[Saladin]

I was just wondering, has anybody had any experience in outsourcing technology in relation to app development. Or is it just people who are experienced coders who take on app development. I was just thinking that the Android/Apple app market could be useful to get into if you create a niche product but market it well in that niche. I know its very saturated but there are many niches(like the niche rooshv forums is in) that aren't saturated.

[oldnemesis]

I've learned recently how to make Android apps, so far just for fun (I'm about to release one to Market). Seems to be quite difficult to outsource it completely, as it is not one-time task. Android OS evolves, new gadgets arrive (with larger screens, for example), and all this requires modifying your app frequently. Also the Market is full of copycats and most successful apps are reimplemented in 2-3 months. If you want to live on apps, it gonna be your full-time job.

[Saladin]

(01-10-2011 05:51 PM)oldnemesis Wrote:  

I've learned recently how to make Android apps, so far just for fun (I'm about to release one to Market). Seems to be quite difficult to outsource it completely, as it is not one-time task. Android OS evolves, new gadgets arrive (with larger screens, for example), and all this requires modifying your app frequently. Also the Market is full of copycats and most successful apps are reimplemented in 2-3 months. If you want to live on apps, it gonna be your full-time job.

Hmm, thanks for the input. I know the android market is highly volatile but the the Apple market seems a bit more stable. What do you do for a living btw? Do you already have a programming background.

I don't really want to live on apps but I just wanted to investigate what goes into making apps as one of many possible options.

I think a guy with low technology skills like me could potentially team up with a tech partner who'd do the technical side while I take care of marketing/legal and the the business side.

Thanks for the input oldnemesis. I appreciate it.

[oldnemesis]

(01-10-2011 09:13 PM)torontokid Wrote:  

Hmm, thanks for the input. I know the android market is highly volatile but the the Apple market seems a bit more stable.

No, they are not - they just came with iPad in 2010, and iPhone 4 with a higher screen resolution - meaning a lot of people had to change their programs to accommodate larger screens (or large resolutions).

Personally I am not going to develop anything for iPhone because Apple's terms are too restrictive, and you are never sure if they accept your application or not as they have a lot of leeway there. I had to stick with iPhone until Samsung Galaxy/Vibrant was released, and got tired of jailbreaking/unlocking it. Since that I got rid of every device made by Apple, and I'm not going to do it again.

Quote:

What do you do for a living btw? Do you already have a programming background.

I do have programming background, but before apps I did not write any Java code. It was easy to pick up though as I was already good in C++ and they're very similar.

Quote:

I think a guy with low technology skills like me could potentially team up with a tech partner who'd do the technical side while I take care of marketing/legal and the the business side.

That's where it gonna be your full-time job. Apps are cheap, average app price is like $3 (and you only get $2 as Google gets 30% from sale). So if you have only one app, and average 150 sales a month after returns - not a bad result - you're looking at $300 a month income. To boost it up you'll need to have a lot of apps. And at this point supporting those apps, bugfixing, testing, handing the support gonna slowly become your full-time job. True that it is location-independent job, but it is still a job, not a four hour workweek.

[Kaizen]

Any idea the ballpark cost to pay a programmer to create an iphone app?
What about ongoing costs?

Also, is this coding useful for the blackberry or I would be paying same amount for a bb app??

Thanks

[oldnemesis]

(02-09-2011 07:53 PM)bigxxx Wrote:  

Any idea the ballpark cost to pay a programmer to create an iphone app?
What about ongoing costs?

Your question is too vague, similar to "how much it costs to build a house?"

Quote:

Also, is this coding useful for the blackberry or I would be paying same amount for a bb app??

This coding will be completely useless for blackberry; no mobile platform except Apple uses Objective C.