3 successful apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace

What and why?

Den DelimarskyWindows Phone Development MVP

Sophomore @ Independence Community College in Independence, KS

Windows Phone Development MVP Microsoft Student Insider MSP Social Media Team (Hi Michelle!) Channel9 Coding4Fun Article Contributor DZone Technical Editor

Developing for Windows Phone since the pre-release bits of the SDK.

Who am I?

25,000+ applications 90% - Silverlight-based, 10% - XNA-based Micro-publishers (1-5 apps) – largest

contributors to the Marketplace (43% - 11,500+ apps)

Top applications – mostly developed by micro-publishers

Current Marketplace

Partial statistics from:http://justinangel.net/WindowsPhone7MarketplaceStatistics

Top Free

Top Paid

PhysiBricks

2929 reviews 4.5 stars (out of 5) Simple Addictive

PhysiBricks

http://bitly.com/wpbricks

Free Ringtones

258 ratings 4.5 stars (out of 5) Uses the new Mango ringtone capabilities Saves people time on creating their own

ringtones from media content they own Ringtones are free (usually media

marketplaces charge for those – e.g. iTunes) Compensates for the lack of such functionality

in the Zune Marketplace Challenge for the developer – legality of the

shared content

Free Ringtones

http://bitly.com/wpringtones

Solitaire

3977 ratings 4.5 stars (out of 5) Familiar game to many users Simple controls (drag-drop)

Solitaire

http://bitly.com/wpsolitaire

Fill a gap in the platform Research the demand for specific

content/pass time Implement an older concept in a new

wrapper Make sure the app is simple Don’t make the potential user spend a lot of

time learning the idea and workflow of the app

Key To Success (possible)

A successful application is not necessary a revenue generator

Plenty of apps in the Marketplace – popular, free and ad-free (e.g. Facebook, 4th and Mayor, ConnectivityShortcuts)

Succesful app != money maker

Don’t focus on the money generated by the app from the very beginning

Of course – depends on the type of the application developed

Create something unique Maintain the developer reputation Consider the reviews – ALWAYS Update the application

Focus on the right things

Chances of doing it from the first shot:

Can I be an overnight success?

~0.01%

Created 51 apps before Angry Birds Average cost to develop a major app -

$35,000 Persistent market push (more apps – more

odds of succeeding) Smart market push – learn from the

mistakes and customer feedback Luck

Short case study - Rovio

Statistics source:http://dailyartifacts.com/52-times-is-the-charm-for-angry-birds

Questions? Suggestions? Thoughts?

Twitter: @DennisCode Blog: http://dennisdel.com Email: ddelimarsky@live.com

Thank you!