Third-party mobile application store GetJar is touting its “no fee” philosophy, in an effort to position itself as an alternative to the official app stores from Apple, Google and others. Recently, the company highlighted an example of its success in this area, citing Android developer Papaya Mobile’s first-time conversion rates of 34% and 72% second transaction conversion rates on the GetJar platform. The developer uses an independent checkout solution from Billing Revolution on its Android titles, which charges just $0.15 per transaction. Simply put, that means Papaya Mobile is able to keep more money from its transactions, explains GetJar.
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GetJar’s Cut: 0%
GetJar doesn’t take a cut of developer revenue and lets developers use whichever billing solution they feel is best, the company says. Although its recent press release regarding Papaya Mobile is referencing only the one development shop, as opposed to statistics relating to average revenues of GetJar developers, it’s notable nonetheless. In an industry where the standard revenue cut from Apple, Google and other platforms is typically 30%, alternatives where developers get to keep more money are always of interest.
Of course, for that 30%, developers get the exposure provided by an official application store. And for iPhone app developers, the official store presence is necessary – iPhone users can’t install apps from unofficial sources without jailbreaking their phone.
But for Android, things are different. Google will be launching its in-app payment system this quarter, but according to GetJar, it will require Google Checkout, and, “might not be very good – working with only a handful of carriers.” While that may change in time, as much of what Google launches on Android is updated incrementally, it’s good for developers to know about alternatives that can meet their immediate needs in the meantime.
Single-Click Checkout, a Billing System Alternative
In this case, Billing Revolution’s proprietary Single-Click Checkout product lets users conduct credit card transactions from their mobile phones, without needing a username and password. Launched in November at the Open Mobile Summit, the Citibank-sponsored service has users enter in their credit card information only one time, then saves that info for future transactions. It also works on “any device, with any carrier, using any credit or debit card, anywhere in the world,” the service boasts on its company homepage.
Says Andy Kleitsch, CEO of Billing Revolution, “we think a 30 percent rev share by Google and Apple is robbery…we’re excited to put more money in the pocket of developers.”
Single-Click is one of many solutions to spring up to serve the Android developer community. Others include Zong, BOKU and Super Rewards, to name a few.
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