MOBILE APPLICATION MARKETS: DEVELOPER SATISFACTION
Android Marketplace: Easily Resolved Issues?
Report #2 in an ongoing series of developer satisfaction surveys.
SUMMARY
With the fastest growing smart phone user population in the world, a growing list of devicesfrom multiple manufacturers, and increasing number of mobile operators promoting theplatform, why should top Google Android developers have anything to complain about? Yetin our first quarterly satisfaction survey developers expressed unhappiness about thesupport they are receiving, how hard it is for customers to find their applications in the store,and in total revenue earned.To be sure, Google’s developers are much happier than those we surveyed last monthusing Nokia’s Ovi Store (see our separate research note;
Android Marketplace and Ovi Store Head to Head
). Google has done many things well and developers are generallyhappy with the way the store functions, happy with the app submissions process, and withthe reports they receive from Google. As a result, Android is second only to Apple in totalapplications and in the number of active developers.But there are a set of issues that Google could easily address that would quickly increasethe success of top developers in building and selling applications to Android users. Doing sowould increase developer’s focus on Android -- currently mindshare of even these topdevelopers is shared with Apple. It would also encourage more of the top developers fromother platforms to move to Android rather than iPhone.Number one amongst developer complaints is that the store has filled with “low quality”applications, making it difficult for good applications to be discovered by customers. Adramatic change in the way Google highlights its best developers and applications isneeded for Android Marketplace to achieve the level of satisfaction that top iPhonedevelopers feel toward the Apple App Store.Improvements in developer support and communication are also needed if AndroidMarketplace will replace Apple’s AppStore as the top mobile applications marketplace.
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METHODOLOGY:
The findings presented in this report are taken from a survey conducted between July 15and August 20, 2010. During this time, 118 Android Market publishers agreed to respond toa questionnaire about their own experience with the Android application marketplace. Thequestionnaire consisted of 13 multiple-choice questions and 6 essay questions.Out of the total number of surveys completed, 23 were conducted over the phone, while theothers were conducted by asking publishers to fill out an online questionnaire.The respondents to this survey were not randomly selected but were found through asearch for top paid Android apps for all Android devices. About 500 developers wereidentified through this process. Participating developers are representative of a sample of top app developers and publishers across Europe, Asia and America.The survey focused on the participants’ experience with Android Market and covered four areas:1. Publishing process
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How satisfied are they with the registration process in Android Market?
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How satisfied are they with the content submission process and content editingprocess in Android Market?
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How satisfied are they with the quality filtering process in Android Market?2. Support
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How satisfied are they with the support provided to Android Market publishers?
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How satisfied are they with the support provided to Android Market end users?
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What resources for developers do they find helpful?
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What specific problems have they encountered with Android Market?
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Out of all the support inquiries they receive from end users, how many arerelated to a problem with Android Market?
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What are some common support inquiries they receive?3. Revenues
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Are they earning more or less money than they had expected, and why?
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How satisfied are they with the reports and metrics downloadable from AndroidMarket?
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Reviewing top developer satisfaction with Google's Android Marketplace, this SUMMARY of our second report on mobile app marketplaces tells you the number one reason Android developers are happier developing for Apple's AppStore...
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