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Android App Quality Pathetically Low Says Developer
Hugh Pickens writes "Christopher Mims writes at MIT Technology Review that Mika Mobile, developer of Battleheart, a big hit on both the iOS and Android platforms, says that 'a polished, high quality product is more likely to be embraced on Android than on iOS because the quality bar on the android market is so pathetically low.' Evidence to that effect comes from the fact that 'on iOS, user reviews for Battleheart average 4.5 stars (4000 total ratings), which is quite good. On Android it's a stunning 4.8, with 1000 ratings,' writes the developer. 'So not only is it reviewed more highly, it's also reviewed more often, with a huge percentage of android users taking the time to rate the app. I think the lack of competition makes quality apps really stand out, and generates a lot of enthusiasm from app-starved android users." Mika Mobile adds that the most frustrating part about developing for Android is dealing with the deluge of support e-mail, most of which is related to download and installation problems which have nothing to do with the app itself, and everything to do with the Android OS and market having innate technical problems. 'Do some googling for "can't download apps from android market" or similar wording, and you'll see that this is a widespread chronic issue for all devices and all OS versions,' writes the developer. 'Based on the amount of e-mails I get every day, download problems effect 1-2% of all buyers, or in more practical terms, somewhere between two and three s**t-loads.'"
In other news:
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Android App Quality Pathetically Low SaysDeveloper
Title Quality Pathetically Low, Says Commenter.
Yet Another Tech Blog
(but so much more, including game and movie reviews)
http://yanteb.peasantoid.org
Comment removed based on user account deletion
It does not seem to be rated that much more highly, and it is certainly not reviewed more often.
So from "quite good" to "stunning" is a 0.3 rating on a 1 to 5 scale? That's quite a non-linear scale.
when my iPhone friends play with my phone they are pretty much always impressed.
When your iPhone friends play with a block of wood, they're pretty much always impressed too. Don't give that too much weight.
The article says he gets 80% of the revenue on Android that he gets on iTunes. On the assumption that the app is the same price on both platforms, and on the assumption that Google takes the same cut (30%) that Apple takes, he sells more iPhone copies than Android copies but nowhere near by a factor of four.
If Google takes a lesser cut he is probably selling more copies on Google.
However, I have just checked the game on iTunes and I see it currently has only 597 ratings for all versions of the game (453 for the current version). So I would think the blog post from which the 4,000 figure comes from has a typo in it.
All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that too much to ask ~~ Randall Munroe
I purchased a Motorola Xoom (my first Android device) about a month after it came out... Wow was I ever disappointed. It would crash several times an hour just browsing the web (especially on Motorola's own Xoom website), but I chalked that up to "being an early adopter". Then I started downloading apps from the Android market and things got even worse, if the app even loaded without crashing, I felt like I was teleported back to the late 90's from a design / look & feel standpoint. Other than the rare exceptions ( Angry Birds ) every app I downloaded didn't even compare to a similar app on Apple's App Store, it felt like companies/developers were publishing an app for Android just to say they did it, without the intention of it actually being used. Many apps that did have an iOS counterpart (*cough* thinkorswim *cough*) hadn't been updated in almost a year and were pathetic at best.
Needless to say after two weeks of torture I took it back and purchased an iPad2, I've been quite happy with it.
Hopefully in a few years it will be a different story, I would much prefer if Apple had some decent competition.
Open Source Time and Attendance, Job Costing a
When you lower the barriers of entry sufficiently, you reap the rewards. All of the rewards. Not really news.
when my iPhone friends play with my phone they are pretty much always impressed.
When your iPhone friends play with a block of wood, they're pretty much always impressed too. Don't give that too much weight.
Only if it has an Apple logo on it. Otherwise the fanbois will say that Apple could make superior wood blocks.
Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
When your iPhone friends play with a block of wood, they're pretty much always impressed too. Don't give that too much weight.
What rolls down stairs
alone or in pairs,
and over your neighbor's dog?
What's great for a snack,
And fits on your back?
It's log, log, log
It's log, it's log,
It's big, it's heavy, it's wood.
It's log, it's log, it's better than bad, it's good."
Everyone wants a log
You're gonna love it, log
Come on and get your log
Everyone needs a log
log log log
*whistle*
LOG FROM BLAMMO
How is 4.8 vs 4.5 all that much of a difference? If android had just as many reviews, it could easily drop that .3 stars and be just as equally rated as the iphone version.
When apps on Android ARE truly lower quality than their iphone counterparts, it's usually because the developers saw android as a lower priority and only put a half-effort into developing the app. When i see this it seriously annoys the heck out of me. Tap Tap Revenge is a prime example of a pretty solid app on iOS that is a total piece of crap on Android, directly through the fault of the developer.
Also, the news item can't make up its mind what it's about. Are the apps low quality or is the android platform?
Yes it absolutely is true. iPhone users don't have a problem coughing up some cash to support their developers. Android users typically complain like crazy - even when the application is free. One minor issue - 1 star and a flamed comment. Furthermore, because piracy is so high, adware is forced to be the primary source of revenue for developers. Which in turn, pirates and rooted users actively work to deny any and all possible source of income for developers.
As a result of piracy and selfish, dumb users, the quality of applications on the platform typically suffers. Its not exactly rocket science.
Here's an example application I knew of from some time back. ~2500 downloads from market. ~1500 purchases. ~250,000 pirate installs.The developer abandoned their application. But thankfully pirates assure us they are not the cause of the problems. After all, its dumb for the developer to believe he's entitled to a paycheck just like the hypocritical pirate live on. According to pirates, developers are only fit to live in the streets while they, themselves, demand additional features.
You're missing the point - 4.8 and 4.5 are both great scores, and this guy's just managed to tell thousands of people about it online. The story is incidental to the outrageous self promotion.
Rethinking Apps for the iPad By Christopher Mims
App Developers Sticking to iPhone By Christopher Mims
can the Creators of the iPhone Make Home Energy Management Sexy? Christopher Mims
No bias towards Apple there. Nope, none at all.
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When all of your users are willing to pay the Apple tax, you know they're casual with how they spend money.
When you have a diverse device base, you likewise have a diverse user base. Of course percentage-wise, the iOS users will be more willing to spend money compared to Android as an ecosystem.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."