Swiss iPhone Programmer: Few deserve more than a bag of money

Posted by admin

July 4, 2009

From the gold rush around the iPhone applications have also many Swiss software developer can infect. But for most of the bill does not give up.

About 50,000 applications now advertise for the favor of the world’s 40 million iPhone users in the last nine months were 1 billion programs from the App Store are downloaded. A market which is more and more Swiss software developer lures. They dream of becoming a killer application on the market, with the big money can make. Because the dishwasher circulate stories abound on the Internet: The digital Music Instruments Ocarina is in less than a month have sold 400,000 time the manufacturer SMUL one million U.S. dollars in the till have flushed. The Australian company Fire mint participated in a few weeks with the game “Flight Control” half a million one.

“Swiss market is too small”

Even Swiss software developer’s gold rush: A variety of businesses and hobby programmers have iPhone applications as business discovered. The euphoria, however, differs most rapidly of disillusionment, even in the App Store does not grow the trees into the sky. “We are happy if we work with the sales of the cost of weather data can finance,” said Patrick Burkhalter, CEO of Ergon. The computer science iWeather company has developed a program that retrieves data from 70 weather stations in Switzerland over the iPhone brings. Since mid-March is in App Store for 5 francs 50 is replaced by, until now the software has been downloaded 4,500 times. Power of 25,000 francs, minus 30 percent, which Apple collects a commission. The bottom line is too little: “We make the experience that the Swiss market is too small to make money,” said Burkhalter. His company now works meticulously on software which Meteo fans worldwide will provide detailed forecasts.

“Not more than a small bag of money”

Among the three best-selling applications in Switzerland is currently the program “opening times”. Noidentity it has developed a Bernese Agency, in the three-time programmers developing iphone apps. The big money but they do not: “200 Download per day bring us no more than a nice bag money,” says the programmer Bernese Sandro Pennisi. In general, an application after a short time from the top 25 in the App Store - and thus also from the radar to the iPhone users. Disillusionment is also in Luzian Scherrer wide, with his company Neoos seven applications in the App store offers, among others the successful application LDAPeople contacts. He complains about the growing competition: “For small operators like us, it is increasingly difficult, with applications to earn money.” For long have the big companies in the entertainment industry discovered the market - and against them is often not an herb grown.

Golf rule bestseller sold also as i-app

But they also occur in Switzerland, those gold-diggers who will find a big nugget. The Zurich golf referee Yves Ton-That could be 500,000 times internationally sold book, “Golf Rules compact” by the Zurich iAgentur than IAPP program. A stroke of luck: Within four months, the worldwide application of more than 10,000 sold - at a premium price for iApps francs from 11. That sound is one of the few providers with a program to jump over the border there. The program already exists in English, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, and soon will sound That his “iGolfrules” even in Japanese offer.

“The iPhone application has been for us in any case worthwhile. PR Urpsrünglich as pure thought, it has become a delightful addition to business development, “says Clay That. Particularly in contrast to the high book sales distribution and warehousing costs will disappear. That sound is one of the few lucky Swiss, with an iPhone application money.

Programming