Android Market has its problems, but it generates $10k a month for one developer

The Android Market has had plenty of stories written about its woeful set-up and relatively poor returns. However, a recent blog post from Arron La, developer of Advanced Task Manager, shows that Android has grown into a viable revenue stream.

After we saw how well Android was doing for Car Locator, we now know that the paid version of Advanced Task Manager generated $18,060 in 2009 and $30,400 so far in 2010. Since November 2009, AdMob revenues in the free version generated $28,640 as of August. That’s a little over $77,000 of revenue from one app.

Impressive, but what’s really interesting about La’s story is the patterns that lead to the revenue:

ATM sold for $0.99 and La believes he could have increased the price to earn even more money
The Android 1.6 version of the Market brought a bump in sales thanks to the improved design, focus on featured apps, and a Top Paid apps section. This is important since there are many phones still on Android 1.5 with no upgrade in sight. That puts a serious damper on earning potential for Android developers.
The Droid is what took Android to the next level. We already knew this based on previous metrics, but La anecdotally reports that “revenue picked up significantly when the Droid Verizon was released.” More new phones means more new Android users.
The Market sucks (my words, not La). La echoes a frustration we’ve heard from several developers who field e-mails from users unable to download apps or people frustrated that paid apps aren’t available in their country. The Market is in desperate need of stabilization and easier payment options.

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