Like we have mentioned in the past, India is among the top consumers of apps and Indian app developers have embraced Android platform more than any other platform. While some of this is a result of Symbian fallout, the open source aspect of Android (and the availability of Android devices) has helped created buzz among the app developer community in India.
A recent study by AppsGeyser suggests that India (specifically Bangalore) is among the top location for Android app ideas.
“We drew the data from a sample of 10,000 apps that were created using appsgeyser.com between June and August, 2011. From that information, we collected the App makers’ IP addresses and used then to create this map.”[via]
India is among the top 3 countries and Bangalore stands at #4 globally, when it comes to new app ideas (of course, the data is skewed towards developers creating apps using appsgeyser platform, so take this as a relative data point).
No doubt that Android has democratized the app development scenario, but the real deal is in monetizing these apps (merchant accounts for Indian Android app developers?). The truth is that Android marketplace fails to monetize apps (in comparison with iOS platform).
80% of all paid applications have failed to get more than 100 downloads. This may be due to Google’s ranking policy for the market. Google gives more emphasis on apps that have been doing better for longer. This reveals why developers on the Android platform are turning towards ad based monetization of apps. Android Market sales have been disappointing for developers, there are 5 games in the Android Market that have been downloaded over 250,000 times worldwide, compare this with the Apple App Store and the Apple App Store emerges a clear favourite for developers with 10 games for iPhone clocking 250,000 downloads in just 2 months! [source: Android market growing but failing to monetize apps].
Maybe there is a bit of honeymoon period with apps, but somewhere down the line, app developers need to align with ecosystem that enables them to build business (and not just apps) and enable more monetization opportunities. But before that, they need to build apps like they are building an app business.
The current mindset of ‘app weekend hack’ doesn’t go a long way. If you are an Indian app developer, do read: The Lesser Ambitious Breed Called “Indian App Developers.
What’s your opinion?
More: Key Android Market Insights [April 2011].
[More such discussions @Pluggd.in’s upcoming Appnomy Conference, scheduled for August 27th (Bangalore). Agenda | Book Your Tickets].
