PROS

• It’s Google. Google = Success in the technology market right now which bodes well for the device.
• It’s a pretty nice OS from a user perspective. Nice UI. Decent look.
• It might be the “other phone” along with the iPhone.

CONS

• Every OEM can tweak the UI meaning an potentially nightmarish (and expensive) development environment.
• They aren’t as big of a market as the media makes them out to be. (http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10366193-94.html)
• Questionable support of applications: (http://www.electronista.com/articles/09/08/31/android.app.sales.low/) which may stem from the fact that Google is a app developer making everyone else a competitor.
• It isn’t clear that Android Users are Application Purchasers (http://www.electronista.com/articles/09/08/27/admob.july.2009/ ) (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/31/top-developer-reveals-android-markets-meager-sales/)

So – can you support or contradict the pros and cons? Do you have other pros and cons you’d want to add? How about personal experience with folks who have switched to or abandoned Android? As I’ve said, this is a platform we have not ruled out but I’d love to hear your opinion!

And as a extra motivation, if you post a response with your opinions TODAY you’ll be entered into a drawing for a special prize!

So, if you want some insight into what’s happening at Ilium Software, read on after the jump!

Wait! What? Why no specifics?

A few reasons. The main one is that there is a lot of stuff I’m not allowed to tell you. We have NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements) with a lot of people, and the work we’re doing is almost always covered under one of these. I’m just not allowed to tell you some of the things I’d like to.

Also, I recently compared this job to doing improv. The nature of our market means that everything is changing all the time these days. Trying to get specific about something that hasn’t happened just causes problems when circumstances change (and then I can’t explain why due to the first issue I mentioned!)

A Note on Etiquette

I know people have some strong feelings about our products, and sometimes that comes out in blog comments. If I feel that a comment really isn’t constructive or isn’t civil, I will remove it. For a long time I never did this, but I’ve found that there are a lot of people who want to talk about these things but get turned off by too much “passion” so I want this to be an environment where they can be heard.

That said, if you have a “passionate” comment you’d like to make – just email me personally and I’ll reply to you. Send it to info@iliumsoft.com and put Attn: Marc in the subject.

So without further ado, on with the show…

eWallet for Mac: Let’s jump right in shall we? Here is the status:

• We’re still planning to release it!
• We already gave a version to a high level beta team to play with.
• I’m expecting a new build within the next couple weeks.
• I personally think it rocks.

This is quite literally ALL I can tell you right now. Again – we’re not posting this to convince people to hold out for it – we’re just letting you know what’s up!

eWallet for iPhone: We’ve heard your requests and we’re working on it! As you know we added Copy & Paste recently, and just last week we released eWallet Lite.

eWallet for Windows, Windows Mobile, and BlackBerry: All of these platforms are getting attention right now. I can’t say much more but we’re pretty excited about what is in store and we think you’ll like the results.

ListPro for iPhone: Here is the rundown:

• It’s still in development.
• A version exists that we’re using in-house.
• Creating a good sync solution is still a VERY challenging issue.
• We’ve set our sites farther than the “read only” solution we talked about a long time ago.

Like eWallet for Mac, this is ALL I can say about this right now.

Windows Mobile: We did a lot of behind the scenes work getting the Windows Mobile applications ready for Marketplace and we’re quite happy with how that is going. We have additional updates in the works and are very happy with the platform (from a developer and sales perspective.)

Android: Look, I like Android a lot but so far it hasn’t proven itself as a strong market for software development. We already have a lot on our plate and developing versions of our products for other platforms is a HUGE task. It eats up lots of time and lots of money. As a result we need confidence in the platform if we’re going to embrace it. So far, despite its good points, I still don’t have confidence in Android. That could change but I’m still in a wait-and-see mode.

Palm’s WebOS: Palm is a fighter – I’ll give them that. Unfortunately, none of the things I’ve talked about in the past regarding Palm have changed, and although they are seeing moderate success with their application market, it has a long way to go before it’s a strong competitor. Like Android, I’m watching this one close but so far we haven’t committed one way or another on WebOS.

NewsBreak for <InsertYourFavoriteDevice>: We don’t have plans for other versions of NewsBreak right now but the requests keep coming in so we’re leaving our options open!

ADDED 10-21-09 eWallet Web Companion: Yes, the EWC (as we’ve taken to calling it around here) is still in the works. We ended up delaying it for a number of reasons.  The main thing that happened was eWallet for Mac/ListPro for iPhone came back in-house. The resources only stretch so far. There are other reasons as well, inluding some work going on with the normal version of eWallet that could impact the EWC (in a good way!) So yes – we still want to make this a reality but it remains in Beta for now.

I’m sure I’ve skipped things people want to know about so feel free to post them below!

Thanks!

Marc

First of all, I’m very hopeful that it will be a big success. Microsoft will be including it on all the new Windows Mobile 6.5 devices, as well as making it available for download on WM 6.0 and 6.1 units. I believe that’s the single most important factor in an app store’s success.

I’m very pleased to see that Microsoft is allowing developers to submit trial versions of their software to Marketplace. Letting users run demo versions of applications before they buy is not only important to them, but can also make a big difference in the quality of the apps available, and the price they sell for. I know that people don’t object to paying reasonable prices for software – we wouldn’t be here if they did. But I also know that it’s much harder for someone to pay for an application if they haven’t had the chance to try it first. Allowing trials in the Marketplace will undoubtedly help prevent the “race to the bottom” that plagues iTunes.

I know the Windows Mobile Marketplace won’t initially have the number of apps that iTunes does, but I don’t think that’s a problem, either as a developer or an end-user. As a developer, I’m frustrated by how hard it is for our apps to be seen among 75,000 apps; as a user, I’m frustrated by how hard it is to find what I’m looking for. Of course Microsoft needs enough apps to appeal to the wide variety of their users, and I hope the developer community will provide them. The ideal scenario would be that the Windows Mobile Marketplace gets the magic number that makes the store compelling without being overwhelming. I think there’s a good chance of that happening.

Like Apple, Microsoft is reviewing all apps submitted to the Windows Mobile Marketplace, and apps have to be approved before they’ll appear. And like with Apple, there have been problems in the review and approval process. The good news is that Microsoft is improving their process, and implementing changes suggested by developers. Once again, I’m optimistic. This doesn’t seem like the old Microsoft.

As Ellen wrote in her earlier post, mobile developers no longer have the problem of users not knowing they can buy software for their smartphones. Everyone knows “there’s an app for that”, and we’ve seen proof that users of every smartphone want apps for their phones. I think the Windows Mobile Marketplace button on the new Windows Mobile phones has the potential to get a lot of attention. And that will help us all.

Our biggest problem at that time was that people didn’t know they could buy programs for their smartphone or PDA. Apple’s fixed that one – even people who don’t own a mobile device know “there’s an app for that”.

Availablility of apps is a huge factor in how new mobile devices or operating systems are judged. When the Pre was released, the sparse app catalog was mentioned in nearly every review. Same for the Zune HD. Imagine – if you can – a review mentioning “not many apps” in a review for a new device two years ago. It just wouldn’t have happened.

New mobile platforms and devices are big news. And any changes to the iPhone, iPod Touch or iTunes are huge news.

Mobile app developers are now a market by themselves. There are literally dozens of sites with iTunes App Store ranking tracking, tools and stats plug-ins. There are several providers of paid, in-app, mobile ads. Mobile developers’ blogs – at least some of them – get attention from major sites. There’s even a book coming out called Starting an iPhone Application Business For Dummies. (Don’t believe me? Here it is).

I used to spend about 20 minutes each morning reading enough mobile sites to keep up with any news and changes. Now it’s more like 90 minutes, and I’m sure I’m not reading half of what I should be.

We’re selling software for prices that we wouldn’t have even considered 18 months ago. While desktop app prices haven’t changed, the “99 Cent” pricing model of the App Store places mobile app prices at about 5% of what they used to be.

I am inundated with calls and emails from people who want us to put our apps in their stores, outsource our development to them, or buy ads on their sites. (Guys, here’s a hint. If you send me an email and I say I don’t want a phone call, I mean it. If you leave me alone, I’ll keep your info on file. If you call anyway, I’ll toss it.)

Mobile developers’ expectations of software distribution have completely changed as well. While we used to accept a distributor taking a commission of 60% of an app’s price (not happily, but we did accept that, having no good alternatives), 30% is now a de facto standard. And audience numbers that would have made us pretty excited in the past now seem pretty minor.

New mobile operating system and hardware releases are coming – and expected – at a much faster pace than ever before. What used to be considered a reasonable amount of time between hardware and OS upgrades is no longer acceptable.

Did all these changes happen because of Apple, and the success of the iTunes App Store? I think so. I can’t prove it, but we’ve been doing mobile software development – successfully – for over 12 years. The changes in the mobile world over last 14 months are nothing like anything that happened in the past.

Am I fan of every change? Of course not. But overall, I know that we as mobile developers have many more options than we ever have before. There’s a lot more potential for success, though I know that means that there’s also a lot more potential for failure.

What Apple’s changes have put in motion isn’t going to go away. I fully expect the next year will bring more and more demands on mobile developers, and more and more changes – big ones – in the mobile market. I expect we’ll see some of the established big companies fail, and some new ones succeed. Being smart and lucky won’t be nearly enough.

I predict interesting times.

If you aren’t familiar with the Total Access service, here is the official blurb from MS:

Total Access is your guide to all the things you can do with your Windows Mobile phone. Make your phone unique with free ringtones, games and themes, find helpful software and other extras that further enhance your phone, and get premium help and support from user forums, so it’s easier than ever to get more done on the go—that’s Total Access.

It’s a pretty cool service for Windows Mobile users. Definitely something you want to check out even if you already have NewsBreak (or RSSHub which is the HTC branded version of NewsBreak.) They have a ton of great stuff and are adding more all the time.

If you’re interested in this sort of thing, read on after the jump to hear me toss out some ideas!

The Internet = A Public Space

If you don’t already know it, websites track a ton of information about the people that visit them. Unique visitors, how long they linger on individual pages, what files they download, how they got to the site, or even where they go when they are finished. And it isn’t necessarily the person who owns the site that is doing this – these are all things a typical internet provider will track for the people who use them to host a website.

In general, folks aren’t too worried about this. My theory on why, is that people view the internet as “public space.” It’s like a park, a grocery store, or a government building. When you “walk around” the web, you have an expectation that someone might be watching you. Do you care? Most people don’t. So what if I appear on WalMart’s security tapes? What do I care if a traffic camera picks up my car driving down the street.

The internet is the same way. I have no greater expectation of privacy browsing books on Amazon than I do hanging out and thumbing through books in Borders. I’m out in public – someone is probably watching. Even on “secure” sites like banks, there is a real world analogy. Although I expect the transactions I make at the bank to remain secret, at a real bank I’m driving up to the bank out in the open, walking down the sidewalk and in the door in full view, and talking to a teller out loud (others might hear). There is a limit to privacy at a real world bank, and a bank website is much the same.

Software and My Computers = Private Space

On the other hand there is software (and the computers it runs on). People have an expectation of privacy here. I would no sooner expect a game I purchased to send personal information about me back to the developer than I would expect my refrigerator to send information about what food I eat, how much beer I drink, or what non-food items I store in my fridge back to Whirlpool. If my fridge actually DID this, I’d be pretty freaked out and probably get a new fridge.

The same with my computer. Although I access the internet through a browser from my computer, the space of my computer itself is my personal space. I’ll accept a CC camera at a grocery store, but I won’t accept one in my living room.

There are, however, real world exceptions. I might allow a Nielsen ratings box to be installed on my television, or fill out a survey for a marketing company about my buying habits.  But there is a difference…

Real World Permitted Spying vs Virtual Permitted Spying

The first key difference between the sort of private life spying that goes on in the real world (Nielsen box/survey) is that in the real world, retailers and marketers ALWAYS ask permission first. A handy fact about the real world is that they pretty much have to – I’m not going to accidentally fill out a survey. Also, there are laws that punish people that spy on us without our explicit permission.

A second difference is that real world retailers and marketers almost always give me something back for my effort. A freebie, coupons, or some other compensation for sharing my information. Take those stupid grocery store cards as an example. If you use one, they track your buying habits, but in exchange you get lower prices and targeted coupons at checkout. It’s worth it to me.

An Unfortunate Confusion

The problem is that software developers are getting confused. Now to be fair, some folks just don’t care, but I know a lot of software developers and I really believe that it is more an issue of confusion than purposeful wrongdoing.

First, they’re mixing up private space and public space. Just because we will accept a traffic camera, doesn’t mean we’ll let the government put a camera in our living room. The same is true for the internet. Just because we’ll accept data tracking on a website, doesn’t mean we’re okay with it in our favorite piece of software. And just like real life, although the technology is the same (a CC camera is a CC camera no matter where you put it) whether you are tracking web access or software use, this doesn’t mean we will accept that technology in all places.

Second, they are taking without giving. Traditionally, in our market based economy, we get when we give. If you want me to fill out a survey about my laundry habits, you’d better send me a little box of detergent. Or if the information is being given with no direct compensation, it had better be optional. I don’t mind volunteering, but if it isn’t a choice I’m no longer a volunteer.

Third, just because you can do something (and do it easily in many cases), doesn’t mean it’s okay to do it. I cansneak over to my neighbors house in the morning and peek in the window while they are getting ready for work. This doesn’t mean its okay. Software is powerful – we can do a LOT of things with it, but as Ben Parker once said, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Wrapping It Up

If you managed to read this whole post, thanks! I’ll take that as a compliment. In the meantime, encourage your favorite software developer to ask before they spy. I’m sure many of us are happy to chip in with information that might make our favorite products better, but there is a very clear line between our private space and our private space and developers need to make sure that they don’t cross it.

And I’d been thinking about how much I’d like – both as a user and a developer – trial versions of iPhone apps. But I know what a can of worms is opened by giving developers the ability make and unlock trials.

And then I thought – could Apple handle trials themselves, completely, by making all apps in the iTunes App Store free for the first few days, and then processing the payments if the apps were still installed after that?

The answer, of course, is that I don’t know. I have no idea if this would work or even be possible. I’m sure there are a ton of issues and implications to be thought through. It may be technically impossible, financially unfeasible, or just a lot more trouble than simply letting developers handle trials on their own.

But I can’t help thinking how cool it would be if Apple pulled it off.

It’s clear that no one else could do this with their app stores – no one else has that kind of control. Or – let’s face it – the guts. And it seems to me that it would be very much Apple’s style: here’s a better way to do something, we can do it, let’s do it. And if it turns the existing software distribution model upside-down, that’s just a bonus.

Any thoughts? I can’t tell if this is a good idea, a terrible idea, or something in-between. And it’s probably just wishful thinking on my part. But it would – in my opinion – be a huge benefit to both iPhone developers and users.

(Here’s the short URL for this article, if you want to share it. We’re working on the better “share it” thing; apparently it’s incompatible with something else we do.)

Read on for my two cents on the Marketplace!

Microsoft is doing a LOT that is right in their Marketplace. For instance, they are working directly with developers to create a model that benefits the customer, but not at the expense of the developer. This is going to encourage developers to support the system. The end result is a win win for the consumer.

They are also listening AND making changes based on what they hear. Throughout this process we’ve offered and been asked for our advice. Better yet, the advice doesn’t just disappear into a black hole – we see concrete, positive changes resulting from our discussions with Microsoft.

Finally, the testing process for applications is going to weed out a lot of junk. Microsoft really is striving to ensure that applications are the best they can be. The requirements for developers are clear cut, the testing is comprehensive, and the feedback is clear information the developer can use to improve his product and resubmit.

And they’re putting every bit as much effort into the front end for the store. I firmly believe that the Marketplace is going to be very successful, and I think Microsoft is going to help set both consumer and developer expectations for application stores going forward.

Microsoft Rocks

I know, it isn’t a phrase people say very often but frankly, they should. Microsoft takes a lot of bashing from a lot of fronts, but the reality is that they are successful not due to luck, stupid consumers, or momentum – rather, they continue to succeed because they actually do quite a lot of stuff really well.

Take SYNC -  I got in the car, it detected my iPhone, and within about a minute it was up, running, and had integrated by entire contact list. In addition, it gave me full voice control over the device. Every time I get in the car now, it automatically Syncs up and is ready to roll – no extra steps.

Same with the “dumbphone” my wife carries. Boom. Synched. Running. Done. What is more, the voice recognition is almost flawless (mumbling out a command while drinking a cup of coffee won’t work, however - I can attest to that).

All in all it’s a fantastic piece of software and I think it’s a good indicator of what the future holds for Microsoft Mobile products.

A Sign of the Times (And of Good Things to Come)

This is the even bigger thing to me.

Ashtrays are no longer standard on Ford vehicles.

SYNC is.

If this isn’t a clear indicator of how completely we’ve integrated phones into our lives, I don’t know what is. And with the success of the iPhone (and WinMo 6.5/7 I hope!), I believe that the “phones” in that phrase are going to very quickly become “SmartPhones.” For a mobile software developer, that’s a beautiful thing to hear.

In addition, we’re working on many of your requests that came out of the last Advisory Board Assignment! Thanks again to EVERYONE who participated. That feedback is invaluable to us!

UPDATE: I grabbed some cool screenshots from the promotional video Microsoft released. Turns out our applications are in the video a number of times! Check them out after the jump!