MLB.com CEO: iOS users more likely to purchase content than Android users • Hacker News Board

Re: MLB.com CEO: iOS users more likely to purchase content than Android users

#11

Post by mey » Mon, Apr 04, 2011, 5:10 PM UTC

uptown wrote: post #3

The iOS MLB app (especially the iPad variety) is probably my favorite. The Android MLB app is probably my least favorite. It's just ugly ... only does a fraction of what the iOS app does, and provides very little beyond what you can get for free from any number of other sports or baseball apps. People will pay for quality. Right now, the Android app isn't anywhere near what I'd consider a quality app.

Additionally, if you read the fine print, the android app only works with certain phones, this isn't clearly indicated and a friend ran into this last weekend while on vacation.

Re: MLB.com CEO: iOS users more likely to purchase content than Android users

#12

Post by jrockway » Mon, Apr 04, 2011, 5:21 PM UTC

amitraman1 wrote: post #6

This applies to apps too. Here my simple logic. Android phones are available for free from carriers. Thus, the typical Android buy is more price sensitive. They are more likely to choose free content & apps. iPhone customers don't get FREE iPhones. They are willing to pay $200+ for a phone and contract. Their willingness to pay for apps & content is higher than Android users. Just look at Angry Birds. It's FREE on th…

Just look at Angry Birds. It's FREE on the Android store, but charged for on the iOS store.

But it's 99 cents on the Amazon Android store: http://www.amazon.com/Rovio-Mobile-Angry-Birds-Ad-Free/dp/B0...

Re: MLB.com CEO: iOS users more likely to purchase content than Android users

#13

Post by j79 » Mon, Apr 04, 2011, 5:22 PM UTC

My dad, who is far from being technically-savvy, owns an iPhone (a Christmas gift from my brother and I to our parents.)

He wasn't a fan of the phone at first. Too complicated, too hard to make calls, etc. However, something amazing (considering my dad's, uh, "technological capabilities"...) happened a few weeks ago. He calls me up and asks about his "iTunes password" and whether he had ever set that up. I told him, "yeah we did, and it's probably your e-mail password." He tries it and it works.

I asked him what he needed that for and he replies "I've reached my five song limit for Shazam and want to upgrade."

I was kind of blown away by this. Here is my dad, who can't get drag & drop right, upgrading his free version of Shazam with an in-app purchase. An app, I honestly didn't think he would use that much but found enough value in it, he wanted to pay for the full version...

After that, I walked him through finding more apps on the App store. I warned him though. "The one click purchase makes it easy to go crazy."

Re: MLB.com CEO: iOS users more likely to purchase content than Android users

#14

Post by chc » Mon, Apr 04, 2011, 5:44 PM UTC

easyfrag wrote: post #7

timtadh wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree 100%. However, I tried the amazon app store and instantly felt better at actually spending money. Somehow it just "feels" less shady. This is probably all irrational and the Amazon store most likely doesn't address the real issues with the Google run store. But at the same time, I know the next time I want to look for an app, I will go to Amazon first.

Maybe it has to do with the fact that people aren't used to giving money to Google where they are more likely to have a trusted customer-vendor relationship with Amazon. That being said Google is a well-known and trusted brand so I think something else might be at play here psychologically. Perhaps the public perception of Google's products as being "free" (to them) somehow increases the barrier to becoming a paid cu…

I don't think it has anything to do with people's feelings about Google. Based on the Android owners I know, people who don't make that association strongly seem to respond the same way. The store itself just feels sketchy. I'm pretty sure it's mainly a design issue, although the fact that the iPhone store started off with high-quality stuff while Android Market was seeded with crapware also hurts the perception.

Re: MLB.com CEO: iOS users more likely to purchase content than Android users

#15

Post by muhfuhkuh » Mon, Apr 04, 2011, 5:47 PM UTC

jeffclark wrote: post #2

I consider myself pretty high on the chart of "technology-savvy" and trusting when it comes to payment on the Internet. But for some reason, I won't pay for something inside the Android store. I know Google's behind it and that my stuff is probably safe. But there's just something inherintly shady about the Android store that I can't put my finger on. I know it's irrational, but imagine how someone who hasn't created…

"But for some reason, I won't pay for something inside the Android store."

It could be one of several things, which would actually vary from person to person, but all leading to paltry returns for _most_ Android developers vs. iOS.

1) The "perceived value" proposition - To a user, Google is "the search engine" and Android "the mobile OS", but they're both free to use. In a consumer's mind, why wouldn't then _everything_ else, including the Marketplace apps, be free. It doesn't help matters that Rovio's runaway blockbuster cultural gamechanger shared timesink app Angry birds is free on Android (albeit with ads).

2) The blatant, flagrant, rampant, money-maker shaking heaps of copyright theft and IP violations that make it to the top of the Marketplace lists. It makes the whole thing feel like a grey market bazaar in old Morocco or Bangkok - just sketchy as all hell. How could I entrust my credit card with a service that allows GPL violators and copyright flouters to rise to the _very tippy top_ of the charts? I mean, alot of that has changed since Google started putting the screws on very obvious scofflaws like Nintendo emulator game ROM packs, Star Wars weapon simulators, and famous rapper soundboards. But the die may be cast for some of the old-school adopters.

3) The weird availability - Android phone users had to pirate Marketplace apps from day one if they didn't come from the US. Now they're expected to _pay_ for stuff? Sorry, but once you've told them it's free, it's free for a loooong time. Hell, Napster all taught us way back that music "wanted to be free". It's taken over a decade for paid music to come back into some semblance of making any money; coincidentally, it's via Apple's iTunes.

Re: MLB.com CEO: iOS users more likely to purchase content than Android users

#16

Post by chc » Mon, Apr 04, 2011, 5:47 PM UTC

jrockway wrote: post #12

amitraman1 wrote: post #6

This applies to apps too. Here my simple logic. Android phones are available for free from carriers. Thus, the typical Android buy is more price sensitive. They are more likely to choose free content & apps. iPhone customers don't get FREE iPhones. They are willing to pay $200+ for a phone and contract. Their willingness to pay for apps & content is higher than Android users. Just look at Angry Birds. It's FREE on th…

Just look at Angry Birds. It's FREE on the Android store, but charged for on the iOS store. But it's 99 cents on the Amazon Android store: http://www.amazon.com/Rovio-Mobile-Angry-Birds-Ad-Free/dp/B0...

Maybe I've missed it, but has Amazon actually released any sales numbers from its store? So far, it seems to me like little more than a curiosity. The difficulty of installation alone will rule out most customers.

Re: MLB.com CEO: iOS users more likely to purchase content than Android users

#17

Post by ZeroGravitas » Mon, Apr 04, 2011, 5:48 PM UTC

amitraman1 wrote: post #6

This applies to apps too. Here my simple logic. Android phones are available for free from carriers. Thus, the typical Android buy is more price sensitive. They are more likely to choose free content & apps. iPhone customers don't get FREE iPhones. They are willing to pay $200+ for a phone and contract. Their willingness to pay for apps & content is higher than Android users. Just look at Angry Birds. It's FREE on th…

Neither Android phones, nor Angry birds are "free". One is subsidized by years long contracts, and the other is ad-supported. If these things are really affecting sales then it's mostly psychological, which is interesting in itself.

Recent surveys in the UK by YouGov suggest iPhone users are poorer and manage money less well than Android or Blackberry users, but also that the people who use their phone 4+ hours a day are more often found on the iOS platform. This is an interesting reversal of the common wisdom that Android is the home of freetards and geeks. But an audience of geeks with poor impulse control over their spending sounds pretty good, even if they're relatively poor.

Re: MLB.com CEO: iOS users more likely to purchase content than Android users

#18

Post by shuchton » Mon, Apr 04, 2011, 5:51 PM UTC

j79 wrote: post #10

shuchton wrote: post #5

How about there is no Honeycomb version of At Bat, but there is an iPad and iPhone/iPod version. Basically, they don't support Android the same way they support iOS. I have both and iPad and a Xoom, but I only purchased the iPad version because there is no Honeycomb version.

I'm curious: Do you find you use the iPad more because of that one app? Or, is the iPad strictly used for At Bat, and the rest of your time (email, browsing, etc.) used on the Xoom? I know Apple likes to advertise how many apps they have, but you're the first person that I've seen who has claimed to purchase hardware based on app availability...

I think most people would choose hardware based on App availability. So, for baseball, absolutely. The iPad has a better tablet version of At Bat 11.

In more general terms, I'm still figuring my use patterns out. I've had the iPad since it came out in Mar 2010. I've had a Xoom since the WiFi model came out in Mar 2011. To be as objective as possible, I'd still tell my non tech savvy friends and family to go with the iPad. The whole experience (not just hardware specs) is smoother.

Right now, the Xoom is fun, but a lot of what I use the iPad for is not available yet. Netflix, Hulu, and Zinio are all either not working at all or require hacks. I thrive on figuring out how to make that stuff work, but my parents do not. Since this is a post about MLB, I'll leave my deeper thought on the subject for a later post.

Re: MLB.com CEO: iOS users more likely to purchase content than Android users

#19

Post by gte910h » Mon, Apr 04, 2011, 5:51 PM UTC

Macha wrote: post #8

jeffclark wrote: post #2

I consider myself pretty high on the chart of "technology-savvy" and trusting when it comes to payment on the Internet. But for some reason, I won't pay for something inside the Android store. I know Google's behind it and that my stuff is probably safe. But there's just something inherintly shady about the Android store that I can't put my finger on. I know it's irrational, but imagine how someone who hasn't created…

My guess (not having used the Amazon store however) is that Android's permissions system is hurting it. Why does that app need location and full network access? So you become suspicious. And so on. While on iOS its automatically given full rights apps get, apart from location, which it asks for at runtime, not install time. So while the iOS app has as much ability to start feeding data home, the fact that the Android…

Actually if you use certain frameworks without good reason in the Apple App Store, you get rejected.

Re: MLB.com CEO: iOS users more likely to purchase content than Android users

#20

Post by Kylekramer » Mon, Apr 04, 2011, 5:52 PM UTC

j79 wrote: post #13

My dad, who is far from being technically-savvy, owns an iPhone (a Christmas gift from my brother and I to our parents.) He wasn't a fan of the phone at first. Too complicated, too hard to make calls, etc. However, something amazing (considering my dad's, uh, "technological capabilities"...) happened a few weeks ago. He calls me up and asks about his "iTunes password" and whether he had ever set that up. I told him,…

While iOS is a smooth experience, I honestly cannot tell what is the substantial difference from Android. Both have the same enter credit card information once, one click purchasing from now on experience.

Beyond the pretty small group of people who don't like giving Google more info/don't trust Google as mentioned elsewhere in the thread, what is so much better about iTunes than Google Checkout?