How free apps are sucking the life out of
smartphones
A
growing number of mobile developers are banking on the freemium model to build
a successful business, distributing their apps for free in hopes of making a
buck on premium in-app transactions like virtual currency and virtual goods.
In-app purchases are on pace to generate 64 percent of total mobile application
revenues by 2015, up from 39 percent in 2011, according to data
issued earlier this year by
information and analysis provider IHS Screen Digest. The firm adds that in-app
purchase revenues will rise to more than $5.6 billion in 2015, compared to $970
million a year ago.
Those are impressive numbers, but 2015 seems like it's a
lifetime away. What can developers expect from freemium revenues in the here
and now? Based on combined data from 2011 and the first few weeks of 2012, the
average developer building freemium, non-game iOS apps targeting the U.S.
market generates $23,482.15 in the month after the app's launch per new data released
by mobile app researcher Velositor. When iOS
games are included in the equation, the figure rises to $63,885.14. But
Velositor warns that the opportunity is far less lucrative north of the border:
Freemium iOS apps targeting Canadian market yield an average of $4,226.71 in
their first month of release, with games reaching $11,558.18.
The freemium model isn't the only game in town. Premium app
sales remain a compelling strategy, as do free apps relying on mobile
advertising revenues. But even free apps come with a price: A new study
conducted by researchers at Purdue University reports that free Android and
Windows Mobile apps displaying third-party ads consume a staggering amount of
smartphone battery life, and in some cases can drain the device's power source
in around just 90 minutes. Anywhere from 65 percent to 75 percent of the energy
used by free apps is spent on downloading ads, uploading consumer data and user
tracking, Purdue computer scientist Abhinav Pathak states. For example, only 20
percent of the energy consumed by the free version of Rovio Mobile's Angry Birds actually
displays and runs the game--45 percent is devoted to finding and uploading the
user's location with GPS, then downloading geo-appropriate ads over a 3G connection.
New Scientist adds that
the 3G connection stays open for around 10 seconds, even if
data transmission is complete, and this "tail energy" accounts for
another 28 percent of the app's battery consumption.
Pathak blames the energy leakage on inefficiencies in the
third-party advertising and analytics code that developers integrate into their
apps, adding that in the course of his team's research, apps were restructured
to reduce their energy consumption by 20 percent to 65 percent. It's unknown
whether the study will convince developers to restructure their business model
and migrate from free apps to freemium apps, but it's certainly a shock to the
system.--Jason
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