How to make money with Android. One developer's journey to making an income from Android apps. The goal: $1000 a month.

Reply To Comments Enabled For All Google Play Developers

May14
2013 3 Comments Written by David Webb

A few months ago we heard that Google had started enabling “reply to comments” for selected Android developers on Google Play. Unfortunately I didn’t get access at the time, and have been waiting for a chance to try it out ever since. Well it seems like today is the big day. According to the official announcement by Google, all developers can now reply to comments on Google Play.

Screenshot of Google Play developer feature - Reply To User Reviews

This new feature is a big deal for many Android developers. Anyone who’s released an app on Google Play knows what it’s like to receive a negative review, complaining about problems which have already been fixed, or are simply the result of a misunderstanding by the user. This kind of thing happens all the time. And up until now, it’s been impossible to follow up with these users. READ MORE »

Posted in News - Tagged , , , , , , ,

Making Money With Android On IRC

Nov06
2012 2 Comments Written by David Webb

Hi everyone!

Forum member Gabriele (megasoft78) recently posted a thread about creating an IRC channel for this website. This would provide an avenue for realtime discussion, and another way of exchanging ideas with the people who already frequent the blog and forums.

The feedback so far has been very positive, so we now have a new hashtag on the Freenode IRC network – #makingmoneywithandroid.

I’ve added a new menu entry on the blog – “Join the IRC Discussion” – which points to an embedded web client. So even if you’re not familiar with IRC, or don’t have a desktop client, you’ll be able to join the discussion from inside your web browser.

The web client is quite easy to use:

  • Visit the embedded client, or the standalone version
  • Provide Nickname (any name you like)
  • In Channels, type “#makingmoneywithandroid” (if it is not already set)
  • Fill in the reCAPTCHA, and click Connect.

I’d encourage you all to drop by if you get a chance. IRC is a great medium for getting quick feedback on a new idea, or getting to know the other developers you’ve seen around the forums in a more open & spontaneous setting. Many thanks to Gabriele for sharing the idea, and setting up the channel!

Looking forward to seeing you on IRC!

Join #makingmoneywithandroid on Freenode.net.

Posted in News - Tagged , ,

Android Income Report #8 (November 2011)

May16
2012 48 Comments Written by David Webb

Euro CashOverview

In my October report, I described how this one simple app turned into an overnight success. Fake iPhone 4S brought in over $700 in October alone, helping to bring my total earnings for that month over the nominal target of $1000.

In November, these already fantastic results improved in every way. Total Active Installs went from ~140,000 at the end of October to over 400,000 by mid-November. By the end of November, I’d reached about 1.2 million total installs. This boost in downloads seemed to be mostly self-propagating. By reaching the top Trending charts for the Android Market, it was noticed by a lot of people, which in turn helped keep it in the top charts.

It still amazes me that an app which I created as a casual idea in my free time would reach this level of popularity. There’s no way I would have predicted this number of people could be interested in downloading a Fake iPhone. But I tried it – and apparently a lot of people do want this kind of app.

Anyway, this torrent of new users brought a proportional increase in revenue. In fact, during November I brought in an average of over $200 per day! This was an incredibly exciting month for me – and busy too, as I released a number of updates. READ MORE »

Posted in Report - Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

New Android SDK Tools and ADT Revision 17

Mar22
2012 9 Comments Written by David Webb

Android with Screwdriver and Spanner InlaidThe Android Developers blog just announced an update for the Android SDK Tools and ADB. This new release, version 17, brings many improvements to the build process. Here are some of my favourite new features:

  • Added check for Android API calls that require a version of Android higher than the minimum supported version. This will save you from having to test your app on Android 1.6 for example, only to have it fail due to an API call that was introduced in Android 2.1
  • Added a feature that allows you to run some code only in debug mode. Builds now generate a class called BuildConfig containing a DEBUG constant that is automatically set according to your build type. You can check the (BuildConfig.DEBUG) constant in your code to run debug-only functions such as outputting debug logs.
  • Added feature to automatically setup JAR dependencies. Any .jar files in the /libs folder are added to the build configuration (similar to how the Ant build system works). Also, .jar files needed by library projects are also automatically added to projects that depend on those library projects.
  • Updated the resource chooser to show the resolved value for resources. For example, when selecting @string/hello the chooser displays a resolved value such as “Hello World”). The resource chooser also now allows you to edit the chosen value directly.

There are plenty more changes to be found in the SDK Release Notes and ADT Release Notes. The Android Emulator can now run x86 system images at native speed, thanks to contributions from Intel. Lint has also received a major upgrade, with 40 new rules checking for performance and code issues. READ MORE »

Posted in Android Development - Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

AIDE – Develop Android Apps on Android

Mar15
2012 9 Comments Written by David Webb

Android Java IDE (mobile Eclipse)

During the past month or so, I’ve been testing a number of different apps on my Asus Transformer Prime tablet. The landscape form factor, coupled with a built-in keyboard make the Transformer a very different beast to most other Android devices.

While I’ve found the device great for gaming, basic productivity and email applications, I still needed my desktop for one important task – developing Android apps. Eclipse doesn’t run on Android, and for a long time there was no suitable Java IDE which could compile Android apps natively on the ARM architecture.

Along comes AIDE. READ MORE »

Posted in Android Apps - Tagged , , , , , , ,

Improvements to the Android Developer Console

Mar09
2012 8 Comments Written by David Webb

A few days ago (before the Android Market was renamed) Google announced a major update to the Android Developer Console stats page. Rather than the simple “active installs” chart which used to be shown, developers now have access to a wide range of charts showing total & active installs over time. Google has also added the ability to view daily install charts, and see which version of your app users have installed at the present time.

Announcement on the Android Developer Console READ MORE »

Posted in Tools and Resources - Tagged , , , , ,

Google Play – The New Android Market

Mar07
2012 13 Comments Written by David Webb

Google Play - Android MarketToday Google announced (in several places) that the Android Market is being rebranded “Google Play”

The new marketplace (sorry, “play store”) includes content from four main areas – Movies, Music, Apps & Games, and Books. Of course, not all of these are available outside of the US yet, so folks in Australia will only get access to Apps & Games and Books for now. READ MORE »

Posted in Google - Tagged , , , , , , ,

Received My First Payment From LeadBolt

Feb02
2012 7 Comments Written by David Webb

A few people have asked whether LeadBolt is a reliable advertising network, and how quickly developers are paid. I’ve been using the network for a few months now, with very good results. Using the new app wall format, I’ve been getting an eCPM of $1.86.

Here’s my first payment notification from December last year.  Yes, LeadBolt does pay developers :)

LeadBolt Mobile Advertising Income - Proof Of Payment

You can sign up for LeadBolt here.

Posted in Making Money - Tagged , , ,

Android Developers on Google+

Jan31
2012 2 Comments Written by David Webb

Android Developers Google+ Logo

This morning Google announced a brand new Google+ page for Android Developers.

The goal is to create “a place for Android developers everywhere to meet, share, and connect with the people behind the Android developer experience”.

The Android Developer Relations team will be hosting Google+ Hangouts from this page, and even calling in some external developers to talk about how their apps are made. If you’re keen to sit down for a chat, check out the weekly Android Office Hours on Google+.

The page was only created a few hours ago, but already holds some great info. It’s great to see Google reaching out to developers in this way, and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes in the future.

Check out the Android Developers page on Google+

Android Developers on Google+
Posted in Google - Tagged , , , ,

Android Income Report #7 (October)

Jan23
2012 38 Comments Written by David Webb

Statistics bar graphWhen I started this blog, I set myself a goal: to make $1000 from Android development in a single month. This seemed a lofty goal – especially starting from scratch – but I thought it would be achievable within a couple of years. Thus it was quite a surprise in July when I got nearly halfway there – $690 in a single month. This was just 4 months after my first income report of less than $4!

Even more surprising – and exciting – is the news that this month, I passed the $1000 mark. Yes, after 7 months of Android development I’ve actually reached the goal set back in March. This was mainly due to the phenomenal success of my latest app – “Fake iPhone 4S“.

Read on for more details, including the full story of how one weekend’s work turned into my most successful app yet. READ MORE »

Posted in Report - Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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