Fanboys across the net continuously argue about the superiority of Apple’s iPhone and iPad vs. the power of Google’s Android platform. The Android platform currently enjoys a sizable lead over iOS but apparently all of those Android phones and tablets aren’t turning into application sales. In an interview between All Things Digital and Bob Bowman, CEO of Major League Baseball’s Advanced Media division, Bowman says that, “the Android user typically is less likely to buy, and therefore the ROI on developing for Android is different than it is for Apple.” The interviewer asked why, but Mr. Bowman didn’t give a concrete reason saying only that, “the iPhone and iPad user is interested in buying content–that’s one of the reasons they bought the device.”
Benoit Essiambre, creator of the “Speed Anatomy” app for both iOS and Android, wrote an interesting breakdown of how his application sells on both platforms. In his analysis, he receives roughly 50% less from the combined paid and ad supported versions of his app on Android compared to sales on iTunes. He blames some of this on a buggy Android marketplace. On the other hand, Wired reports that some Android app developers have been able to make millions in sales.
So what does all of this mean? Are Android users cheap, preferring free open source software to run on their devices? Or does it simply mean that Android owners are not as interested in sports as a typical Apple user would be, and therefore aren’t interested in purchasing baseball subscriptions?
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