Sunday, October 19, 2008

Handango Gives Android Developers Two Ways to Make a Buck

This week, consumers in the US in select cities featuring 3G support by T-Mobile will be able to step into the carrier’s retail outlets and fork over $179 to have, to hold and to own an Android-based G1 device. October 22 is the date set by the network.

Many prospective buyers are excited about the openness of the operate system on board the device. Similarly, there is ample anticipation over the third-party application platform. Yet it isn’t clear when Google will will be able to provide a payment system to enable financial transactions of applications. For several weeks already, the company has promoted the idea of free downloads to start its journey. That is unless developers choose to route their developments through Handango.

If you’ve been familiar with the mobile application market for any extended period of time - all the way back to the days of the Palm Pilot, really - you’ll know that Handango has evolved into a sort of mutli-platform storefront for applications both free and paid-for. So, given the open parameters of the Android platform, Handango is clearly taking the opportunity to piece together a formula for Android developers to market their items to any shoppers ready and willing to buy.

Through Handango, paid applications can be designated to be one-time purchases or subscription-based downloads, for monthly, quarterly, or annual revenue generation. Developers can sign up for accounts if they haven’t already. Existing registrants, such as builders of BlackBerry, Palm, and/or Windows Mobile solutions, can simply add Android apps to their accounts.

Some of the items expected to be delivered via Handango for Android users are EA Mobile’s “Tetris” and “Monopoly: Here & Now” titles; a Weather Channel application; Voice on the Go (email voice commands); ShopSavvy (barcode scanning); Par 72 Golf II; and Vegas Pool Sharks.

And not only will Handango provide the cloud space to deliver applications to site visitors. It also promises developers things such as search keywords, email marketing, and advertising. The company is even running a promotion for “the best free Android app and the best paid Android app” through to November 7, with winners receiving $25,000 in marketing credit, just to have things off to a running start.

For first-time buyers of the T-Mobile G1, Android Market is very likely to be the default venue for applications. That’s obviously enough. But as consumers recognize the option to venture outside that framework and instead search for applications from external sources (developer websites are a prime example), Handango will perhaps become increasingly noteworthy. If Handango had not taken the initiative to make this happen, it may well have lost out on the potential for a sizable portion of sales in the weeks and months to come. What’s more, it can position itself to cater to Android users with all manner of handsets as more and more choice of Android-enabled hardware arrives on the scene. It can serve users with special guidance and application review. With enough momentum, it could make for a surprisingly popular destination fairly quickly.

Source: buzzya.com

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