Birth of an Android App!
 

Hey guys!

I've just created an Android App called "The Sapphire Alliance"

If you can't guess what it is, it is basically an Android based interface for the popular "The Blue Alliance". It costs $1.
Some of the features are:

-Data pulled straight from TBA.
-Team search, this includes a team profile and it's match archives.
-Browse Events, this is a table of events from the selected year.
-General/Event match archives, the archive for an individual event, all matches
-Game manual, brings you to a Google doc that contains the manual, this will soon be local and require no connection (Next version)

The reason I've called the thread 'the BIRTH of an android app' is pretty obvious, the app is in a very immature, post beta state. If you are too lazy to read the description, here are some of the features to come:

-Live updates for competitions
-Faster loading times
-Off-line game manual
-Scouting sheet manager/maker
-Video Archive playback

Check it out when you can!

Thanks!,
Nick - Team Mercury - 1089

QR code:
http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?c...chemy.sapphire

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

You know what, I had the exact same idea last year, a way to fundraise. But I never obtained an android phone so I never ended up getting to do it. Well that seems helpful to others.


BTW any info on how much Google pockets from your profits?

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

Aw D: That sucks.

And Google pockets 30% -____-
And neither have I >_> It's secretly been on the market for a week, my friend's been testing it for me on his phone.
:P

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

Good luck with your sales, one suggestion I can make is make the GUI user friendly, I think that and the features them self will make it sell

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

Thank you :)
I need all the advice I can get, considering I know very little about the droid, nor do I have one haha

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

I would suggest that since the data you're pulling is from TBA, some of the proceeds get donated to TBA to support the extra bandwidth. It'll make your taxes less of a shock at the end of the year as well. Donate via whatever non-profit supports TBA (RECF maybe?) so you get an EIN for tax deduction. If successful, TBA may advertise the app, netting you more downloads ... it's a win-win with their support.

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

any reason you didn't release this as an ad supported free app? I know that I will not pay $1 for an app which is just an interface for a website, especially one that already has a mobile site. If it was add supported i would consider atleast trying it out.

I also agree that some of your proceeds should go to TBA, since TBA is ad supported and I assume you are bypassing their ads using their api.

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

$1 is a small price for an app (I bought MixZing for $7, I believe). But I'd like to know where the money is going towards, and how the app looks and works. It would help to post some screenshots and/or videos.

Currently, I can't find it in the Android Market. Running a custom 2.1 ROM for Motorola Cliq, but I don't think that would cause any issues, since I have the Paypal app (meaning copyprotected apps show up).

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

I agree with Greg... I'm not going to pay $1 for an app that is an interface to a website.

Also, consider that FRC Spyder is free and has several of the features your app has/will have.

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

Well, I'm only 16, I don't pay taxes :|

Also, thank you guys, I probably will make it free(with ads)

How much do I make off of them though? (Isn't it payed per click?)

Also, some of the money was going to the team, some for myself.

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

Paying taxes has nothing to do with age, but has to do with income and whether your parents claim you as a dependent (they probably do). More then likely, if you receive any money from your app, you will have to file a tax return, even though you will likely not have to pay taxes on it, unless you make several thousand dollars. You should consult with your parents and their tax adviser.

I'm not sure how the android market is set up, but they may even be reporting the payments they make to you to the IRS, which means it would be really easy for the IRS to know you didn't file a return.

I also read recently that some cities are requiring that people who sell apps have a business license. You should become familiar with the business license requirements for your city.

If that sounds like too much work, you could either make it a completely free app (earning income from ads may be the same thing from selling the app), or set something up from the team or school so that they receive the money, since they probably already have everything set up for taxes.

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

You will get a 1099 (or W2, or something like that) from Google. It would be a mistake to think you didn't need to at least file that form. Plus you would pay taxes if you gross over a certain amount in income, regardless of age. The IRS doesn't want parents laundering money through their children, thus even children have to pay taxes [after a certain amount].

Possibly a more relevant point though: I wonder if it's even legal for a sub-18 year old to officially post an app for purchase and receive money for it since you're technically not legally liable for any contract until you're 18. If it's your parents' cell phone plan, and the app is posted under that, then your parents may be liable for the taxes instead of you. I'm sure Google has something about that in their Terms of Service, so I'd read up on that if I were you.

I'm not knocking your app, entrepreneurial spirit, or business plan; rather I'm simply pointing out things you need to make sure are covered.

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

On top of what Joe said, don't be so concerned with making money right now. You're probably fairly new to software development. Use this app as a learning experience to sharpen and refine your skills.

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

Ah, I see. I've only been programming for a few years now, so yeah, It would make a pretty good learning experience rather than a fund raiser... hm.

So, now I am in a pickle. Hahaha.

Any suggestions on how I could get myself out of this?
And well, the Checkout acct. is signed under my parent's name, but the money goes to my student checking account.

I am definitely considering using adSense instead off charging $1 but I have to figure out the legality of that as well.

Hm.

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

I suggest you do the same thing as one of my co-workers. Let your app go for free and just get name recognizition.

Once you have that and some programming experience you will be able to sell apps. Some companies might try to hire you to make apps for them.

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

And with apps becoming more and more common these days, that's definitely a good goal to strive for.

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

Can we get some pictures?

Also (just curious) did write it in Java, or did you use app inventor? I don't know if app inventor is powerful enough to do what you have, since I program for iOS and not Android, but the concept of being able to create apps via an intuitive interface is a cool idea.

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

If your parents collect the revenue, then they can do whatever they want with it, such as give it to you.

However, do consider that your app essentially takes TBA, takes their ads off, and replaces them with your own. I would definitely talk to their development team and make sure that's okay.

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

Nah, I programmed it in java.
I don't believe there is an 'app inventor' for android.
I mean, there's an interface "viewer"/form designer styled thing but that just (poorly) writes xml for you.

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

There is. http://appinventor.googlelabs.com/about/

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

There is (Austin posted it above me), but for the purposes of this app, you're better off writing it the way you did. The App Inventor is a bit limited in what it can do, though it is very cool nonetheless.

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

I saw :C but, Really?
It's just my opinion, but I hate things like that >_<.
Kinda takes away from the glory of being a programmer :P (Lol, conceit), although, it is limited... and doesnt "allow for much logic" (yeah, i googled it).

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

Eh, it's a great place to start for those that aren't programmers. I first learned PHP/HTML/CSS by playing around with forum and CMS software. Same thing can happen with App Inventor.

As I stated, you're better off just programming it in your IDE/whatever. By the way, I'm not a fan of GUI programming either. ;)

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

QFT! :D

ALSO, THE APP IS NOW FREE - I talked to the owner of TBA and he didn't mind, but he did give some good points, and I've decided to make it free :D.

The updates/new features are still promised!

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

thank god, I was still waiting on my PO to be approved

Re: Birth of an Android App!
 

I may be a bit biased, but whatever.

I'm glad you decided to make the app free. In its current state, it certainly isn't worth $1 in my eyes. I actually found TBA's mobile site easier to navigate and faster to load.

Consider this some constructive criticism...

• Your app has a big problem with scrolling, in that most of the time it doesn't work on my phone. When I loaded the matches for an event, I had trouble seeing more than what was on my screen. When I actually got it to scroll down, I couldn't scroll up anymore.
• It also does not behave as I'd expect with respect to the back button. The standard behavior for the back button is to take you back one screen, not exit the app. You should not have a separate "soft" back button in your app, use the one that's already on the phone, that's why it's there.
• For the limited amount of information that you're showing on the screen, the user should not be forced to scroll left & right.
• Put the team search box & button on the top of the screen so the user does not have to hit the back button to get rid of the soft keyboard in order to click the search button.
• The ">>" button on the team page has no implicit meaning. How do I know that it will take me to the event results?