Alternatives to Google Play

MarcTG · Nov 29, 2014

daniel69 said:
Interesting discussion!

My experience

a) Paid apps:
- Good: Samsung App Store, Amazon App Store, Google Play
- Waste of time: others

b) Free apps:
- Good: Samsung App Store, Google Play
- Fair: Amazon App Store, GetJar
- Waste of time: others

I agree on the issues about Opera (incoerent counting) and SlideMe (questionable competence of reviewers).

I also had a bad experience with InMobi (service similar to Codengo, now shut down) where they claimed to be able to submit to a lot of stores but the process of approval was a pain with poor results (delayed, bad or no app appearance in stores)

How did you signup to Samsung? I've tried several times but they kept asking me for something (like a reference) that I could never figure out.

daniel69 · Dec 1, 2014

I just signed up as a private seller about 1 year ago, and had no problems....

MarcTG · Dec 1, 2014

daniel69 said:
I just signed up as a private seller about 1 year ago, and had no problems....

Ok I just tried it again and was able to signup, the error message i was getting few month ago is gone. Now i tried adding an application and i am stuck under application category field. I have main category selected, but no options to select anything there

It won't let me submit unless I choose a category... if I choose a galaxy special it won't go through since i have no galaxy special content in my apk

daniel69 · Dec 1, 2014

Hi Marc! See the following link
http://developer.samsung.com/forum/...p/202/269998?boardName=General&startId=zzzzz~
In short: my apps where submitted before July 2014, after to submit new apps you need to include the Galaxy SDK.

MarcTG · Dec 1, 2014

daniel69 said:
Hi Marc! See the following link
http://developer.samsung.com/forum/...p/202/269998?boardName=General&startId=zzzzz~
In short: my apps where submitted before July 2014, after to submit new apps you need to include the Galaxy SDK.

Thanks a lot for the info Daniel!! I know that we can do that with B4a's latest version. I just haven't tried it...

You got my interest in that appstore when you mentioned that you got good downloads from them. I own lots of Samsung devices but i have never really had much interest in using their appstore, i am surprised that other people do.

WAZUMBi · Dec 2, 2014

Hi Marc! See the following link
http://developer.samsung.com/forum/...p/202/269998?boardName=General&startId=zzzzz~
In short: my apps where submitted before July 2014, after to submit new apps you need to include the Galaxy SDK.

Off topic (a little) - Has anyone created a library for the Samsung Galaxy SDK?
I've tried but really haven't had the time to focus on it.

Douglas Farias · Dec 4, 2014

For those who is lazy to submit your apps to alternative markets, you can try CodeNgo (www.codengo.com). They will help you to submit to 33 stores! They even can help you to translate your app to another language. I tried them before when it still free. Now they charge a small fee but I think it worth.

@susu codengo its safe? i really need put my username/email and password of all stores?

what the condengo win with this? its very strange

susu · Dec 16, 2014

Douglas Farias said:
@susu codengo its safe? i really need put my username/email and password of all stores?

what the condengo win with this? its very strange

For new markets that you never used, they will create new account and tranfer all info to you. For Google Play, I think you just keep your account.
They're doing service with monthly fee so I think it's not strange.

hookshy · Dec 29, 2014

2 weeks
Mobango - 14 installs
Slide me - 175 installs
Opera - 30 installs

had no major problems publishing the app

sorex · Dec 31, 2014

do you have to pay $25 on all of these to get your app addded?

hookshy · Dec 31, 2014

No its free

daniel69 · Jan 22, 2015

My experience (update):

I've cheked the downloads reported by the Opera Store: according to the stats of my ad providers they are wrong (about 100 times greater): maybe they count the number of page openings, but not downloads for sure!

hookshy · Jan 22, 2015

If you use parse library to track installs then for sure you will see how stuff works with opera or any other market

daniel69 · Jan 22, 2015

Thanks .. I'll try it!

MarcTG · Jun 11, 2015

Just thought I'd share this with you guys. Nick Davies of Airpush shared with me a document that they had put together on alternatives to Google play. Here's the files:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/p292i20hjwsx8rc/Airpush's Guide to Third-Party App Stores.pdf?dl=0

WAZUMBi · Jun 12, 2015

MarcTG said:
Just thought I'd share this with you guys. Nick Davies of Airpush shared with me a document that they had put together on alternatives to Google play. Here's the files:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/p292i20hjwsx8rc/Airpush's Guide to Third-Party App Stores.pdf?dl=0

Impressive list.
One of the main problems with most of these 'alternative' app stores is that they require an active Google Play account.
Then for most they go one of two ways:

- You 'claim' your app and they import your information from Google Play and simply provide a download link from Google.

- You still have to 'claim' your app and they verify that it is on Google Play. You can then either import your information or enter it yourself and upload a custom APK for their specific store.

Opera, Amazon, Aptiode, Mobango, Applibs, and Yandex are some of the best true alternatives for independent developers.
SlideMe is a good one as well however they can be extremely difficult to work with as they are very picky about the apps they approve.
GetJar is another one but frankly I can't figure out their interface and developer console.
I have been checking out soc.io however it literally takes them a month to approve each app.

One alternative that you may consider is downloads.com from CNET.

MarcTG · Jun 12, 2015

WAZUMBi said:
Impressive list.
One of the main problems with most of these 'alternative' app stores is that they require an active Google Play account.
Then for most they go one of two ways:

- You 'claim' your app and they import your information from Google Play and simply provide a download link from Google.

- You still have to 'claim' your app and they verify that it is on Google Play. You can then either import your information or enter it yourself and upload a custom APK for their specific store.

Opera, Amazon, Aptiode, Mobango, Applibs, and Yandex are some of the best true alternatives for independent developers.
SlideMe is a good one as well however they can be extremely difficult to work with as they are very picky about the apps they approve.
GetJar is another one but frankly I can't figure out their interface and developer console.
I have been checking out soc.io however it literally takes them a month to approve each app.

One alternative that you may consider is downloads.com from CNET.

Which of app stores have asked you to confirm a Google Play account?

Are you getting downloads from applibs and mobogenie?

Getjar has unusual requirements (icon size, image size, etc...)

What about downloads.com? Are you getting any downloads from their site?

By the way, I still have not figured out how opera mobile stores works as a user. On my Android phone, I can't find my apps if I search for them. Seems like the only way to find them is on a pc... If I do that and scan the QR code it sends me to Google Play.

sorex · Jun 12, 2015

thanks, @MarcTG

MarcTG · Jul 3, 2015

I got an interesting update concerning the Opera mobile store. I've been always critical of the number of downloads from the store (which are not accurate) but I've recently uploaded some new lwps and noticed a boost in installs (which I track when someone installs my apps). Installs are coming mostly from: inst/com.nokia.nstore

Opera has become the official store for the Nokia X devices (which were discontinued last year but are still being sold).
So to find how my apps would work on the Nokia devices I ordered a Nokia X from amazon... The Nokia X2 supports most of android apps including lwps, the other devices the X and XL are more limited in functionality.

One mistake I found that most developers are making is that they keep their market links from Google play, which do not work on those devices. Links to apps do work though... So on Opera:

This works: http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appname

This doesn't work: market://search?q=publisher
instead copy your opera link from your internet browser

As for Ads, it seems that most are none yielding... So other than Airpush SDK2 I am not sure how to monetize from free apps on such devices.

Since the Nokia X has been discontinued, it would be interesting to see how that will affect downloads on Opera in the future...

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