Android Ad Revenue: Amobee Review

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AmobeeIf you’ve been looking at Motorola’s SHOP4APPS store for China, you’ve probably seen that you need to use Amobee as your ad network.  Unfortunately, Amobee isn’t quite as user-friendly as some of the other ad networks.

In fact, I was about to write off Amobee as “not ready for primetime”.  I signed up as a publisher on the Amobee site, but after a single email from their North American office, they neglected to call me (as promised) or send any other email.  I guess they don’t like to deal with independent developers…

Update: it’s dead, move on.

Developer’s Entrance

However, I did look back at the Motorola pages about Amobee, and saw something:  They have a link to a different signup page.  This one actually works, and gets you an SDK when you’re done.  Be sure to check out the instructions on Motorola’s page (dead link).

So, it appears that they don’t like dealing directly with developers but are willing to do it due to their relationship with Motorola.

I sent an email when I didn’t get a response in 3 days after signing up, and the helpful support guy sent me my login information and advertiser ID, as well as the 1.0.1 update to the Amobee API.

An outdated SDK

How is the API? So far, it’s the worst I’ve seen.  Continue reading →

Making Your Android App Better With Static Analysis

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Android Code InspectionAny way to get free testing and bugfixing for your Android app is a good thing.  The less bugs you let slip through the door, the better for your ratings and the less time you have to spend tracking bugs down.

In my corporate life, I used static and dynamic code analysis tools. They’re great for finding bugs before they even get to testing, let alone the users. In fact, you can find some very rare bugs using these analysis tools.

However, I’ve been flying without a net with my Android development. After I released a major bug last week (if the user visited the preferences, the app would force close even after restarting!), I decided that this task was long overdue.  Getting a negative review from a frustrated user was also motivating.

Here are the three static analysis tools I looked at (the first two are free):

FindBugs – I installed FindBugs and am very pleased with it. The setup was quick, and the workflow is good for me. I already found a few minor things to clean up.

After you set up FindBugs, check out these instructions to suppress trivial warnings.

PMD – Continue reading →

How to Deploy to Android Market

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Deploy to Android MarketPreparing to deploy to Android Market (now Google Play) might be an intimidating prospect, but it doesn’t need to be.  Google has made it easy to get your app into the Android Market.

Google Play

Note that Google continually improves the Developer Console, so don’t be surprised if you see a few differences from these images (and even the name – it’s now Google Play).  The basic process to deploy your app to the Android Market (Google Play) generally remains the same.

Signing up as an Android Developer and Publisher

Before you can publish an app, you need to register with the Android Market.  It costs $25, but this is a one-time fee, good for as many applications as you want to deploy to Google Play.

Once you have registered, you can get into the Developer Console.  From here, click the lovely blue button to upload an application:

Create an app for the Android MarketYou’ll have the option to upload your .apk file, and then you get to the rest of the text and graphic assets.

Click on any of the Developer Console images below to see them in greater detail.

Add some spiffy images

I make sure I have all of my graphics and text ready before I go do deploy an app, so things go faster.

Several of the graphics are required, and you can’t deploy your app without them.  Hopefully you have your high-resolution icon and your screenshots ready now.

Promo and feature graphics are also important, but if you don’t have them ready you can wait until after you deploy your app to the Android Market (Google Play).

Deploy app to Android Market 1

Your .apk and graphic assets to use in the Android Market

Describe your app for the Android Market (Google Play)

Continue reading →

Ranking in the Amazon Appstore

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Android Income RisingIf any more proof was needed that independent developers can succeed with Android apps, the Amazon Appstore is doing its best to provide it.

Last week, Amazon contacted me to indicate that they were interested in running a promotion for my Android app.  I was pleased, and somewhat excited.

What I did not expect, however, was to skyrocket up to the #1 position for paid apps in the Amazon Appstore.  Over the last three days, Droid Secret Tips Pro has been at the #2 position, with about a 12 hour period where it was the #1 app in the top 100 paid apps.

Continue reading →

Free Guide released – the Android Income Quickstart Guide [Unavailable]

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Android Income Quickstart GuideThe wait is over!  I am now releasing the latest in the Android Income Series, the Android Income Quickstart Guide.  I think this guide shows one of the fastest and easiest ways to start earning money from your Android app or game.  Also, it’s completely free.

UPDATE: the Android Income Quickstart Guide is temporarily unavailable, while I work on a new version.  All of the content (and much more) is in the Android Income Powerstart Guide (also now unavailable), however.

This guide is aimed at the beginning – earning the first dollar from Android apps.  The first dollar is the hardest, so this guide is intended to get you past that hurdle.

If you’ve been working on an Android app and want to make money from it, or even if you just have an idea that you think would be good this guide will help get you prepared to start earning money with your app.

It’s not that hard to get started

It may seem intimidating to compete against giant companies who are already established in the Android Market.  Don’t be concerned – there’s plenty of room for independent developers.

Ladder to Android IncomeWhile it may seem like an insurmountable task to get an Android app out there and start earning money, it really isn’t.  You just need the right tools and knowledge to prevent getting bogged down in unnecessary tasks.  That’s why I distilled just the most important tasks to cover into this guide.

The knowledge you need to get started earning with your Android app

This guide covers topics such as: Continue reading →