Mobile Applications Development - Lecture 6 Native apps - Web apps - Hybrid apps Making money with apps This presentation has been developed in the context of the Mobile Applications Development course at the Computer Science Department of the University of L’Aquila (Italy). http://www.di.univaq.it/malavolta

1. Technological strategies
&
Monetization
Ivano Malavolta
ivano.malavolta@univaq.it
http://www.di.univaq.it/malavolta

2. Roadmap
• Native vs Web vs Hybrid Apps
• Monetization Strategies

3. Mobile Web
Mobile web seems to be the only long-term
long-
commercially viable content platform for mobile
devices
Reasons:
• Fragmentation
• The web
• Distribution Control
• Consumer expectations
• Web Ubiquity

4. Fragmentation
If you go native…
there are too many platforms to be supported

5. The Web
the only medium for information and services that lasts
from over 15 years
The web is an advanced technology
• webGL
• Local storage management
• Positioning & mapping
• Physical engines
• Real-time data
• Push
• …

6. The Web

7. Distribution Control
Before..
Before..
Operators
Now
Device and Platform makers
Future
Developers

8. Distribution Control
$$$
Store
A
Store
B
Store
C
Store
D

9. Consumer expectations
Users expect things to just work
they don’t care about what platform they have
they simply expect that your app will be available
for their device
so…
CROSS-
YOU HAVE TO BE CROSS-PLATFORM

10. Web Ubiquity
The web is the only platform that
• works across devices
• apps share the same set of standards
• the same app can work also on a desktop

11. Web Ubiquity
The mobile web is also
• The easiest platform to learn
• The cheapest to produce
• The most standardized
• The easiest to distribute

12. Native vs Web vs Hybrid Apps
There are no golden rules here…
It depends on a lot of factors, such as
• Which type of app are you creating?
• When do you need it?
• What are your skills
skills?
http://bit.ly/GWOaP1

13. A first look at native VS Web…
http://bit.ly/GWPgdm

14. Skills/tools
Native Hybrid Mobile Web
Objective-C HTML HTML
Java CSS CSS
C Javascript Javascript
C++ Mobile development
C# framework (like PhoneGap)
VB.net

15. Distribution
Native Hybrid Mobile Web
App Store/Market App Store/Market Internet

16. Number of applications needed to
reach major smartphone platforms
Native Hybrid Mobile Web
4 1 1

17. Ongoing application maintenance
Native Hybrid Mobile Web
Difficult Moderate Low

18. Device Access
Native Hybrid Mobile Web
Full access: Full access: Partial access:
(Camera, microphone, GPS, (Camera, microphone, GPS, (GPS, gyroscope,
gyroscope, accelerometer, gyroscope, accelerometer, accelerometer, file upload)
file upload, etc…) file upload, etc…)

19. Offline access
Native Hybrid Mobile Web
Yes Yes Yes

20. Native App
PRO
Lets you create apps with rich user interfaces
and/or heavy graphics
CONS
• Development Time
• Development Cost
• Ongoing Maintenance
• No portability (apps cannot be used on other
platforms)

21. Native App - Example
http://www.whatsapp.com/

22. Mobile Web App
PRO
Offers fast development, simple maintenance, and
full application portability
One mobile web app works on any platform
CONS
• Can’t handle heavy graphics
• Can’t access camera or microphone

23. Mobile Web App - Example
http://asidemag.com/

24. Hybrid App
PRO
Combines the development speed of mobile web
apps with the device access and app store
distribution of native apps
CONS
• Can’t handle heavy graphics.
• Requires familiarity with a mobile framework

25. Hybrid App - Example
http://flipboard.com/

26. Roadmap
• Native vs Web vs Hybrid Apps
• Monetization Strategies

27. Mobile Business Models
There are 4 main ways to make money with apps:
1. Paid
2. Ad-supported
3. Freemium (virtual goods)
4. Subscriptions

28. Paid Apps
You simply set a price for your app and sell it in a
store/market
There are 3 main stores:
• Apple Store
– 30% of revenue + 99$ subscription
• Android Market
– 30% of revenue + 25$ subscription
• Windows Phone Marketplace
– 30% of revenue + 99$ subscription

29. http://bit.ly/HgTyvH

30. Price Definition
The key is finding a balance between functionality and
what users will find reasonable
If users are not satisfied, then they will make bad
reviews
A bad review keeps potential users away
Experiment with different price ranges
TIP:
TIP paid apps are downloaded far less, but may be
perceived as being of higher quality

31. Price Ranges
4.99+ $
< .99 $
< 4.99 $
simple apps qualitative apps with
http://bit.ly/HgYdxH great expectations
http://bit.ly/HgYock
complex apps
utilities
http://bit.ly/HgYmkR

32. Ideal Workflow
1. Analyze competitors and their apps price
2. Set an initial price (high)
– Remember, new apps get more visibility
3. Experiment with price ranges to find the right
balance
TIP:
TIP people love free and on sale stuff
Putting your app “on sale for a limited time” helps a lot in
getting visibility within the store and in dedicated
blogs

33. Ads
You develop your app and then you place ads within it
Ad service providers will show ads
in your app and pay you 60-70% of
the money they collect from
advertisers
It is the easiest way to monetize
free apps
http://bit.ly/Hh4sBL

34. Ads workflow
1. Sign up to an ad service
2. Register your app to the service
3. Embed the ad code into your app
4. Get money from the ad service provider

35. Ad services
There are hundreds of Ad services providers, like:
• AdMob
• Apple iAds
• TapJoy
• Mobclix
• InMobi
• …
There are also mobile ads aggregators, like Inneractive
http://inner-active.com/

36. Freemium (Virtual Goods)
You distribute a free copy of the application
but there are some paid “premium” services
that you offer in addition to the basic free
service
You can also provide a discriminatory free:
consumers get it free, businesses pay

37. Virtual goods
Premium services may be anything:
• calling credits for Skype
• virtual items in games
• “ego services” in social networks
– like badges, virtual objects, etc.
• new levels
• extra features

38. Implementation
You may realize it by:
• Proposing two version of the same app:
– the lite version, usually free
– the full version, paid app with a complete set of features
• Single app with in-app purchases for additional
in-
goods

39. Examples
http://bit.ly/Hhal1L
http://bit.ly/HhaaDy
http://bit.ly/Hh9NsP

40. Subscriptions
Users subscribe to a service and pay a regular fee
to continue accessing the service
Existing subscribers can input their username and
password in the same way as on the website
Those who want to subscribe can via your website

41. Subscriptions
The revenue is sustainable and can auto-renew just as
other Web-based subscriptions
However, it requires users to leave the app and visit
the publisher's website to subscribe

42. Examples
ESPN Score Center
Wired Magazine

43. How to choose your BM?
http://bit.ly/GXo8bW

44. How to choose your BM?
http://bit.ly/GXo8bW

45. If everything else fails…
Build apps for someone else!
That is, help companies who don’t have the
expertise to build mobile applications and
develop apps for them

46. References
Chapters 9 -10- 14