Beyond Google’s walled garden of the play store — there lie a host of different online stores where you can get apps you never heard about and cash for the apps you planned to download! Take a look at their reach over the last few months.
For once Amazon isn’t on top of the pile.
Yes, Google’s Play Store is in nearly a 100% of Indian smartphones. As it should be — they pretty much re-shaped the entire ecosystem. Before Google, manufacturers like Nokia controlled the market. Blackberries were few and far between — in the hands of the rich kids & the ‘corporate cool’. We hadn’t even thought about smartphones or Apps back then.
As a large company, Google must play by the rules and have guidelines for everything. There are certain things that they just cannot do. Leaving opportunities that are too small for them but large enough for us mere mortals to chase. One of these is 9 Apps.
What do they offer & why do so many people use them?
- International Releases — If an App has not been released in India, it’s not available to you and I through the play store. 9 Apps doesn’t have those problems. Spotify, for example, is available for download on 9Apps but you won’t find it on the PlayStore. (You’re welcome)
- Paid Apps for free –There are paid apps on the play store which are available free on 9Apps. For Eg. You could get a game called Hitman Go for Free on 9Apps instead of spending Rs. 80 on the play store. Or you could get WWE 2K for free instead of spending Rs. 550 on the play Store.(No, I don’t play any of these games; I just know they exist)
- Free Apps for money — They also run their own version of incentivized downloads from time to time where you get coupons or money for downloading apps.
For someone like me, most of these features don’t get me across the line. Well, maybe #1 is useful.
For many people however, Apps = Entertainment (and Time Pass). This is a real investment; they think about how much they’ve invested in terms of data and want to maximize their bang for the buck. Most of us don’t think of our product like that.
This is a model similar to the one that AppsDaily started with, in 2009. They, of course, were focused on creating an offline distribution chain for mobile applications. Since then they’ve pivoted to a mobile security & insurance company.
Who would’ve thought then that the internet would find its way into so many phones as fast as it has; hindsight is 20:20. But the openness to pivot and stay nimble is critical.
Thanks for your time,
Ashish
- Team KG
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You can reach me on ashish@kalagato.com
