Android Market : Fixed-term promotion ? - Android Apps and Games

Hi
First, I'm sorry if I'm not on the right section of the forum, I guessed it was the best to post in.
Also, my apologizes if my english is not always good
So, I'm working on an Android apps projet, that have specific needs.
Succinctly, I need to give to the editors the possibility to apply a discount on one of their applications, for a fixed-time.
For example, I would like the editor can apply a discount from May, 24th - 00h to May, 25th - 00h. Of course, it's possible to manually modify prices.
But, for pratical reasons, I would like to automate this operation.
As far as I know, it's impossible on the official Android Market.
But I now Apple released a "app manager" for the Appstore, that allows editors to ... manage D) their apps, and among all possibilities included in this manager, there is the functionnality I'm looking for : automated price variations.
So, I would like to know if you know a way to make that possible on Android Market ? Maybe through a manager similar to Apple's manager, or an alternative market that offers this functionnality ?
Thank you very much !

Nobody have any kind of idea ?

As far as I'm aware, there is no automatic promotion as of yet.
btw this probably isn't the best forum to ask. Market is a google application. So try google forums for android developers. http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?pli=1

Related

[APP] App Stats (for developers)

App Stats is an Android developer tool which allows you to check application stats and comments from one place. App Stats keeps you informed by notifying you when new information is available such as a new rating or additional comments. The lite version allows you to monitor up to three applications and includes advertisements while the pro version allows for essentially unlimited monitoring and is of course ad free.
Update to Pro (v1.3.0)
Now has a desktop widget =)
Update to Pro (v1.2.0)
Some developers may have a lot of apps to manage stats on such as games with lots of addon content or maybe live wall paper apps, etc. To help alleviate scrolling through a long list of apps, we have added in the ability to label apps and filter the apps list with these labels.
Also, you will find that you can now set per application notification settings. This lets you control when an app update notification is fired so you can now choose specific items to be notified about.
Notes
On certain devices you may not be able to see all of your apps without having root on your device. It is also important to note that if you can not see your app in the market on your device there is no way this app can circumvent that.
If you have any questions, comments or bug reports please contact me here or via our developer email which can be found on the market. (toxicbakery at gmail)
To download, use the attached image or search 'App Stats' on the market and we should be the first two results for pro and lite versions.
Known Issues
- Certain languages may no be available in comments, if you find one please let me know
Upcoming Features
- More graphing options
- Backup search against an app database to find missing data
- Have a feature request? Let me know what you want!
Need another feature? Just ask =)
I love it. But I think that $5 is a bit too much for the full version. I would have gladly paid $2 or $3 even, but anything more takes it out of impulse buy for me.
Don't think I'm bashing your choice, as a dev I understand your need to make money from it, but sometimes the sales you lose from a higher price are worth more than the extra couple dollars you'll make from the higher price.
Thanks for the input! I would have to agree with you that currently $5 dollars is on the high end of price however with the additional features we are working on we feel that it will be a fair price very soon. Depending on what features we end up being able to incorporate we may adjust the pricing.
We almost have the plugin finished that will assist in grabbing your market android id from tcpdump and once we perfect that then it will be possible to search 2.2 apps and copy protected apps when using legit android devices that are rooted. Once this is complete we will have the only app on the market that I know which can essentially hands free get all the needed info to make a 'true' market request that lets you see all applications. This is how sites like androidzoom and like function. Without this additional parameter other apps are limited to 2.1 and less non copy protected applications by design of the market itself.
After that we will be working on letting you attach admob accounts to your apps and possibly google checkout however google checkout looks iffy due to its seeming lack of being able to pull useful information such as 'total sales' etc.
That said, thanks again for the input and if you need help please email me at our developer email for fastest response.
-Ian
One thing that's highly annoying for an application which is not a game, a navigation system, or a media application: Asking for the fullscreen window feature.
Please consider removing it... I don't really see any need for it, and it just breaks the transitions between activities anyway (when you're not making the design consistent). Thank you.
Anyway, once polished up and the bugs cleared up, looks like a useful app
Thank you for the input! We removed the full screen requests on the detailed view and graphs view.
I'm unfortunately out of town currently however either tonight or tomorrow we will be releasing an update that adds in the functionality to search 2.2 and copy protected apps if you have a rooted device. This should alleviate the complaints some people have had about it not finding their apps.
Unfortunately right now having a rooted phone is the only way get the market key we need to make these 'fully enabled' searches due to how the market works currently. The other option is having users use TCP dump to grab the needed packet and then proceed manually with decoding it and running it though protobuf to get the key out.
A few other fixes and tweaks have also been put in place and after we release the updates the Pro version will be available again as we removed it due to a major bug in the licensing we didn't catch before.
Please keep the comments coming! If you don't like something feel free to post it or email us and we will do whatever we can to improve it.
Thank you again to everyone that has voiced their opinion, every bit helps!
Finally got the new version released!
To see copy protected or 2.2 only applications you will need to have a root phone that can already see those apps on the market. For example a 2.1 phone can't see 2.2 applications no matter what you do and theres no way to code around this, sorry.
Once installed, hit menu from the main screen and select settings. Simply hit the "Load Key" Button at the very top and hopefully after a few seconds a Toast should show up saying that the operation was a success.
I know for a fact this wont work on all phones. We tested it to work on a Droid and it works on a G1 with Cyanogen 2.2 rom however it will not work on an Eris. That said I'm sure it will fail to work on other phones but I will be working on figuring out the fix asap. If you are one of the unlucky ones with a phone that doesn't work, please email me or message me here and I will do whatever I can to get you setup!
New version is now out and good news! It appears, on our end, that root is no longer necessary to get copy protected and 2.2 applications. This change is still too new to confirm it works on all devices so please send us feedback on if you can see all of your applications without using the root feature.
As always please feel free to leave feedback!
New version released that will hopefully allow more users to successfully find all of their apps with less hassle. Also a few misc bug fixes and FC issues have been resolved.
Update to pro version released, main post updated.
Released new versions of lite and pro, updated main post.
About App Stats and its development
I am from Mobile application Development company in Singapore. I would like share this stats, today more users are available in through mobile apps. and mobile developments also increasing day by day. So this growth of development is lead the business strategy. Know from our Mobile app development how its useful for business environment.

[Q] Is NeoMAD the real solution for cross platform development?

I have an HTML 5 app built with Sencha Touch + Cordova. The app works ok and is already in production, but I want more in terms of performance for the future, so I'm thinking about rewriting it in another framework.
On propertycross.com some of the most used cross-platform frameworks have been compared... I went through all of them and for me the winner is with no doubt NeoMAD. The approach seems the right one: write in one language (Java) and have the native app generated for each platform.
I saw no difference in terms of performance between the native one and the one built with NeoMAD, also the app was only a bit larger (1.2mb the native one, 1.9mb the one built with NeoMAD), with Titanium and Xamarin I get an app 10 times bigger, not to mention the increased startup time.
By doing some research on the web though, NeoMAD doesn't seem much used... on stackoverflow I get only 5 questions with the neomad tag.
So why so few people use this framework? Seems to me the perfect one... Does anyone have any experience with it?
Hello Emanuele,
First of all, as one of the NeoMAD founders I was very happy to read your post!
To answer your question, I think there are 3 explanations:
1/ NeoMAD is available on the market since 2012 only and this is a first objective reason why we do not have a lot of users at the moment.
2/ Neomades is a small company with limited marketing resources compared to our main competitors.
3/ The Neomades team is mainly a tech one and we have not been so efficient until now in business dev.
However, NeoMAD is used for mobile developments by major french organizations such as CROUS, L'Oréal and TNS Sofres / WPP Group. Some of these applications are available on the app stores, you can find more information about it in the References section of our website.
We hope that comments like yours will catch the community's attention and increase the visibility of NeoMAD… without users and the developer community we will not succeed !
Fill free to contact us for any questions a [email protected]
Best regards.
Hey @memanuele
First of all, you need to choose the framework according to your specific project needs. It's really hard to name the one-fits-all framework. If you're in no hurry, you can spend some time trying different ones and thus deciding what will be the best variant for you.
If you don't have time, you can get initial information from the blogs, for example, here or here, to name a few. Google it, there's alot of interesting going on.
Edit: Ddamn, just noticed the date of the initial post...

Best back end for Android app?

I appologize if this is a dumb question, but I am new to app development, altough some experienced in php/html.
I want to create an app where user fills in forms. The app development is easy to find info about, but i also want a back end plattform where I read the submitted forms and organize users.
So, my question. Is there a sort of ready wordpress like plattform to customize, or should this be built from scratch? If so, which platform is the best?
One note I should add about Buddy (full disclosure: I work there) is that we maintain independent instances of the platform in different locations around the world. If you need to host your backend in Europe (for response time or data sovereignty reasons, for example), you can choose your app backend to be sandboxed in the EU. Likewise the US and likewise China (with Brazil, Singapore and Australia coming soon).
he best way to develop mobile apps is to use REST services. So now you can choose any thing.
Any language that can used for server side programming can be used.
Now it is up to you choose the language.
If you familiar with JavaScript then you can try nodejs. You can make small app server in it.
But if your server software design is very complex (containing threads and synchronisation) then java can be handy.
But there is no restriction of language.
Firebase should be also a way to go for this.
The best android back end services include, Parse, Kumulos, Kinvey, backendless, QuickBlox.
Concerning the forms where users can fill up information, would something like help out?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...solutions.fasp
On Apple's platform you might need an iPhone developer - it is quite possible to create and publish an iPhone app using your form.
I did take the help of mobile apps development service in toronto to know the process which is described here: http://support.brightcove.com/en/app-cloud/docs/step-step-guide-publishing-apple-app-store-using-mac
Thanks Carol for sharing such a wonderful article.
"Planet Odoo | About | Odoo Migration, Odoo -Quickbook Integration
Odoo-Ebay Integration takes into consideration the competitive level in business and provides a quick fix implementation for every industry to break through.
I have heard good things about Hasura (Not affiliated in anyway). And I think parse - mentioned above - is no longer available.
I'm wondering why nobody mentioned Google CLoud or AWS. They are most mobile friendly for a good price
Hi, if you will decide to build from scratch, there are different options/frameworks. But If you use kotlin you should look to Ktor.
Backend options for an Android app
Here, The list of good backend options for an Android app:
1. Parse.
2. Back4app.
3. Firebase.
4. Kinvey.
5. Appcelerator.

Alternatives to download official apps

Hi,
The vast majority of my apps come from F-droid and Github but a few ones can only be downloaded on the Google Play Store.
I don't have Google services on my device so I'm looking for a reliable tool/website to update those apps. I know Raccoon but a PC is required and I don't have one during the week.
I found APKpure a few weeks ago. Apparently all apps have to pass a signature verification so they guarantee safe downloads. It seems legit and I did compare the SHA1 of their apk and the one downloaded from Google Play. The apk hasn't been altered. One positive result doesn't mean that we can't have negative ones though
I don't like "mirror websites". The owner of apkpure, apkupdate and apkplz seems to be the same so it's more complicated for me to trust those sources. Why do they need all these websites? I didn't find any legal information BTW...
No paid apps can be downloaded on these websites so my only suspicion is that they could add malwares into some (famous) apps. Of course, original apps can also have malwares on Google Play.
For the record, I uploaded the few apks I downloaded to VirusToral and nothing has been detected.
Last but not least, Apkpure provides a dedicated app to install and update apps, which is great even if they suggest me new versions that aren't officially available yet. (probably related to a region restriction or a delay from Google to push the app update for all countries).
What do you think about these websites? Do you know a safer way?
I don't have google apps also, using apk pure for now, everything is well.
BlankStore should work for most free apps.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1715375
Wakamatsu said:
BlankStore should work for most free apps.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1715375
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I know but it uses Gmail IDs (with a connection to Google servers). Last but not least, the project is discontinued for several months.
I was going to give a try to Blankstore this weekend and it doesn't seem to be a reliable alternative in the medium term.
Primokorn said:
Yes, I know but it uses Gmail IDs (with a connection to Google servers). Last but not least, the project is discontinued for several months.
I was going to give a try to Blankstore this weekend and it doesn't seem to be a reliable alternative in the medium term.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@Primokorn ,
what about its alternative.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3217616
would really be interested in your opinion (if you look into it and dont mind ).
"err on the side of kindness"
Primokorn said:
Yes, I know but it uses Gmail IDs (with a connection to Google servers).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I created a throwaway gmail account for this but I get your point.
Primokorn said:
Last but not least, the project is discontinued for several months.
I was going to give a try to Blankstore this weekend and it doesn't seem to be a reliable alternative in the medium term.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's discontinued in the sense that he will not move further with that particular project in favour of another but he will still make fixes when a Google update breaks BlankStore function. It's been "discontinued" since version 0.7.1.
I have a old device just for this purpose.
It has no info on it
Everything possible has been removed that's not needed
(Like calender and contacts etc)
All it does is connect to Wi-Fi to get apps from Google play
Even paid apps.
And I harp non stop to developers and leave feedback on apps that don't support offline use.
(Is in app purchases, online verification, etc things that can be stored on device over getting from internet every time)
I don't see the point of getting apps elsewhere when they will do the same thing to you as Google..But with less oversight.
Virus checkers are pointless when apps are Trojans..
Or have them built in.
I consider any software that mines any thing from your device, without declaring exactly what it is doing every time, nothing other than a Trojan.
Google and it's partners will always push for a proprietary distribution system claiming it will keep you secure
When I'm truth what it does is you your money going to them
When I've had to I've gotten my apks from some very unusual places.
But then you can get some very bad software from very official places.
mrrocketdog said:
@Primokorn ,
what about its alternative.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3217616
would really be interested in your opinion (if you look into it and dont mind ).
"err on the side of kindness"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use microG framework for several weeks now
Wakamatsu said:
It's discontinued in the sense that he will not move further with that particular project in favour of another but he will still make fixes when a Google update breaks BlankStore function. It's been "discontinued" since version 0.7.1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't know that. Thanks for the heads-up! I wanted to give a try this weekend but I had serious with my laptop I keep that in mind for the next time.
nutpants said:
I have a old device just for this purpose.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What an expensive alternative! I'm used to sell my current device to buy a new one and that's not handy IMHO.
nutpants said:
And I harp non stop to developers and leave feedback on apps that don't support offline use.
(Is in app purchases, online verification, etc things that can be stored on device over getting from internet every time)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Solutions exist for devs to not use Google Play online verification but they want to use it to punish users who download warez. Even if I can understand this point of view, we wouldn't have warez with FLOSS softwares.
nutpants said:
Google and it's partners will always push for a proprietary distribution system claiming it will keep you secure
When I'm truth what it does is you your money going to them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have done some fruitful research to prepare an article about GAFAM and other big companies. In addition, Google doesn't protect our freedom of speech (I noticed this many times with 'ordinary people').
Now that I clearly know what they did/do/will do, how could I still use their services?!? My next Android work will be published under GPL v3, I already stopped any operations on Google Play and I try to push devs to offer free/libre softwares. Marcel (M66B on XDA) is the perfect example of an awesome developer :good:
Primokorn said:
I use microG framework for several weeks now
What an expensive alternative! I'm used to sell my current device to buy a new one and that's not handy IMHO.
Solutions exist for devs to not use Google Play online verification but they want to use it to punish users who download warez. Even if I can understand this point of view, we wouldn't have warez with FLOSS softwares.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I rarely sell my devices, (i have 6 of 9 that I play with somewhat regularly sadly)honestly i keep the last one as a back up in case the new one has issues or a failure. And when I do think of it, it not worth the money to make it worth the time..
I still have my Windows mobile 2003 Siemens sx66
(Not that is have been turned on in years)
But really it's an investment in my security.
(And I no longer get the hottest newest devices asap anymore, that's a zero sum game that has few benefits beyond bragging rights)
My tablet dual boots between Google play only rom and everything else internet rom also.
I have yet to hear of a protection scheme that had not been broken in hours. I think bluray was the last major public disaster. If the time spent on protection was spent on quality assurance I think it would be a different landscape in the digital world.
Even with floss you have warez.. just in different forms. Mods,hacks, cracks, custom roms It all just words that describe one developer modifying others work without permission for features that are not present, either added or removed.
It's point of view.like anything.
Myself, I stand back and promote security,offline abilities and operation and open source.
It's where my money goes, my time and my vote. Every chance I get.
XDA: Focus on making independence accessible to android users!
@Primokorn: Thanks a zillion for starting this crucial discussion. I don't know how often i pointed out these issues.
Of course, i also have some aesthetic preferences. But diving through endless reefs of startup animation replacements, battery monitor alternatives and half-baked theme studies is not what i expected xda-developers.com to end up, 12 years after i started being around.
In my eyes, the whole aftermarket ado should be concentrated on maintaining the independency of the most popular mobile operating system of the universe by it's users. Crucial topics be
Liberating the app distribution architecture
Optimizing the permission restriction system
There are great approaches like the Aroma Installer, that have been employed to supply user friendly means for debloating and debranding. Have a look at the Screenshots of stockymod.
@nutpants:
And I harp non stop to developers and leave feedback on apps that don't support offline use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do the same thing to official institutions when they release apps. If i wasn't in that hyper-busy age around 40, i'd start a little riot about publicly funded software that ends up being published behind the wellknown golden cages exclusively. The necessity to change this in a grassroot movement is obvious.
Apkmirror.com
Did not know these existed, going to check this out!

[IDEA] App store for HD2/Windows Mobile.

Okay, first, I do not know where I should put this thread, it is for the HD2 specifically, but might one day be useful for other devices.
So, I have an idea, I would like to create an app store for Windows Mobile, specifically Windows Mobile 6.5, NOT Windows Phone, NOT Windows Phone 8/10, NOT Android, NOT Ubuntu or Meego or Firefox OS.
This app store would be updated, it would contain apps that are compatible with WM6.5, also, you would be able to select your device resolution, and get apps that work with your resolution, it could have a tweaks section, so any tweaks could be installed with just a few clicks.
Also, developers would be able to submit their own apps, and people should be able to submit older apps that work on WM 6.5.
So, what do you guys think, would you support such a project.
P.S. What would you think about me trying to get a HTML5 render engine running on WM6.5, so it could use some new mobile-web apps?
P.P.S. Recently, someone with an Android phone, was able to de-solder the NAND chip(with some equipment), and upgrade the internal flash storage, does anyone think this would be possible with the HD2?, maybe we could get 4GB of internal flash instead of 1GB?
Not bad idea.
My company done more basic idea with a repository of apps with description for our WM6.5 users.
Was some quality software for WM, when compare to junk apps you get on android it really night & day, shame Microsoft didn't see potential & develop it more back in late 2000's as it was far better code than android & was the birth of the smart phone & many parts of it copied by iphone & android .
Mister B said:
Not bad idea.
My company done more basic idea with a repository of apps with description for our WM6.5 users.
Was some quality software for WM, when compare to junk apps you get on android it really night & day, shame Microsoft didn't see potential & develop it more back in late 2000's as it was far better code than android & was the birth of the smart phone & many parts of it copied by iphone & android .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, do you think that it would be feasible to make an app store, like this? And what do you think would be a good name for an app store?
I could easily set up a website, however, I do not know how hard it would be to make an installable cab for it.
I could have a basic website, set-up in just a few minutes(without SQL server, which would be needed for an app store).
The main problem though, is getting permission from app developers to put their old apps on the app store, some of the companies don't even exist anymore. And we would need to get NEW developers to make apps and put them in the app store.
You not likely get much support for new apps as just such minority of WM6.x.x devices in use .
Problem 2 is like you say most old apps dropped by developers, many recent apps I got hold of are technically warez but that only way get them & activate them as devs dropped them & purchase option from websites. IM+ was example of this, I wanted purchase a licence but they dropped WM & wouldn't help me out so I had do work around making it a non expiring trial using mortscript to launch app .
If you do any sort of app store and want worthwhile apps then it not going be possible do it 100% legal unfortunately.
Our work web repository is not exactly legal but it keeps WM6 alive & we got about 30 WM6 users who happy
Personally I would do just a good designed web repository with app sections & details & downloads linked to account logins.
If you can build a software app to act as store it would be good, building cab is the easy part .
Mister B said:
You not likely get much support for new apps as just such minority of WM6.x.x devices in use .
Problem 2 is like you say most old apps dropped by developers, many recent apps I got hold of are technically warez but that only way get them & activate them as devs dropped them & purchase option from websites. IM+ was example of this, I wanted purchase a licence but they dropped WM & wouldn't help me out so I had do work around making it a non expiring trial using mortscript to launch app .
If you do any sort of app store and want worthwhile apps then it not going be possible do it 100% legal unfortunately.
Our work web repository is not exactly legal but it keeps WM6 alive & we got about 30 WM6 users who happy
Personally I would do just a good designed web repository with app sections & details & downloads linked to account logins.
If you can build a software app to act as store it would be good, building cab is the easy part .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, it looks like, my website host will not work then, I just made a new account with them too(it is free tho ), my web host says ABSOLUTELY NO warez , however there is this site called "umnet", they have a lot of stuff for lots of devices, including Windows Mobile CAB's. It is not very easy to browse umnet, and there is a lot of garbage, and it is not very easy to sort out what you DO want from what you DONT want. Back on-topic, if I am to make a app-store, I will need to find another host, or something like that.
P.S Is your work app repository, publicly available, or no?
No it on our own server & requires account.
Mister B said:
No it on our own server & requires account.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, too bad.
Now, about the app store, I have identified all of the main challenges:
1. Getting a server and/or host.
2. Getting all of the apps.
3. Getting permission from developers to put their paid/non-distributable apps on the server.
4. Setting up a search/description system(will probably be SQL based).
5. Getting the .CAB set up.
6. Getting people to use it.
I have an idea for, convincing developers to make new software for WM6.5, a development fund/bounty. Right now, many people who were once WM6.5 die-hards have stopped developing programs for WM6.5, maybe we can get some new developers, AND get some old developers back, by giving them an incentive to develop for WM6.5. This could be a bitcoin fund/bounty, when a developer wants to make an app, he/she can ask for some bitcoins from the bounty and that could help fund development if his/her app.
Also, ROM's, many ROM's are inactive, my next idea is to, create new ROM's with WEH builds, they will have ALL of the same features and apps and drivers, and versions(6.5.5, the best), but be based on WEH, because WEH has some new under-the-hood stuff like newer security standards, WiFi encryption standards, etc...
Possibly, we could even create new/improved drivers, via reverse engineering or something like that, AND possibly, dig up enough information to implement some of the features of Photon(what WM7 was supposed to be as of 2008), like an unofficial WM7(NOT WP7).

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