Comments on: MobiHand, New Multi-Platform Software Portal Debuts

MobiHand, today announced the first module of the MobiReach Suite, a new multi-platform online portal for mobile software. The site is focused on carrying best in class mobile software and offers all software developers better commission rates.

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First Post!

dmacdonald95 @ 12/7/2004 8:09:03 PM #

:-) How do you purchase stuff from this system, if anyone wants to shed some light on it? Can I do it from my Desktop? Do I require a Palm Web Browser? I have lots of questions :P

Palm Zire -> Palm Zire 31

Big whoop

mclove @ 12/8/2004 12:36:14 AM #

29% commission? And this is supposed to be GOOD? Shaving a few percentage points off of the PG/Handango rate doesn't make it any less ridiculous - credit card / PayPal still runs 2.5% or less and 27.5% of gross sales buys an awful lot of advertising.

On top of which, they're offering an introductory 10% discount on everything, the lion's share of which no doubt comes out of the developer's pocket.

RE: Big whoop

pmjoe @ 12/8/2004 5:27:36 AM #

Yeah, I have to agree. The rates from these handheld software portals are highway robbery. I did a quick search, but I think it's only 5% on Amazon.com, plus $40/month. So, I think if you sold 16 or more a month, you'd be ahead (sorry if my quick math is off here). Not for the really small time vendors, but this site is supposed to be the "best of" apps.

I mean what services do these companies seriously think they are providing that is worth 29%-45% of the sale price??? It's a web site, good grief! Anyone who's developed a Palm app ought to know better than to fall for this kind of rip-off. I can't off the top of my head think of another market where the commission rate is this high, but maybe I'm just not that knowledgeable in this area. Seems like 20% would be the MAXIMUM.

Aren't there any "free" sites out there to support this kind of thing? Just a database of handheld software that links people to the author's website and let the authors use PayPal other other means to handle payment.

I'd strongly encourage all Palm OS users out there to buy direct from the authors whenever possible instead of allowing this kind of rip-off to occur. There ought to be boycotts of the worst offenders with regards to high commission rates. Otherwise, we're just going to chase away the small-time and hobbyist developers that make the Palm OS great.

RE: Big whoop

pmjoe @ 12/8/2004 5:56:33 AM #

> if you sold 16 or more a month

sorry, I was using a $10 app as a base for this.

RE: Big whoop

mclove @ 12/8/2004 9:42:03 AM #

Well I'll admit that if this site were to spend massive amounts on advertising and limit its pool of developers to a very small group (this "best-of-breed" idea seems likely to be short-lived), that might be worth a larger percentage of sales, just like when PalmGear charged 20% it didn't really seem all that unreasonable since it was a lot easier to get your product noticed on their site. A genuinely dedicated marketing partner can do wonders for one's sales. But unfortunately I think it looks like these guys are just trying to get in on the very lucrative racket that Handango and PalmGear are currently running. And as long as the competition between these sites is over customers rather than developers, it's doubtful we'll see much of a move towards lowering rates.

BTW, there are actually quite a few reasonably-priced download catalogs out there, they just don't seem to be very popular among Palm users - CNET Download.com for example offers most of the basic catalog features that PalmGear does but charges a flat $80/year (and offers a pay-for-performance advertising option as opposed to PalmGear's fixed monthly fees). It's not too popular in the US but it gets me a lot of sales in Asia for some reason.

Best-of-Breed?

Strider_mt2k @ 12/8/2004 6:21:40 AM #

"The online software catalog consisting of only best-of-breed applications..."

What exactly is the criteria used to determine this "best-of-breed" designation?

RE: Best-of-Breed?

Gar @ 12/8/2004 9:26:51 AM #

Does Best-of-Breed and no clutter mean no 'Freeware'?
What all the review sites complain about the competition is software being listed as new or updated when it isn't. I would hope these folks have put some muscle behind watching for this.
What advertising are they going to do? Anyone can put a site up to sell software, but if you can't bring the customers then any percent they charge is too much.

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My wife has to sell a lot of candles (www.ccandles.com) to buy her new Palm.