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Comment by wmt | Hacker News Reader

I'd really want this article to be true and that developing for Android first would be an equally good strategy. However, the claim that IOS-first is irrational is just dishonest. While Android total money spent in apps is gaining, iOS has been a solid leader for its entire history. Every decision to go for Apple first has been a correct one.

This is perfectly summed up by the first comment on the page: "All I know is that my $3.99 iOS app outsells my $3.99 Android app 5-10:1"

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Hi, i'm the author. The point i was trying to make is that all we know is that we're looking at an incomplete picture. App store revenue is by far not the only way to make money with an app - i use CRM apps as an example, but many SaaS platforms have a supporting app, and we're not measuring that revenue at all. Neither are we measuing ad revenue.

But i agree, there's lots of anecdotal evidence either way :)

Can you provide me an example where it makes sense for a startup to produce software for free to support some commercial software they don't own?

If they're bankrolled by the commercial product's vendor, aren't they really a contract programming shop, not a startup?

I suspect there is a big difference between independent developers, software houses, rapid growth startups and bigger corporations when it comes to making mobile apps.

The article addresses itself towards startups. I would imagine that growth is more important than selling an app for a price. For a small company selling apps, selling apps would be their income.

The article focuses on the money, but argues about the pain points and technology bubble, which isn't a compelling argument when $3.99 apps do sell better.

> This is perfectly summed up by the first comment on the page:

That comment, without looking the app, don't say anything

Case by case basis can never be conclusive. SwiftKeyX had a massive success on Android ( waiting to see how it performs on iOS 8).

Reading whole comment thread suggest that the author of comment might be a Apple fan boy who felt stepped on his toes.

That might be true, but what effect does that have on his sales? Unless we call in to question the veracity of his claim because of bias, the fact that he may be a raging fanboy doesn't weigh much on me.

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