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Droid Users Expect Things the Google way: Unsupported and Free!

Posted on December 26, 2009 by Jeremy Toeman

There’s an interesting analysis at VentureBeat hypothesizing that Google Checkout is to blame for poor Droid App sales. My theory on why Droid users aren’t purchasing apps is because we (I have an HTC Droid Eris) are simply not trained to spend money on things the way iPhone users are.  While there are a lot of things that can be done to improve the overall Droid Market experience (this warrants it’s own post), I think it’s more of a cultural issue.  Google has trained us all so well to expect everything to be free, that I think this culture extends to the Droid experience.

First, let’s take the opposite perspective, and start with the iPhone.  The iPhone operates in many ways as an extension of the iTunes/iPod experience.  iPod owners have been trained for years to expect to spend $0.99 per “thing”.  It’s actually quite amazing how much Apple has changed the value of a dollar (much as Starbucks has changed the value of three dollars by equating it with a latte).  As users became accustomed to getting something for a buck, the App Store simply ushered in a new category of what you can get for a buck.  This is actually bad for pretty much everyone in every established industry (especially gaming), and I think has created a highly unsustainable economic model (again, a topic for another post, but in a nutshell think “the visible hand” forcing in the price of a dollar).  At the end of the day, the model on the iPhone app store has an average price set at $.99, and free is not the “Default” way of getting an app out.

For a second example, I’ll point to all the dumbphones out there. People spend literally billions of dollars with add-ons to these phones.  These come in the form of ringtones, ring-back tones, wallpapers, and yes, Apps.  On my old Samsung Alias I had purchased several games (including the worst version of Stratego I’ve ever seen), and none of them were a mere $0.99.  Why? First, there’s a walled garden of content, the carriers highly control what apps get to what phones, and for how much.  Second, the carriers are taking a huge piece of that action, so they are highly incentivized to not let apps get cheap. This model is equally unsustainable, as supply is highly regulated and with unregulated options (Droid, iPhone, etc) now on the market, consumers will opt for those alternatives that have both better performance and cheaper apps.

Now, more poignantly, taking a specific look at the Android Market. The user interface is terrible. Searching sucks (especially considering it’s powered by Google of all people!). There’s no control whatsoever as to which apps get in. Apps are known to crash your phone. Further, there’s only a fraction of “big name” publishers involved. There’s no clarity as to how you actually buy something. And with the fracturing of Android as a platform, not all apps are even guaranteed to run on a given phone! It’s as if the entire experience was “in beta”, only nobody’s overseeing the process.

So now onto Google and Free Stuff.  On the Internet, most things are free. Even really really good things, like real-time traffic maps, multiplayer gaming, web site traffic statistics and analysis, email, etc.  While I view companies such as Yahoo and Wired as the pioneers in delivering consumers free things that they really ought to have paid for, Google is the all time world champion at making valuable things valueless.  So what happens when Team Free delivers a phone with an App Store? It becomes the Free App Store.

Now I trust that you don’t exactly need to be Michelangelo to paint the above picture.  Combine the backlash against the appearance of “unjust” economics around paid-for models with the poor experience of buying an app (which may or may not work) with a huge proponent of making everything free, and you’ve got the Droid Market as it stands today.  And I don’t see any “big picture” stuff that’s going to change this anytime soon.

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Posted in Mobile Technology | Tags: android, App Store, droid, iphone | 6 Comments
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6 thoughts on “Droid Users Expect Things the Google way: Unsupported and Free!”

  1. David McIntosh says:
    December 26, 2009 at 12:59 pm

    It’s plausible that Droid users are “trained” by Google to expect free apps on a Google platform, but I think a more likely explanation for the difference is that the payment platform on the iPhone is nearly frictionless for consumers. Simply tap a button, and you can automatically pay for an app.

    Facebook has always been an entirely free service, yet social games that operate within it are making a killing by accepting payments for virtual goods. Despite most users’ association of Facebook with “free”, many spend quite large amounts of money within the Facebook ecosystem. As a result, I don’t think the mere association with Google is enough to make consumers expect free applications.

    Now, because Google’s main revenue stream is advertising, one could argue that they haven’t put as much effort into payment systems as they should(eg Google Checkout), and as a result there’s a lot of friction in purchasing apps on the android phone, and therefore the paid app system suffers.

    Reply
  2. dOgBOi says:
    December 26, 2009 at 9:20 pm

    As an owner of a G1, and a former owner of an iPhone, I have absolutely no problem paying for an app on my G1, except it is a pain in the rear to give anybody my money. On the iPhone, it was simple as pie. The G1 requires a whole lot more work to give someone a fee. Google really needs to fix the payment method and make it as simple as iTunes.

    That being said, I love my G1 and I’m looking forward to my next Android phone.

    Reply
  3. RM - InBoundMarketingPR says:
    December 27, 2009 at 7:53 pm

    Nice post Jeremy, I really liked your analytical take on the Droid and the iPhone’s app functionality. I am an iPhone user and even though there are many .99 apps, there are also many great “free” apps. SO, I would have to appreciate what David has to say!

    Thanks for the share. Great post!

    RM – InBoundMarketingPR

    Reply
  4. Vince Masten says:
    January 1, 2010 at 7:16 pm

    Though my iPhone is far from my first Apple product, I’ve never been “trained” to pay for anything on iTunes, and yet here I am, an app-buying fool. When I got my first iPod, I only chose it because it had gapless playback and such ubiquitous peripheral support. I tend to try to buy gadgets that are best-in-class and meet my needs (gapless playback, for example, is one of those completely idiosyncratic things that I absolutely must have in any PMP). Since, I’ve found myself inexplicably swallowing the Apple kool-aid, first picking up a MacBook Pro and then an iPhone 3GS, both because I felt like they were the best options for me personally.

    Anyway, I guess my point is that while I’m sure there are plenty of people who were ready to open their wallets up to the iTunes ecosystem once the App Store opened, I wasn’t, and yet here I am, $100 or so poorer from various App Store purchases.

    Reply
  5. Pingback: StevieB’s Shared Items – December 27, 2009 | LostInCyberspace

  6. Ricky Cadden says:
    August 16, 2010 at 11:32 am

    I come from Ovi-land with my various Nokia devices, and recently spent several months with an HTC Droid Eris like you, now a Nexus One. I’ve actually spent more money on the Android market with these 2 phones in 8 months than I did on at least a dozen different handsets the entire time the Ovi Store has been around.

    I realize that’s an odd starting position, but there are more reasons besides the actual availability of apps worth purchasing.

    Reply

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Jeremy Toeman is a seasoned Product leader with over 20 years experience in the convergence of digital media, mobile entertainment, social entertainment, smart TV and consumer technology. Prior ventures and projects include CNET, Viggle/Dijit/Nextguide, Sling Media, VUDU, Clicker, DivX, Rovi, Mediabolic, Boxee, and many other consumer technology companies. This blog represents his personal opinion and outlook on things.

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