Motorola Droid may actually be a series of new Android phones
While everyone is getting excited about the new Motorola Droid, it is beginning to appear it is possibly more of a brand name than the name of just one handset. Android is slowly popping up on more and more handsets, and while it was a given that a handset named "Droid" was going to be sporting the Google OS, the surprising news is that it appears it isn’t just one handset. According to both Android Central and Engadget, the first phone in the Droid line will be the Droid Eris from Verizon, and it could appear as early as Nov. 6th. However, it was originally believed that Droid was going to only be on Verizon, but MobileCrunch has confirmed there is a version also going to AT&T that will be sporting 3G support. With Android popping up on more and more phones, and only 10,000 apps in the Android store so far, there’s still time for developers to get on the Android bandwagon before it explodes even wider. 
Volkswagon launches a new car model backed only by the advertising of an iPhone app
Volkswagon is preparing to launch a new model of its GTI line, and instead of following normal advertising avenues, it will be supported solely by an iPhone app. Instead of spending millions of dollars on filming a television ad, and then spending hundreds of thousands on a 30-second ad most people will zip right by on their DVR, Volkswagon is testing the waters of putting all their ad money into an iPhone and iPod Touch racing game application. According to AdvertisingAge, there seems to be a lot of logic following this route which appears to be a closed environment.
How cost efficient? When the marketer introduced the GTI in 2006, it spent $60 million on a big-budget blitz with lots of network TV. By comparison, an executive familiar with the matter estimates the annual budget for mobile AOR services is $500,000. And while an iPhone-only strategy may seem limiting, consider this: In September, Apple reported there are more than 50 million iPhone and iPod touch customers worldwide. By comparison, CBS’ "NCIS," the most-watched show for week ending Oct. 18, reached 21 million viewers and commands an average price of $130,000 for a single 30-second spot.
It still seems a little shaky to us as the demographics won’t be as broad as they could reach with television and other forms of traditional media, but someone had to be the guinea pig for this type of project, and this seems as good an option as any other. 
The million dollar club of app developers does indeed exist
In an ever growing sea of over 80,000 applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch, is anyone getting rich? Well, these apps may not be making their developers rich, per se, but there are at least a few that have gotten to the million dollar sales level. Douglas MacMillan of BusinessWeek discovered that several apps have passed, or are nearly at, the million dollar sales level while researching a fascinating article about the app economy. Lets see if you can spot the trends here:
- Enigmo – $2.5 million in sales
- F.A.S.T. – $1.8 million in sales
- Ocarina – $1.3 million in sales
- I Am T-Pain – $1.1 million in sales
- Roller-Coaster Rush – $1.1 million in sales
- Flick Fishing – $1 million in sales
- Ragdoll Blaster – $950,000 in sales
Apparently if you keep iPhone and iPod Touch users amused with games or something that resembles music, but really isn’t, you can rake in the cash. Notice there are no utilities, no navigation, nothing productive, this list is all about keeping the users entertained either with high-end games, or some really silly novelties like I Am T-Pain. Some definite food for thought before you go developing your next application. 
Palm saying webOS devices for the USA and Europe for now
It seems that Palm is not interested in taking its webOS-based devices to a global scale just quite yet. PreCentral had heard reports that the Palm Pre would be cropping up sometime in the near future in Australia, but a reader of the site named Jason contacted Palm and received the following reply:
At this moment in time, we do not yet have any plans to launch the Palm Pre or any of our new WebOS products in Asia Pacific. Our focus right now is to establish a strong presence in North America and Europe. However, we do not discount the possibility of offering this new range of products at a later date. It is therefore not a rumor that Palm has significantly reduced its presence in the region to one of operational support to our existing customers requiring our in-warranty services and technical support for our sold products. I assure you Jason that our products will come to this region one day but it won’t be that soon.
PreCentral has confirmed the contents of this email, and that just makes it that much more depressing, especially for app developers working with the Pre. As opposed to the iPhone & iPod Touch, developers working with webOS are not getting access to the entire planet. This could end up being a real catch-22 for Palm as apps are becoming more and more important to the life of an operating system, but if a developer can’t get global support, will they really want to develop for it? It’s admirable that Palm wants to roll this out at a manageable pace, but if they take too long, it could be the end of them. 
AdMob getting more bullish about Android
In a blog post of the same name, AdMob has declared they are getting bullish about the Android OS. In September, AdMob saw its impressions from Android powered phones jump to 17 percent from the 13 percent the OS enjoyed in August. After the advertising company surveyed Android users, they found that they are just as excited about applications as iPhone users, but they do tend to stay away from paid apps more than their Apple counterparts. With 12 Android phones already in the marketplace, and more coming (Droid, anyone?), it is only set to keep growing, and the sooner you start working on your Android apps, the better.
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