If anyone at RIM were to seek my opinion (which they have not) about App World, then here is what I would tell them.
If anyone at RIM were to seek my opinion (which they have not) about App World, then here is what I would tell them.
1. Speed - the application runs relatively slowly on the BlackBerry. Discovery is all about instant gratification and, on many occasions, I have aborted purchases because it simply takes too long to search, scroll and load. (NOTE: I have seen and used App World 2 and it is blazing fast - big improvement!).
2. Billing - the PayPal payment engine is a non-starter. It introduces too much friction into the commerce process. In order to "buy" an app on App World you must already have a PayPal account. While I am a big fan of PayPal, I don't see the demographic overlay between PayPal account holders and BlackBerry users. RIM needs an alternative billing and payment platform or else paid apps will never gain traction on the platform.
3. In-app Billing - until the billing engine issue is resolved RIM will miss out on the one of biggest trends in mobile commerce right now - the purchase and sale of virtual goods. Millions of dollars are being spent to dress and equip avatars for example. But to do this, developers need to be able to do in-application billing. Furthermore, in-app billing allows the sale of song tracks, subscriptions and add-ons.
4. 99 cent price point - paid apps on App World start at $2.99. This price point makes people think twice about buying an application. 99 cents is very close to free and, no doubt, is the reason Apple has "sold" over a billion applications. Granted, the majority of these apps were totally free, but I have spoken to several iPhone developers who are generating real and substantial revenue from their 99 cent applications.
5. Web store - I like the idea that you shop for mobile apps on your smart phone but sometimes discovery and application management is better done on the web. App World should have a web interface where we can browse, shop and download applications.
6. Updates - App World needs a better mechanism for notifying users that an upgrade or update is available for a downloaded application.
7. Top Downloads - App World needs to have a top download paid and free list. I guess there is just one because there aren't that many paid apps being sold on App World because of 2, 4 and 5 above.
What do you think? How could App World be improved?
4 Comments
Here's a few more suggestions solely from the perspective of a developer. ArcTouch develops custom BlackBerry apps for companies and take their app from raw idea to launch in the app stores.
1. Promo Codes - so you can share your apps with thought leaders, press, etc. This will also help get AppWorld in front of these same thought leaders, press, etc. so they can help spread the word about it.
2. Try & Buy options - so developers can convert browsers into buyers.
3. Better Reporting - the reporting options for developers are limited and very manual right now - we'd like to see auto reports sent out each day or more frequently.
4. Faster Approval Period - competing stores (iTunes app store excluded) approve products in 1 to 2 days - sometimes faster. As a developer I will want to get products into the channel as fast as possible and will gravitate to those stores that make that happen.
However, the #1 biggest way to improve App World is to get more people using it and that's getting it pre-installed on devices. We had to really hunt down App World and get it installed on our device and I wonder how many less technical users are going to the same.
Developers will choose to distribute their apps through the store with the largest reach, so getting App World onto more devices will make it more attractive to them.
Adam @ ArcTouch - http://arctouch.com/blackberry-development
RIM is not Apple, and besides, it's thinking of leapfrogging Apple, not catching up to them. Based on their current assets and strategy, I would think about the App World differently and internationally - from the back end.
The biggest mobile store market in the world right now is the Apple App Store, but the biggest mobile store market in China right now it is not.
Brainstorming, I guess a start would be easier APIs and friendlier IDEs for Asian characters and input, going beyond msg-swapping localisation.
In other words, I may change the title of the blog to "How I would Improve App World in China" if RIM is looking to use App World to sell more units there.
In the end, the hardware matters. If there is a breakthrough in battery or noise-cancellation solutions that are remarkable, free games and $1 apps won't matter - they just don't boost productivity in a world that is aging and getting way more expensive.
From BlackBerry Cool (http://www.blackberrycool.com/2009/07/improving-the-blackberry-app-world-experience/)
Here is a list of functions RIM should include in a new Version of AppWorld:
This article was originally published on MobileUtil.
RIM needs to introduced prepaid card options for its app world , just like apple has for its itunes stores, apple doesn't allow their prepaid cards to be use to purchase apps. from app store, i am sure RIM would make a big success if it adopts more consumer friendly payments options.