Today I submitted a simple app (project 1, very simple app for learning purposes) to the Windows Phone Marketplace.  I am now porting it over to Android, so that I can compare the two when it comes to earnings, downloads, ease of use etc.  I will probably do the same for the iPhone (if I can lay my hands on a mac at a decent second hand price).

I just wanted to start a thread so that I can update you all with the results as I go along, as well as see how the balance of power shifts as time goes by.

I am going to start on Project 2 once I have done this initial learning-trial.  So, if there is anything you would like me to report on, please let me know.

Good luck. This sounds interesting so please keep us informed.

Ok Initial learning trial over.  I didn't get hold of a mac, so for the time being this is just a Windows Phone and Android experiment.

Thoughts so far -

Windows Phone
Pros:
Free and easy to use development tools.
Great debugging features.
Simple versioning (though this might just be because it is a young platform).
Great learning resources.
Great testing with a full failure report.
Easy integration of the ads sdk.

Cons:
7 day wait to get through the approval process (see above though, this might actually be a good thing).  If you fail it is another 7 days...
Poor reporting tools (MS seem to be working on these)
High developer account cost (coompared to Android)


Android
Pros:
Free development tools.
Plenty of 3rd party tutorials and books around.
Low developer fee.
Fast access into the market (20mins).

Cons:
Fast market access means that there is a lot of crap in there, plus you MUST make sure your app is solid or you will get it in the reviews.
Painful (compared to MS) integration of ads.
Debugging tools could be better.


Project 1 App has been released on both platforms within 24hrs.  I don't expect it to do much as it was simply a test to see how the processes worked, but will report back with a head to head if there is any movement. 

I will start work on Project 2 App within the next couple of days.

Overall, I am enjoying it.  I also have a headache.

So, it has been a while since I updated this.  I have been very busy with client work, so have had little free time.  That is not such a bad thing though as it has given me time to reflect on ideas etc.

Since I put up my simple little calculator app has been downloaded 202 times from google play, and 55 times from the windows market.  That is about the ratio I was expecting.  It made a massive $0.13, so I am off on holiday! 

One interesting point is that people only seem review/rate the app if they either love it, or hate it so much that they want to kill you. 

The Windows phone app seems to run fine without problems, however the android version has different problems on different devices.  I tested the android app on 4 phones with 3 different builds of android, and all were fine. So, it is very difficult to pinpoint what the issues might be.  I didn't get hold of a mac to try an iphone version, and probably won't bother now.

I am now working on a little ad supported game. I have a very basic outline done for both android and windows phone, but I am going to just work on the windows version for now as it is just slowing me down doing both.

Aside from the actual app I am also putting together a webservice which will handle high scores, points/coins collected, messages and a whole load of stats about the devices used, playing times etc.  I should be able to use this for any future apps on any platform.  The idea is to build up data to show that there is value in the player numbers and to send in game messages to encourage people to share the game, try our other games etc.

Thanks for the report.

I was just thinking about putting something out via Andromo just to check out the process.

With apps, the ones I have noticed seem to do well from a financial point of view is the apps that do the best are the ones that hook users with the free download and then upsell addons to them so you may want to integrate this into your base code when planning the game if you aren't already.

Good luck please keep us updated and let me know when the android game is available, my son is always wanting me to download new games  !

With any app on which ever platform, to make the mega bucks you need to focus on getting the app featured, and that involves a bit of brown nosing.
A friend of mine created and manages the Mensa app and said over night his app went from medioka to a raging success all because it was featured. But then it did help having a well known brand name behind him.

Be interesting in the out come. Keep us update