Mobile 1UP was invited to speak at a workshop focused around development and go-to-market and strategies around the iphone platform. It is an event specifically hosted by the Stockholm School of Economics as part of the "Entrepreneurship & Coffee" after-work workshops for emerging entreprenuers in the nordic region.
7. Getting Started
http://developer.apple.com/iphone/
$99 USD registration fee : payable once approved
BUY A MAC (Mac Mini = most affordable)
Developer Connection (once approved)
- create your developer certificate (signature pairs)
- register your UUID of your iPod Touch / iPhone
- register your application ID's
- create a development distribution profile
- download your mobile provisioning profiles
signatures and profiles are typically valid for a 12 month period.
8. Development Environment
XCode + iPhone SDK
- compiler
- excellent debugging environment
- performance tools
- application signing for distribution
iPhone Simulator
- x86 implementation, not ARM
- quite acceptable representation
- should not be used for performance analysis
An Intel based Mac OSX (10.5 or later) is required for iPhone
development - this requirement is for the digital signing tools.
9. Distributing Your Application
https://itunesconnect.apple.com/
Add Application
- add description
- set pricing model
- add translations
- upload binaries / icons / screen shots
- approval is manual process; can take over 1 week to occur.
The largest problem with uploading applications is failing to
build application binaries correctly - it is important to follow the
instructions provided by Apple for this process exactly.
10. Setting Your Application Price
apple takes 30% of all payments
your price point? $0.99 - $1.99 - $2.99 - $3.99 ... $999.99
free - with advertising?
$0.99 applications sell 65% more than $1.99 applications
lower prices encourage impulse buying, only $0.99 - why not?
find your "ideal" price point where sales = maximum profits
11. The iTunes Zones
seven distribution zones
- Australia
- Canada
- Europe
- Japan
- United Kingdom
- USA
- World Wide
payments in zone currency (AUD, CAD, EUR, JPY, GBP, USD)
developer payments monthly; threshold of $150 USD per zone
currency fluctuations : 81 JPY = 0.91 USD = 30% more value
12. The iTunes Zones : Mobile 1UP
seven distribution zones
- Australia 2.5%
- Canada 1.5%
- Europe 7.1%
- Japan 56.0%
- United Kingdom 4.2%
- USA 21.6%
- World Wide 7.1%
payments in zone currency (AUD, CAD, EUR, JPY, GBP, USD)
developer payments monthly; threshold of $150 USD per zone
currency fluctuations : 81 JPY = 0.91 USD = 30% more value
13. iTunes Factor
ranking means sales
ranking lists:
- top 100 free *
- top 100 paid *
- whats new * (warning)
- whats hot
- staff favorites
each category has its own
top lists as well - however, the foremost presented are above.
the 'top' lists are based on downloads; where the others are
determined by the iTunes staff on a country-by-country basis.
14. Software Piracy
1:4 legitimate users
3:4 pirate users
while the iTunes distribution uses
digital signatures against the UUID;
this mechanism has been "worked-around" by resigning an
application against another 'generic' signatory account.
.ipa -> pirate .ipa = single click action
there are software hints/tips available to detect piracy;
software then requires modification (dissassembly etc) -
however, this will be done anyhow.
15. Press / Reviews
Get Known = Be Found
- application reviews
- press releases
- interviews
- magazines
- YouTube videos
- promotional codes (US only)
- attend to community events
