You've made me feel all speshul

You're fully entitled to your opinion and venting your frustration. However I genuinely have no idea what your posts mean. Stop being uncivilised to posters too. Their opinion is equally valid as yours.
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adrovic.ad said:
No its you my friend youre just to ignorant to see that android I a cheap piece of crap compared to apple and the reason why youre ignorant is because you cant explain yourself how that is because its not a problem at all to change this
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I have an ipad and i urge you to test appstore.. download speed is horrible with ios 6 and apple didn't do anything to fix it. And thats a unicersal problem unlike yours that i havent faced yet
Android have some drawbacks compared to apple but playstore is never on of them mate.. Something is wrong with your phone i guess
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