[altcognito]

Hey Pierre,

Thank you for this post. First, because I use your apps with my kids and they love them. Almost certainly one of the reasons your applications sell is because they are very good. It was recommended to me by a relative who is a teacher and I know she recommends it to others. These types of applications are the reason I purchased a tablet device: I am a very stingy person, but if a tool will engage my children in learning, I am happy to separate with my cash. (we use the app with our kids together)

Second of all, it is just good to have this perspective on the market potential for a well made app. I'm disappointed about the Android market, I hope it improves.

[jcampbell1]

> I'm disappointed about the Android market, I hope it improves.

Based on some research that I have done, iOS revenue is about 2:1 for phone apps, with the gap closing quickly. If the app has strong international appeal, it is probably closer to parity. For tablet apps, iOS has something like a 10:1 revenue advantage.

I wouldn't write off Android if the app is designed to be used on phones, but for tablet apps, it is currently a waste of time for most indie devs.

That being said, this type of software is completely evergreen. You can't reach saturation because there are always new kids and new parents searching for apps. It is conceivable you could launch an Android app, make $10k this year, but then the app earns $100k five years from now.

The bigger problem is other devs poisoning the well with high quality free apps. Which is why I believe this type of post is a mistake if maximizing income is your priority. This type of post is an invitation for talentless hacks to hire people from elance to clone your app. All it takes is someone to figure out how to game the app store rankings better than you. I could probably pay $40k to clone an app, with the twist that modules are unlocked if you rate the app, and then out rank Pierre's apps.

[PierreA]

Nice feedback on Android market (yes the issue is that I sold mostly on tablet). I don't agree about cloning - what is difficult is to have a good/large user base and being featured. Cloning will not help you a lot for that. Gaming the app store (at least the ios app store) is not easy at all (or very expensive and not applicable for this kind of app). I don't think the trick you describe would work.

[novaleaf]

for what it's worth, i wanted to buy your crosswords on android, but your version there is incredibly dumbed down. I finally got an old ipad a few months ago so finally bought it there.

[salient]

It's more like 1.5x difference now according to Distimo:

> Apple still has the most lucrative app store, with Distimo estimating that on a typical day in November 2013, global revenues for the 200 top grossing iOS apps were more than $18m. That compares to $12m for Android's Google Play store, although the report notes that a year ago, the respective figures were $15m and $3.5m. The gap is narrowing.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/18/android-io...

[stevenwei]

These numbers are heavily skewed by the fact that the Top 200 on both iOS and Android are dominated by IAP based games. E.g. Candy Crush Saga and Clash of Clans are not significantly different on iOS vs Android, and that is where the narrowing gap is coming from.

But for independent app developers (particularly those making paid apps), the numbers that I've seen from many folks (and also from personal experience) are strongly weighted towards iOS. Every single developer I've talked to who has released an app on iOS and Android has come to the same conclusion: Android users simply don't pay for apps.

[swamp40]

So is there some way to unlock an iOS app if you give it a rating?

[jcampbell1]

No. But you can fake it with annoying popovers, e.g. always show the nag popup until they touch "rate it".

[PierreA]

Thanks ! Yes it's not a secret that the best way to market app is word of mouth but the issue is really to get a large user base so that it works. Happy to read that you play with your kids with my apps - I'm always thinking about that when I do an app because it is very important for me.

[sampaq]

Congratulations for you success!

Would you say that the most important reason of your success is you penetrated a relatively new market with a good product early, and it was easier to gain traction and build a large user base that you can now cross-promote your other apps?

Merci d'avoir partager l'histoire de ton succès. C'est toujours inspirant et surtout éducatif ;)

Bonne continuation!

[PierreA]

Yes I would say that.

Merci!

[rbritton]

I've been fairly high up in the iPad photo category since August 2010 and I'd agree. It's much harder to gain traction now.

[mathattack]

Almost certainly one of the reasons your applications sell is because they are very good.

This is HUGE for the educational market. With all the word of mouth that goes on, it's important to do something good. All the tweaking of pricing and viral strategies doesn't help if the core app isn't good.

Thank you for the GOOD software Pierre.