Android Business Model
There’s a thought-provoking article by Oliver Starr at Reg Developer entitled Google’s Android, big name, big question on payment. Oliver questions whether there is a business model for Android applications.
First of all, you have to understand how Google works. Google is engineering driven. As stated by a Google employee in the Google Engineering: The REAL Story…
"Where failure coexists with triumph, and ideas bubble up from lightly supervised engineers, none of whom worry too much about their projects ever making money."
“focus on the user and all else will follow.”
I suspect Google would like Android developers to also follow this ideology. In practice, provided Android becomes successful, there will be ample opportunities for 3rd party application providers to try to make money. Online stores such as Handango might sell Android applications. Hardware providers and network operators may want applications to differentiate their offerings. Brands might want applications to promote their content. Enterprises may need more proprietary applications. I don’t see this being that different to the Windows Mobile, Palm and Symbian ecosystems.
The bigger question is whether any of these ecosystems will provide viable business models. When I think back over the past few years, all my work for companies (with the exception of Symbian) has been on speculative endevours. Android isn’t that different.
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