I feel it. I have a number of applications on the Android Market, and even on the apps that I get good feedback on that I'm charging as little as 99 cents on, I'm not making nearly enough to pay for my time. I love Android and will keep Android as my primary phone platform, but I am thinking of abandoning any hope of ever making a profit on it... meaning that I'll just keep on maintaining what I have but not release anything new.
I do blame Google for not having a for-pay application framework in place at launch. If they did, all app developers would be doing much better right now.
"Psst. Hey, dude, I desperately need bus fare to go see my dying mom. Wanna buy my iPhone? Battery's dead, but it still works; just take it home and charge it. 50 bucks?"
i really wish app developers would stop bitching, its really getting old honestly. I understand some parts are not fun, but then go develope for symbian like you where for many years!?! why do you have to complain about the app store and android, personally i am glad you are leaving.
i am glad they are leaving because those people leaving don't seem to have what it takes to wait?! to make some money, Symbian doesnt even have a real "sdk" and just making an app is horrible!
Point being, i feel as the people complaining seem to be the people who just wanted to get a quick buck and realized it wasnt so easy, as far as the major devs getting pissed off. GAMELOFT SUCKS. all they did was poorly port apps to android, and they are slow, sluggish, and never updated, and mostly don't work, i bought one of there apps on android, and would never by another, and people seem to agree based on there reviews.
Part Duex? Prolly meant "Part Deux", I'm guessing.
Anyhow, the gist of this story is that Android doesn't have the large number of phone users to sell to, unlike Apple. I think we need to just give it time... time for a GSM Droid phone like Milestone to come to T-Mo (or so I hope).
@ninjagin: I think another big issue is what Android has been on so far.
Recently I tried out the moto Droid and it's a great phone. I'm not totally sold on it but it's really the first Android phone that impressed me (the G1 just seemed like a clunker to me. A friend of mine had it and he wasn't too happy with it).
But many times it just seemed that Andriod was on meh devices.
But that is changing. There are a few other Android devices that look pretty cool, but they aren't available here in the US of A.
I think now that Android is appearing on better phones, it will improve a lot. It wasn't necessarily Android itself but the hardware it was on (though they should have multi-touch by now).
@snoop_dizzle: Aye. I got about ten minutes with a Droid phone last week and it was pretty sharp stuff. The display is amazing. I don't want to change carriers, though. The GSM variant of Droid, sold in the UK as "Milestone", is what I'm waiting for.
@elementary: I dunno about that. Everyone I know who got a Pre when they first came out really, really regrets doing it, and everyone I know who has an iPhone (including myself) is so happy with it that they come off as shameless douches whenever they tell someone about it.
Lest we forget, the 8GB iPhone 3G is $99. And still a better phone than the Pre.
See, I kinda sound like a douche right now. I must be a totally satisfied iPhone customer!
I'm betting the only reason your friends regret it is the fact they don't have nearly as many apps. As for the iPhone, if you like getting gouged on monthly rates, I suppose anyone can be happy.
@Fractal the Meek: Sprint doesn't work in my condo, but seems to do fine elsewhere. Obviously that still makes it a no-go for me. Sucks, I'd be back with Sprint in a second otherwise.
AT&T on the other hand works fine in my condo, but elsewhere in the city, not so much.
As much as I hate Verizon, I've never been without coverage in the city.
How long do I need to wait until they pay me to take one out of their inventory? A couple weeks? Well, some company had to be the basement of the smart phone business, it is just sad that Palm had to take that role.
@ho0lee0h: Story of my life, friend. Not only am I misinformed, I take glee in spreading mis-information. In fact, this might be misinformation I am typing right now.
@weatherman: My guess is he was talking about the Pre, not the Pixi, ignoring its existence entirely. Kinda like how you treated the "special" class in high school when they joined you for lunch. I mean, I'm sure it's a wonderful phone, and it's not the Pixi's fault it was born without WiFi and is, if we're being candid, a little slow. Still...I mean, do you have to buy it? I'm sure the Pixi will be fine if you ignore it. I mean...it probably won't even understand that you're avoiding it.
In all fairness, they do cost quite a bit to make and keep in mind that this is off contract. I'm pretty sure the 3GS costs just about as much off-contract.
@PurpleMonkeyDishwasher:: Yeah, it's a lot but it's not really that outrageous. After all, it does have some killer internals, even if some folks are skeptical about the design.
@PurpleMonkeyDishwasher:: Yep, I was just about to say that. Just checked, they were about 950 to 1050 without a contract. So 880 for a 1 Ghz phone is surpising only because it is so cheap. I'd except this to be subsidized down to about the 150 range.
Btw, I doubt the plastic exterior will make the final cut for the device.
@PurpleMonkeyDishwasher:: Actually, 6000 Swedish kronor is just slightly cheaper than the off contract price of a 3GS 16GB or a HTC HD2 in Denmark right now.
I assume that prices are about the same in Sweden, so it's really not that shocking.
Even despite the so-so videos, I'm still cautiously optimistic about this phone. I think with a little more optimization, it could end up being a killer phone. The only near deal breaker for me right now is the lack of a physical keyboard, but if SE manages to deliver in the end, I may overlook that and get one of these to replace my (much beloved) G1.
Edit: but of course, that all also depends on whether or not I can get it at a very reduced price on contract through T-Mobile.
@otko: Like the other conversation we were having though I don't know if its an end all win for Sony though. Sony needs a US flagship carrier phone. They've shown time and time again they're getting closer with the hardware and the software, they just need the name recognition now. I'd be amazed if many people even know that sony makes cell phones in the US.
I imagine they'll do something like Nokia is doing with the n900. Offer up an unlocked one for the people that really want to go that way but really put a push out for a carrier subsidized phone.
@tande04: That would be ideal. I could see that being a very smart move for SE. Nobody ever says "Hey, how about that new Sony Ericsson phone". I would be very happy to make this my next phone if it were to land on T-Mobile. I've always liked the Xperia line-especially being that HTC really built them. I don't like how chunky it is but you can throw that in the list of non-deal breakers if it's picked up and subsidized. That big screen, the Nexus on top of Android-it would be a sweet fight for mothers love between the Droid and the X10.
Facial recognition is actually pretty nice sounding. I look forward to the day when I can take a picture of someone and it automatically tags the photo's metadata with their full name, phone number, Facebook profile info, Twitter screenname, and GPS location data and then uploads it automatically to Flickr (and secretly to the government Social-Tap initiative designed to spy on all Americans through our mutual love of overly informative narcissism).
11/21/09
I do blame Google for not having a for-pay application framework in place at launch. If they did, all app developers would be doing much better right now.
11/20/09
11/20/09
i am glad they are leaving because those people leaving don't seem to have what it takes to wait?! to make some money, Symbian doesnt even have a real "sdk" and just making an app is horrible!
Point being, i feel as the people complaining seem to be the people who just wanted to get a quick buck and realized it wasnt so easy, as far as the major devs getting pissed off. GAMELOFT SUCKS. all they did was poorly port apps to android, and they are slow, sluggish, and never updated, and mostly don't work, i bought one of there apps on android, and would never by another, and people seem to agree based on there reviews.
11/20/09
11/20/09
11/20/09
11/20/09
Anyhow, the gist of this story is that Android doesn't have the large number of phone users to sell to, unlike Apple. I think we need to just give it time... time for a GSM Droid phone like Milestone to come to T-Mo (or so I hope).
11/20/09
Recently I tried out the moto Droid and it's a great phone. I'm not totally sold on it but it's really the first Android phone that impressed me (the G1 just seemed like a clunker to me. A friend of mine had it and he wasn't too happy with it).
But many times it just seemed that Andriod was on meh devices.
But that is changing. There are a few other Android devices that look pretty cool, but they aren't available here in the US of A.
I think now that Android is appearing on better phones, it will improve a lot. It wasn't necessarily Android itself but the hardware it was on (though they should have multi-touch by now).
11/20/09
11/19/09
$30(per month savings)*24(months)+$220(savings on phone)=$940.
In my mind there is nothing the iPhone can do that justifies an extra $1000 over the Pre.
Of course both Sprint's and AT&T's coverage suck in Chicago (especially AT&T's) so I'm on Verizon.
11/19/09
Lest we forget, the 8GB iPhone 3G is $99. And still a better phone than the Pre.
See, I kinda sound like a douche right now. I must be a totally satisfied iPhone customer!
11/19/09
I'm betting the only reason your friends regret it is the fact they don't have nearly as many apps. As for the iPhone, if you like getting gouged on monthly rates, I suppose anyone can be happy.
11/19/09
11/19/09
AT&T on the other hand works fine in my condo, but elsewhere in the city, not so much.
As much as I hate Verizon, I've never been without coverage in the city.
11/19/09
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11/19/09
Btw, I doubt the plastic exterior will make the final cut for the device.
11/19/09
I assume that prices are about the same in Sweden, so it's really not that shocking.
11/19/09
11/19/09
Edit: but of course, that all also depends on whether or not I can get it at a very reduced price on contract through T-Mobile.
11/18/09
When I look back at all the gadgets I used, surprizingly it's the ones I was more "meh" about that ended up being used the most...
11/18/09
*crossingfingers*
11/18/09
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11/18/09
I imagine they'll do something like Nokia is doing with the n900. Offer up an unlocked one for the people that really want to go that way but really put a push out for a carrier subsidized phone.
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/18/09