If you’re a prospective developer for Google’s Android platform trying to figure out the best way to distribute your application, you might be intrigued by how Apple handles their App Store. Announced alongside the Software Developer Kit (SDK), it offered a different approach to distribution. As a developer, you could pick your price and allow Apple to provide one-stop shopping for iPhone and iPod Touch programs. The rub is that they take 30% off the top.
It works on one hand because consumers know specifically where to go to look for new applications, with a built-in audience chomping at the bit when the doors open. On the other hand, applications available for other platforms like Windows Mobile and Symbian were readily available through many channels. You could get a program at the developer’s webpage, Handango or a similar store, or even at physical retail locations. Nobody was complaining that there were too many places to find Windows Mobile apps.
Perhaps Google could offer a trusted destination where people can go to find programs with signed certificates. Doing this would put people at ease who are wary of quality control issues. Sure, you could still get an application at the developer’s personal blog or corporate website, but an official seal of approval would assure end users there would be no compatibility issues. Creating an online marketplace where anyone can submit their offerings would also give developers peace of mind, knowing there was definite exposure opportunity. Google could raise the bar set by Apple and allow developers to keep 100% of the money.
It wouldn’t be the first time Google offered something for free.
