Google Play for Education: Developers now welcome

Google announced their intention to get into the education market last month during their I/O with Google Play for Education. Unfortunately, that was about all we saw of their service at the time as its been under wraps since then. Today, however, that changes as Google has put out the call for application submission for their education service.

© Google.com

As of today, developers that want their applications to be considered for Google’s educational storefront can mark them via the Play Developer Console.  One thing to take note, that unlike the normal Google Play Store and their “greenlight everything!” policy, Google will probably be a little more stringent on what passes on.  Each application that is marked to be used in the Google Play for Education store gets passed onto a third-party network of educators that performs a first-pass qualiftication of the apps. Not only that, all applications will need to follow the guidelines set out by Google.

 © Google.com

So, developers, do you think you’ve got something good for the K-12 environment?  The process follows a standard process: Test your app and ensure it’s optimized for Android tablets, upload your new/updated app, mark it for inclusion in Google Play for Education, and publish. The process itself should take about 3-4 weeks to complete. For more information on all the requirements, check out Google’s “Getting Started”.
And so, Google starts moving forward with their Educational portal, taking on the likes of Apple. While many schools would love to see the inclusion of modern technology into the classroom, they’re often constrained by tight budgets and other priorities.  Not only will this provide better options for teachers to use, but also provide them in a more affordable package and controls.

WWDC 2013: 50 billion iOS apps downloaded, $10 billion paid to developers

Apple as always started out its WWDC 2013 keynote with some interesting numbers about the company and about the App Store. The big number this year was way up in the billions: iOS users have downloaded 50 billion apps from the App Store. Additionally, there are over 900,000 apps in the App Store, and 375,000 of them are optimized for the iPad.

How are those developers doing? Pretty well in general terms. Apple has paid out a total of $10 billion to developers since the App Store opened. $5 billion was paid out just in the last year alone. According to Apple, that’s three times more than all other platforms combined. When looking at app download share by revenue, iOS takes 74 percent, Android takes 20 percent, and the collective category of “other” takes 6 percent.

Some other notable stats: there are 575 million registered iTunes accounts most of which have credit card information added. That’s up from the 400 million announced at WWDC 2012. Plus, last year, there were 650,000 apps in the App Store compared to over 900,000 today.

These are pretty good numbers so far. Apple does usually save the biggest ones for big keynotes. WWDC 2013 is only just beginning so stay tuned!

Microsoft reportedly paying developers $100,000 or more to build apps

Microsoft has slowly been catching up on filling the Windows Phone store with big-name apps, and according to Bloomberg Business week, that may be thanks to some financial encouragement. Microsoft is reportedly paying some companies $100,000 or more to build apps for its mobile OS. Though no specific apps are named, Microsoft has landed a number of favorites in just the last few months, including Pandora, Temple Run, and Jetpack Joyride. Of course, Temple Run's arrival came five months after Temple Run 2hit iOS.

Presumably, Microsoft's payment offer would be focused toward specific, high-profile developers only. The company is still running a separate program that offers each and every developer $100 per app submitted to the Windows Phone and Windows 8 stores. And while those efforts are beginning to pay off, Windows Phone's limited app offerings have continued to hamper it even as devices get better and better.