glecko wrote:New to the PodTrapper family and still in a trial run ... I think I can see value for $9.99 ... but I'm wondering why iPhone apps are pretty much between $1-$3 and sell like hotcakes, but Blackberry seem to be no less than $10 and many seem to be more expensive.
Is it because the SDK is $$ for the blackberry and/or it's harder to code for?
I'd really like to see the blackberry platform adopt a more open model for developers ...
The blackberry itself is actually much more open than the iPhone for developers. We can do stuff that apple forbids (run in background, talk to base features, write whatever we want without approval, etc).
The amount we charge is really more a result of the size and exposure of the market. iPhone apps can (and do) sell a hundred thousand copies, whereas Blackberry users don't generally know you can do all the same stuff (though less pretty) on the blackberry, or even that you can install 3rd party apps on it.
The result is that BB devs have to charge more to make up for the low sales numbers. It's actually cheaper and easier (debatable) to develop for BB, if you factor in the cost difference between a PC and a Mac for development
PodTrapper, for example, after 3 months or so, has only sold about 270 copies, half of which sold through retailers (Handango or Mobihand) which take 40-50% off the top. When I first started I was putting 30 or so hours a week into it, and now maybe 10-15, so the math isn't that great, but I have a feeling for most apps they aren't doing it for the cash. (Though it would totally rule to sell 100k copies).
Hopefully the blackberry app store will change the picture a little, but I'm not holding out much hope.
-Marcus