In the mobile space there is an arms race, its a race to get the most developers supporting a specific platform. The current platforms of choice are Apple's iOS and Google's Android OS for mobile platforms. Apps are the life blood of the mobile business because Apple and Google make more revenue off an app bought in their respective store than by selling the actual phones. Having a large user base leads to more app sales and  more continuous revenue for the platform owner.

The article linked below from Fortune is a bit of a FUD piece about app sales on the Android market.  It is very clear that the Android market places a little more emphasis on free apps over paid apps.  Consumers rather have a free app and there are more free apps in the Android market.  Apple supporters may say that this means there are more lower quality apps in the Android market because of the disparity.  Fact is developers are learning a free app can make you as much money as a paid app.

The only real difference with Google and Apple in the mobile space is that Google makes money by sells ads.  Google provides tools to developers that allow then to display ads in your iPhone, Android and Windows phone. So for Google, a free app is an opportunity to be a app supported by Google ads. This is a significant difference between Apple and Google when it comes to revenue from apps. Apple and Google makes revenue on each sale of a paid app from their marketplaces but in a free app Google can make money on each ad displayed for as long as that app is in use.  It makes you wonder, will you make more revenue on that single sale or on that reoccurring ad revenue.

That is the question I ask myself a lot lately. Would I benefit from merging my app into one free app on Android and building a free version on Windows and iPhone platforms? More free apps with ads would mean more revenue to me, the developer. I tend to believe that no one developer is getting rich building apps anymore.  It's a corporate world now offering free apps that drive you to their website. 

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