Google's Android operating system has taken the world of mobile application development by storm, for quite some time now. Granted, there are still less number of apps available for the platform compared to the other platforms like iPhone, Blackberry and Symbian but this is for sure that Google's Android has already started spreading its tendrils to other handsets. On its recent earnings call, T-Mobile announced that it has sold its one millionth G1 phone based on the Android open-source operating system, meaning it took Google just six months to do this. This by all means is an impressive feat considering the incredible anticipation and fervor for the iPhone.
Android apps cost a good amount each, and hence can be used to rake in a steady stream of income over time. Here are the advantages that I foresee for building an Android application vis a vis other platforms:
1. Android OS Roils SmartPhone Market: Android Mobile Operating system was introduced a year back and could hardly give a competition to Apple iPhone but with the recent slew of new Android based devices the growth has been phenomenal with a phenomenal 15 point jump in just 3 months.
2. Huge developer community support: The Android platform is open to all, and as such there is a dedicated community of developers actively working on this platform. If there are any troubles that the developers run into during the development phase, there will always be help at hand. Besides, if there are any bugs, community members will also offer help during testing phase. This will make sure that your apps are stable and bug free when those are released.
3. Ease of Development and Porting: By default, Android is configured to auto-scale everything in most cases, however if layouts are specified with exact pixel values rather than the other suggested options the developers can easily make the necessary changes with the help of published content. The support for porting legacy applications to add support for larger or smaller screens is rather much simpler in case of Android. Sometimes it might be as simple as adding the following into their AndroidManifest.xml
4. Stable platform: Owing to its Linux core, the Android operating system from Google exhibits rock solid stability and resists crashes. As such, the apps developed on this platform exhibit the same characteristic, resulting in rock solid stability, resistance to anomalies in the system.
5. Many sales options: The Android apps can be sold in a variety of ways. There is the Android App Market, which the majority of users access in order to purchase and download Android apps. Secondly, there are third party stores that just about anyone can use to sell their apps. Even you can set up your own store to sell the apps, which is a huge plus, considering many other popular platforms force you to sell apps from their stores only.
6. Excellent ROI: The Android apps cost quite a good amount to download; hence you can be assured of getting excellent returns over your investment. All you have to do is find a good Android application developer for getting your apps built, and upload it in a store that is offering good commissions over sales.
As Android's growth continues to explode since the release of the Droid, one developer, in fact, wrote that his app, which was showing modest, double-digit daily sales late last year, now reports that his app is making $13,000 a month.
But in order to net a steady stream of income it is important to partner with a well reputed organization with an established record of delivering robust mobile applications and someone who can contribute not just from technology perspective but also add value by engaging in providing suggestions for future enhancements of the product.
Source : Ezine
