Fragmentation
Posted by Brian Vaughn at 1/4/2012 5:19 PM 
Categories: Development, Android
Tags: Android Fragmentation
Categories: Development, Android
Tags: Android Fragmentation
Fragmentation is one of those words I tend to hear a lot lately. People like to throw out fragmentation as a con against android because of the various OS versions. Others use fragmentation to refer to that fact Android runs on many different physical devices with different screens and keyboard options. Others might say fragmentation is what Amazon is doing by taking Android and spinning it into a closed environment for the Kindle Fire. All of these definitions are good examples of fragmentation in Android but don’t really concern me that much.
My main issue with fragmentation is the fragmentation I did to the users of my Android app - Handicap: Golf Tracker. Like many mobile developers I had dreams of making that great app that everyone wants and quiting my day job as the cash rolled in. Well, that hasn’t happened yet. As I watched my app sales dwindle I did the unthinkable and created a free version that relies on ad revenue.
This single change forced me to make a few compromises and create two versions of my code base. Gradually I have been able to isolate the business logic in my app to a single code base but still have the two different UI code bases that house most of the display logic. This has lead me to have a “lead” code base that I implement changes on first then migrate to the other code base as needed.
Over the past year I have been updating both code bases, adding features and making each app stand out. This has lead to a steady stream of new users. The new users of the free version has been great and actually makes me feel like my app has been a success.
As I start the new year, I start to plan changes I want to implement in the next iteration of the app. This now has me thinking of fragmentation again. Which features should I make free and which features should I make available only to paid users. Should I even make that differentiation at all? Should both versions be identical when it comes to features? Where should I place my effort? How do I want to further fragment my user base?
It is really annoying. I wish I just had one user base to build for but I’m not willing to abandons either group. My paid users are few but they at least paid for my work. The free users are clearly the majority and are bringing me almost as much revenue as the paid users through ads. I made my fragmented bed and now I have to sleep in it. I just wish I had known then what I knew now and started with just the ad supported app.
My main issue with fragmentation is the fragmentation I did to the users of my Android app - Handicap: Golf Tracker. Like many mobile developers I had dreams of making that great app that everyone wants and quiting my day job as the cash rolled in. Well, that hasn’t happened yet. As I watched my app sales dwindle I did the unthinkable and created a free version that relies on ad revenue.
This single change forced me to make a few compromises and create two versions of my code base. Gradually I have been able to isolate the business logic in my app to a single code base but still have the two different UI code bases that house most of the display logic. This has lead me to have a “lead” code base that I implement changes on first then migrate to the other code base as needed.
Over the past year I have been updating both code bases, adding features and making each app stand out. This has lead to a steady stream of new users. The new users of the free version has been great and actually makes me feel like my app has been a success.
As I start the new year, I start to plan changes I want to implement in the next iteration of the app. This now has me thinking of fragmentation again. Which features should I make free and which features should I make available only to paid users. Should I even make that differentiation at all? Should both versions be identical when it comes to features? Where should I place my effort? How do I want to further fragment my user base?
It is really annoying. I wish I just had one user base to build for but I’m not willing to abandons either group. My paid users are few but they at least paid for my work. The free users are clearly the majority and are bringing me almost as much revenue as the paid users through ads. I made my fragmented bed and now I have to sleep in it. I just wish I had known then what I knew now and started with just the ad supported app.
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