In a little more than 1 year’s time, my application has been installed by over 350,000 Android users! I certainly did not expect such a high number, but I am most certainly thankful! This has encouraged me to continue developing applications for the Android platform, and I am getting close to releasing a couple more applications for the Android Market!

In the next week or two, I will be releasing version 1.2 of my Tip Calculator. This update will further solidify my standings in the Android Market, as well as make my application the be-all and end-all to tip calculators. I have been listening attentively to my users’ comments, and this new release will make a lot of folks happy!

Thank you all very much for your support and comments! Below is a QR code to navigate to my Tip Calculator in the Android Market, and below are just some screenshots of the application and the Market listing!

Update – 2009-12-19: I noticed this morning that my Tip Calculator is back at the number two position in the Finance category. Bank of America and I must be neck and neck… Well, at least I have screenshots to prove!

1.1 Changes:

- Donut friendly!
- Auto Calculates tip amounts
- Brought back landscape orientation
- Menu option to reset/exit
- Localized in the following languages: German, Swedish, Dutch, Polish, English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Russian

Enjoy!

One commenter mentioned that also, because the Android Market has had only free apps listed for some months, that most people are usually satisfied with what they have. Why pay for an app that you already have, and that works well? The only way to really compete with that is to release a product far better than what you have, and at a reasonable price on top of that. I can see a few things that could come out of that.

With this dynamic in place, app developers who want to earn money from their applications will really have to work towards making their app top-notch. This might drive out the tinkerers and hobbyists from the paid game, but perhaps some will overcome – I’m thinking a very small percentage. Another point will be pricing. The author of the article had a good point in saying that, even with one million or more handset owners, a very small fraction of them would be interested in paying for an application. This brings me to my final point.

It is currently difficult for Android developers to really sell their application, relying on the Android Market alone. There isn’t a snazzy “iTunes App Store”-esque interface which provides detailed descriptions, screenshots and app reviews all in one spot for any given application. So really, I think any real way for Android developers to sell their product(s) would be through blog posts, social media avenues, reviews, and a lot of work.

For now, as a hobbyist, I sometimes get delusions of grandeur in my head when I read articles about iPhone app developers who strike gold with their Apps, earning 250-600K for a single application, but I do come down and realize that the real world scenario I’m in as an Android developer may, or may not be that successful. We’ll just have to see. I’m really interested in finding out how things pan out over the coming months when we can see some useful reports on market sales.

There are some really easy ways of getting yourself into the mix, just check out their website and enter in your name!