quick_recipes (779892), страница 62
Текст из файла (страница 62)
The PKG file can also be used to specifythe text for the application’s name as it is displayed in the phone’s maindisplay.You can find a lot more information about how to create an installationfile for a multilingual application in the Symbian Developer Library.Information is available in the Software Installation Toolkit, which can befound in the Tools and Utilities section, and in the Locale Settings guidein the Base section of the Symbian OS Guide section.HOW TO DISTRIBUTE YOUR APPLICATION3416.2 How To Distribute Your ApplicationRecent data suggests that smartphone buyers show particular enthusiasmfor purchasing and installing software for their phones.
Part of the reasonfor buying a smartphone, after all, is that powerful aftermarket softwarecan be installed onto it. To meet this demand, over 8,000 third-partyinstallable applications are commercially available for Symbian smartphones at the time of writing.1 Furthermore, according to data fromm:metrics, Symbian smartphone users perform at least 20 % more tasksthat raise the average revenue per user (ARPU) for network operatorsthan other 3G users. For example, data from October 2007 suggests that,in the UK, 45 % of Symbian smartphone users spend more than £35(US$70) per month on 3G network services (such as sending photos,videos, accessing maps and news).2 Feature phone owners spend less;only 20 % spend that amount or more.This section covers how to get your application to its potential consumers.
Having considered the topics discussed in the previous section,you’re sure you have a great product, but how best to deliver it? Who canhelp you market it?6.2.1 Network OperatorsNetwork operators, or carriers as they are sometimes known, make thelargest number of sales of mobile applications because most purchases arefrom users who buy content directly from their portals. The operators canbe subdivided into: international carriers, such as Vodafone, T-Mobileand Orange; national network operators, such as Cingular and Verizonin the USA and DoCoMo in Japan; and other smaller carriers, such asmobile virtual network operators (MVNOs).3To work with a network operator, you must build a good relationshipin order to get selected for a sales slot on their portal.
Many of thelarge operators have so many developers wanting to work with them,that they do not engage with new contacts, but only use their established relationships to provide content. However, there are developerprograms which are worth investigating. Some examples include 3neXtfrom Hutchinson (next.three.com/suggest/developer.aspx), Orange Partner (www.orangepartner.com) or AT&T devCentral (developer.att.com).Network operators look for applications that meet their own propositions, and one key goal is to promote data consumption. If your1www.symbian.com/about/fastfacts/fastfacts.html.www.mmetrics.com.3MVNOs are companies that build on top of the traditional network operators, becausethey do not have their own allocation of the radio frequency spectrum nor the infrastructurerequired to provide a mobile telephone service.2342RELEASING YOUR APPLICATIONapplication requires the user to download even small amounts of dataon a regular basis, the network operators will find it far more interestingthan one that never requires the user to make a data connection.
(Youcan find out more about the other ‘hot’ areas that operators are keen topromote by listening for key messages whenever the operators speak atdeveloper events or when they issue press releases or other material tohelp analysts ‘sync up’). In turn, network operators research the marketand, if your applications are receiving good feedback from users, or theoperators have access to download statistics and see that you have apopular product, you may be invited into a tendering process in order tobe selected to supply applications to them.It is worth noting that network operators have individual processes fortesting and certifying new applications before they allow them to be published for sale.
The certification process can take a significant amount oftime and, once an application is complete, it can take up to six months ofnegotiation over the results before the application is released onto a portal.6.2.2 Independent Software ChannelsSome mobile application sales channels are not owned by networkoperators but are independent. These channels inevitably have less trafficthan the operator channels, but application developers still find they offerpotential for application distribution.There are a number of channels that provide mobile applications;some do so as part of their offering, while others specialize in them.Examples include Handango,4 Motricity and MobiHand. The channelsoffer a web or WAP site for buyers to browse using their mobile phone,allowing the purchase of applications by direct download over the air(OTA), with payment made by means of sending a premium-rate SMS.Some purchases, such as those from Handango, can also be madeover the Internet (OTI).
The user visits the website on his PC, buys anddownloads an application to it, and then transfers it to his phone, forexample, using Bluetooth wireless technology. OTI purchasing offers thebenefit of allowing the user to browse for applications using a familiarmedium of the PC, and find information about them, such as screenshotsand reviews. The user can also download larger applications more quicklyand without needing the phone to be set up with a data connection, whichis an advantage, particularly in regions where it is expensive, or slow, todownload large amounts of data to a phone.
OTI download also avoidsbeing charged twice – once to purchase the application (by the channel)4In 2006, more than 250 new content providers and 3,500 new content titles wereavailable on Handango for Symbian smartphones. Handango is a key channel for thedistribution of aftermarket software for smartphones (based on Symbian OS, BlackBerry,Palm OS and Windows Mobile) and regularly releases sales trend data, which it calls‘Yardstick Data’, on www.corp.handango.com.HOW TO DISTRIBUTE YOUR APPLICATION343and then to download it (by the network operator). However, a numberof network operators lock down their phones against what they call ‘sideloading’, which means that applications cannot be installed except bydirect download to the phone.
The lock down ensures that the operatorretains some profit from application installation, even when it is notpurchased from one of their portals. (Some network operators go furtherstill and prevent the phones they distribute from making purchases exceptfrom their portals.)The downside of OTI purchasing, if it is allowed by a network operator,is that the user must own, or have access to, a PC, and must know howto connect the phone to the PC to transfer the downloaded applicationand install it.Purchasing from the web also requires electronic payment, for exampleusing a credit card, rather than direct billing from the network operator.Not everyone has this option, especially when the target market forsome applications, such as games, may be under the age of creditcard ownership.
The channels work around this through the use of giftcertificates or vouchers.Of course, you can always consider setting up your own independentsales channel; that is, selling your application through your own website.This has the advantage that you don’t have to give away any royalties,and can decide how to market your application, and what testing andcertification it requires. However, you will need to work hard to achievevisibility in the marketplace, and you will need to determine how tomanage the incoming payments – and any support requests that come inwhen they fail, or the user claims dissatisfaction with the application andwants a refund.
Selling through a channel or operator shields you fromthese issues, to some extent.Some phone manufacturers also provide sales channels, such as theNokia Software Market. These channels are a way for manufacturers tomake software available and encourage the uptake of their handsets.Rather than decide themselves what these sites provide, the channelsoften use the services of a content aggregator, such as Jamba (also knownas Jamster in English-speaking regions) or Handango (which is a contentaggregator in its own right, as well as an independent channel), to puttogether the content offered.
We will discuss content aggregators in moredetail in Section 6.2.3.The Nokia Software Market is available for users to buy applications (and other applications) OTI (www.softwaremarket.nokia.com) ordirectly on the phone using an application called Nokia Catalogs. TheCatalogs application is a client on the Nokia Content Discoverer systemand is available for S60 smartphones.
![](https://s.studizba.com/z.php?f=/templates/si/i/noavatar.png&w=100&h=100&t=1"){kind=avatar}
