In Case You Missed It: AMAZON Will Set The Prices For Paid Apps In Its Android App Store (AMZN, GOOG, AAPL)

Here's something big we missed earlier this month when Amazon was talking about the App Store it's building for Google Android -- and we're not sure it got the attention it deserves.

Amazon itself -- NOT app developers -- will ultimately set the prices for paid apps in its store. That is a big change from what developers are used to (and have grown comfortable with) on the iPhone and Android.

And an iPhone/Android developer we just met with is not sure if they like it. 

(We try to stay super-plugged-in to this topic, so we're surprised we didn't hear more about this.)

Here's how it works: When developers submit apps to Amazon's app store, they will be able to set a suggested retail price ("MSRP"). It can be free, it can be $50, whatever. 

Then Amazon -- not the developer -- will set the retail price. It can be full price, it can be a sale price, or it can be free.

Developers will get to take home the standard 70% of the app's retail price (what the app sells for) or 20% of the MSRP (what the developer thinks it should sell for), whichever is greater.

So if your $10 app is sold for $10, you get $7. If it's sold for $5, you get $3.50. But if it's sold for $1 or free, you're at least guaranteed $2, or 20% of your $10 MSRP.

In theory, Amazon will be able to use whatever sales algorithms it has to generate the most possible revenue (retail price times number of buyers). But developers themselves won't have control over app pricing.

This is sort of like the way Amazon sells other goods, such as paperback books and DVDs, but in this case, Amazon doesn't pay a wholesale price or take physical inventory. And it's the opposite of the "agency model" e-book pricing technique, where publishers themselves set the price of e-books.

This could be a good thing for developers, if it generates more revenue than standard pricing set by the developer.

But it could create some problems. For example, if your app is $10 in the official Android market and $10 in Apple's iPhone app store, but $5 at Amazon's store, it could hurt sales in your other channels where you get more revenue per sale.

Then there's the element of giving up pricing control, which may be more of a subjective, emotional thing to get over than a real problem. But it still may deter some companies from participating.

Read: How Amazon Saved The Kindle

Follow Dan Frommer on Twitter at @fromedome.

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See Also:

• How Amazon Saved The Kindle
• Verizon iPhone: The Biggest Winners And Losers
• 10 Things Apple Must Do Now That It Has Announced The Verizon iPhone

In Case You Missed It: AMAZON Will Set The Prices For Paid Apps In Its Android App Store (AMZN, GOOG, AAPL)

Backlink: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/tJMI7sbo1Ag/amazon-android-app-store-pricing-2011-1

Pew: 65% Internet Users Paid for Digital Content ‘Music, Software, and Mobile Apps’

Pew's latest data about how many people pay for digital content online, revealed that 65% of people online have paid to download some form of digital content or for a subscription to a digital media service. The survey excluded physical goods bought online and was focussed only on digital content such as music, software, news, and other online or electronic publications.

Pew: 65% Internet Users Paid for Digital Content ‘Music, Software, and Mobile Apps’

Backlink: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DTWB/~3/8DYXlBj41Hs/

65% of Internet users have paid for online content, says Pew.

65% of Internet users have paid for online content, says Pew.

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65% of Internet users have paid for online content, says Pew.

Backlink: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/Du32yRegLpQ/65-of-internet-users-have-paid-for-online-content-says-pew-2-2010-12

CHART OF THE DAY: Windows Phone 7 Has The Least Expensive Paid Apps (AAPL, MSFT, GOOG)

Mobile analytics company Distimo took a look at the pricing across mobile apps, with particular attention paid to Microsoft's new Windows Phone 7 app store.

Turns out paid Windows Phone 7 apps are the cheapest out there, costing half the price of Windows Mobile (its old app store) apps. The average price for a top 100 paid Windows Phone 7 app is $2.54. For other app stores it's $3.05.

Of course, paid apps are only a small sliver of the app market. Most are free. Regardless, it's interesting to note that the average price of a paid app is less than $4. And most people are still reluctant to pay for apps, which must drive developers crazy.

Via: TechCrunch

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CHART OF THE DAY: Windows Phone 7 Has The Least Expensive Paid Apps (AAPL, MSFT, GOOG)

Backlink: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/QtCDvfPvnxg/chart-of-the-day-paid-applications-2010-11

Comment on Android Is Finally Expanding Paid Apps to More Countries by 5 Lessons Learned from Angry Birds Launch on Android: Tech News «

[...] on Android is “not yet the model on Android,” partly due to the fact that paid apps are still being rolled out in many countries. Going with a free app allowed Rovio to hit the global Android user base. And the approach fits [...]

Post originale: http://gigaom.com/2010/10/01/android-is-finally-expanding-paid-apps-to-more-countries/#comment-300368