Android Developers: We heard you and already have (some of) what you want
We launched our Android apps catalog last week and were overwhelmed by the positive response. In addition to great writeups by IntoMobile, VentureBeat and Seattle’s own TechFlash, a ton of Android developers stopped by to claim their apps and developer profiles.
We asked several of these folks for suggestions of other things we could be doing for the Android developer community. Among all the responses the one that we got the most excited about was a pointer to this “Petition to Improve the Android Market”, posted by Alex Hamilton on AndroidSpin. Alex described a list of features that he and other Android developers would like to see Google implement to support the independent developer community. The list included:
1. A real website
We need a real, full featured, website with all the available apps, download numbers, ratings / comments and a search engine.
2. A way for developers to see comments/ratings of their apps
Currently the only way for developers to see comments/ratings left by users is on an actual phone. There is no web interface to do that.
3. A way for developers to reply to comments
We need a way to show users that we listen and care about what they say, and reply to them.
4. App description improvements
The description of applications is currently limited to 325 characters.
There is also a limit on the app name of 25 characters, and you can only show 2 screenshots of your app.
5. Better developer console / statistics
Currently on the developer console, the only information available about an app are the number of downloads and the percentage of “active” ones.
We just released our first rev of our Android offering and still have a ton of work to do, but of the list above, AppStoreHQ already offers full or partial solutions to several items on this list. For example:
“A real website”
- We’re stumped as to why Google hasn’t done this already, but we built our Android app directory specifically to address this need for a high-quality web-based catalog and search engine for Android apps.
“A way for developers to see comments/ratings of their apps”
- We display the average rating and most recent user comments for every Android app we list.
“A way for developers to reply to comments”
- We currently pass customer messages received via AppStoreHQ directly to registered developers (i.e., those that have claimed their apps and profiles on AppStoreHQ) so they can respond.
- Based on this petition, we’ve also added “inline reply to Android Market ratings + comments” to our product roadmap, so developers can publicly respond to the store ratings as well.
“App description improvements”
- Developers who register and claim their apps at AppStoreHQ have direct edit control over their app descriptions and screenshots. Since our app detail pages tend to show up in search results for consumers looking for Android apps, this is a great way to add information about your app to help them make an informed buying decision.
“Better developer console / statistics”
- We can’t compete with Google for statistics about what’s going on in Android Market, but we do offer registered developers a console for all their listed apps, including how many times their app has been searched for and viewed - not only on AppStoreHQ, but also across our growing network of publishing partners like DroidDog and AndroidTapp.
We know we still have lots to do to make our Android offering as compelling as it can be, but we’re excited to have already checked off several of the requests Alex outlines in his post, and we’re heads-down working on the next iteration of our offering to tackle even more of this list.
If you’re an Android developer and want to take advantage of these free developer tools, here’s what you do:
- Search for your app in our Android apps directory
- From the details box, click through to your developer profile (the “Publisher” link)
- On your developer profile page, click the link that reads “Claim this page” and follow the instructions provided
And if you have any more suggestions for how we can make life better for you as an Android developer, please let us know!
