Titanium Backup? Paid. ROM Manager? Paid. Treking? Paid. Android IRC? Paid. X-Plane? Paid.
Android users have no problems paying for apps. Non-Android developers are afraid of the unknown.
The two apps have the same content and the sales funnel is exactly the same. (The only difference is the iOS app has lots of 5-star reviews.) It seems clear to me that Android users can't or won't pay for certain kinds of apps.
I was going to release a free version on Android before writing up my experiences. I thought the liberal return policy on Android would eliminate the need for "lite" apps - but the return window is only 15 minutes which seems a bit tight. Better to have an app where you can fully evaluate it and then buy when you're ready.
Findability within the Market might also be a factor. A search for "swedish" in the App Store, and it's on the first screen. But it's quite a long scroll down on the Android Market.
I'm sure some people find apps from within the store (e.g. searching for "swedish") - but I expect most to come from youtube (where there are lots of GoSwedish videos) and then search for the app by name.
Update: Or maybe I just need to do more to get the word out. I sold 10 Android copies yesterday! (Thanks HN!)
btw, another post from marco that shows his skepticism towards Android: http://www.marco.org/2011/04/02/time-bombs
Also perhaps Android users are not indoctrinated to the Apple "walled garden concept", and expect to find these on an Internet website rather than in an application. I certainly find the concept of a guide to bike repair or learning Swedish in the form of an application very odd. An application store isn't the first place I would consider looking for this type of thing.
ReadItLater Pro for Android is clearly analogous. It was released at a $1 launch sale price (80% off, they say) on March 9; 11 days later it crossed 10,000 downloads from the Market. That seems like a substantial demand and willingness to pay for it on behalf of Android users. http://www.appbrain.com/app/read-it-later-pro/com.ideashower...
That's less extreme than it sounds for several reasons:
- Android's market share was tiny for the beginning of 2010. It didn't start taking off until mid-year with the EVO, Droid X, Galaxy, Desire, etc.
- There were way more paid apps for iOS than Android in 2010.
- Android apps more commonly use ads than iOS apps, which isn't captured in app store revenue.
I'd still expect that the median iOS app makes more than the median Android app today, but the difference should be much less than 20x.
He'd have to rewrite the whole thing in Java, modify UI to fit in Android environment, maintain two code bases and try to keep feature parity.
He's a one man shop, he decided against it, and I agree with his decision.
Marco I really hope you change your attitude towards android, there are definitely people out there who would happily pay for an android instapaper app. That said, I understand if you don't and want to say thank you for everything you've done so far, even without android support it has been a very useful application for me.