RIM opens BlackBerry 10 marketplace for submissions

RIM has opened its BlackBerry App World store to applications for its forthcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system, with a truckload of incentives to get developers onside. "This is a huge opportunity to be the first into the store and capitalize on app-hungry BlackBerry users," announced Alec Saunders, RIM’s VP of developer …

[Gary Riches]

Honestly, it's just not worth it for me. Figures are based on my last app and are by no means representative, I'm just explaining from my situation.

Design: £700

Sounds: £80

Music: £300

Supporting hardware: £100

Marketing and promotional materials: £1,100

My time (I don't normally factor in my time but technically it's time not spent doing other work):

240 hours x £50: £12,000

So £2,280 without factoring in my time or £14,280 factoring in my time.

This was for iOS so dev time was much faster than it would be on a new system and even on iOS I'm not guaranteed to make $1,000. The promise of $10,000 from RIM is not enticing at all.

[Anonymous Coward]

"technically it's time not spent doing other work..."

If you can reliably generate a hundred bucks an hour doing 'other work' rather than coding mobile apps, then consider yourself lucky. If you can't, then your time isn't really worth that much, and the economics change rather significantly...

By the way - from my dabbling in the mobile apps idea, I hypothesize that you're probably better competing with 1,000 apps over 5m(or whatever) subscribers on BB than you are with 200,000 apps over 100m (or whatever) subscribers on android / ios. Say what you will about writing a game for the PlayBook, but if you write a strategy game, it *will* be on the first page of results in that genre... Good luck getting any eyeballs when you're competing with 10,000 other apps instead of 100.

[Gary Riches]

If I was to work on my current contract which is billed hourly rather than writing the game I would be getting £50 per hour (which is only slightly above average for any iOS contract work) so the economics are exactly as I said. I chose not to work every single hour I have as I like to have a life... and sadly with that life I program for fun and for free :(

If you spend enough time and effort on an app for iOS and do your marketing you will also be on the front page of the app store in New & Noteworthy. I've released 6 apps from my company and 2 of them have been on New & Noteworthy... Hopefully my next one will too.

[Anonymous Coward]

Best thing they can do

Unless they have the 'must have' phone to sell,

They should maybe sell the system to Microsoft of one of the other players.

[Big_Ted]

Re: Best thing they can do

What ? ? ?

Why would MS buy it? they have enough trouble selling their own OS.

BB is the must have in developing markets already , its how they added 2 million new users last quarter.

[Big_Ted]

@ Gary Riches

Have you looked at the new dev toold for BB10?

They are developed to make it quick and easy to port an app you have developed for Android or iOS to BB10.

They have also made it simple to use all they new features,and you can pretty much coose which language to write in, java, c, c+ etc.

ch.

Take another look, you might be able to rejig your app for BB for a very small amount of time compared to doing anoter for iOS from scrat

[Gary Riches]

Re: @ Gary Riches

Fair enough then. I'll have another. How much can it hurt ? :)

[badmonkey]

@Gary

And your ROI so far if you don't mind elaborating?

What category of app? What price?

Cheers if you don't mind sharing

[Gary Riches]

Re: @Gary

This app isn't out yet. Not billing in my time the apps have given paid out about 3 times what they cost to produce. Whilst that isn't enough to live on they have also got me jobs, one of them being a 2 year contract with a day rate so their return in that respect has been awesome.

[Gary Riches]

Re: @Gary

Category has been 5 games and 1 photo changing app. Price has been 69p.

My next game, the one I gave prices for above, will be £1.49 and is for iPad only.

[Khaptain]

Too many markets

IOS, Android, Win(something) and Blackberry.

First you have got to have a "killer" application and the means and resources to create that application.

Then you have to do some market research in order to determine which of the 4 markets is likely to be the present the most opportunity.

Then you will need some publicity from somewhere and this costs money and time.

Then you will either have a niche market or will be competing with a multitude of similar products.

Then you have to be ready to do the support, again Time and Money..

The chances of success are damned slim in any of these markets.

Ok Rovio managed to do something which very few others can do, they are definately the 1 in a Million.

I am not saying don't create apps but at least think twice before you end up out of pocket.. Apple, Google et al don't care how much it costs you in time or money, they can't lose either way.

[RyokuMas]

Indie game devs do it...

... because they love it!

... I'll get me coat...

[Anonymous Coward]

I can see

Lots of people kicking themselves up the arse and whinging if the BB10 system turns into a winner for the corporate market.

Lets face it, most companies have BB servers to control their own mail, I certainly would not outsource my corporate mail to a supplier who is located abroad under "ask and we'll divulge all their data" US laws.

There's a reason RIM hasnt died a lingering death, same as 1980's Apple, they have a niche market that will never die away and one day MAY just bite everyone in the arse (Like Apple) with a suprise product.

I rememeber the same naysayers talking about "I would never develop Android apps, no ne would want them, small market etc etc"

[Paul Nash]

Free Money

So if I understand this correctly, I can hack up a cheap'n'nasty little app, get it into their store, spend $1,000 of my own money on it (which I get back, less their slice), and then RIM will give me another $9,000 of their money.

Sounds too god to be true!

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Free Money

I have a feeling that it doesn't count if the same guy buys it 1000 times (or it's not possible), and that pricing it at 1k and selling one copy won't work either... The management may be insane but I doubt the legal team is stupid enough to miss obvious cheats.