Android/iOS datapoints

[Richard Gaskin]

Ben Rubinstein wrote:

> I've seen a lot of speculation....
> The most recent take I've come across is this, which makes a bold assertion
> but doesn't provide any data to back it up:
> http://pinchzoom.com/posts/android-math-just-doesnt-compute/
>
> I don't think it's possible to get objective data on development effort...

Certainly not from that page. ;)  All speculation with no data.  Makes 
me wonder why he even bothered to write it; it's not like the world is 
suffering from an absence of FUD.

If you search this list and elsewhere there are links to be found about 
some of the more successful companies making good money on both platforms.

But you have to look a little harder to find the dirty secret of ALL 
mobile development:

Most apps out are pulling in less than minimum wage.

It's a looooooooooooooooooong tail:  the top 100 apps in the iOS app 
store are doing pretty well, the next 500 or so kinda okay. But the 
other half-million?  Not so much, with incomes ranging from minimum wage 
down to zero.

This long-tail dynamic plays out for the Android Market as well.

There are many reasons to make mobile apps, but money alone will be the 
reward for very few.

The best money seems to be where it's always been:  on the desktop, 
where there market is less noisy and there's less downward pressure on 
prices.

--
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World
  LiveCode training and consulting: http://www.fourthworld.com
  Webzine for LiveCode developers: http://www.LiveCodeJournal.com
  LiveCode Journal blog: http://LiveCodejournal.com/blog.irv