Yep, it’s still happening. You can still become a millionaire on the iPhone without a marketing budget and a brand name. Occipital, the company behind RedLaser [iTunes Link], has struck gold with its barcode-scanning iPhone app. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s much harder to be an indie developer on the iPhone these days. The App Store is riddled with brands and much of the Top 50 selling apps are backed by marketing/PR budgets or legacy users (meaning they’ve been on the store since the beginning, and have an install base that can boost future app sales via cross-promotion). In fact, almost every developer I talk to nowadays says the App Store has become increasingly difficult, and that it would be “impossible to get noticed” if you just stuck your app in the store. Well, if you create a good enough product on the App Store, people will come, and they came to buy RedLaser – in droves.
RedLaser has been in the top 5 of the App Store paid apps for 3 months now, and got there without any advertising or marketing whatsoever. Co-Founder Jeff Powers says that though the app hit the market in May, it wasn’t getting any traction. After releasing an update to the app which made it “actually work”, according to Jeff, they saw a dramatic increase in sales. This was despite the fact that they did nothing different upon the re-launch and got almost zero press pickup when they updated the app. The hypothesis is that this came entirely from word-of-mouth sales, which is probably a good bet. Who wouldn’t want to show off to their friends the cool new barcode-scanning price-checking app on their phone? The chart below shows exactly how sales ramped up upon release of the update.
The staggering sales RedLaser was getting didn’t stop anytime soon – they rolled through October, November and now half of December without ever leaving the top 5 apps on the store. It’s common for apps to hit the top 10 and stay there for a bit, but 3 months is an extremely long run. We’ll see if they can keep it up through the post-Holiday app frenzy. Regardless, TechStars startup and indie developer Occipital has shown that if you make a great product, users will still buy it.
With just two employees, Occipital has managed to rake in well over $1M for their $2 app, and are selling roughly 6,000 units a day. They are also getting strong press pickup due to the holiday buying season, with a feature on Martha Stewart Living earlier this week and as part of a front-page article on WSJ.com. They’ve seen more than a 1,000 sale bump recently, which they attribute to the Martha Stewart TV show.
RedLaser does a fantastic job of scanning barcodes on curved surfaces and in poorly-lit areas. I had a bit of trouble taking a picture of some barcodes because I have an awfully unsteady hand, but that was fixed by putting my elbow against my chest. RedLaser provides product search data from a products database called TheFind and nutritional facts from DailyBurn. The product database scans the stores near you (along with any online stores) to help you compare prices between what you’re buying online and what is available locally. It works well, though it sucks that the database has no mom and pop stores because they often don’t link to the product search companies’ databases.
On top of RedLaser, there are 12 apps on the store that are powered by the barcode scanning technologies, including Good Guide, GroceryIQ, Corks and others. They get around $0.10 per download of those apps as well, which is a nice recurring revenue stream as more apps integrate their barcode scanning technology.
Jeff stressed that Occipital is a mobile computer vision company and that we would see even cooler things from them in the future. In the meantime, take a look at RedLaser on the App Store and make sure you’re getting the best price on your holiday purchases.
“I had a bit of trouble taking a picture of some barcodes because I have an awfully unsteady hand, but that was fixed by putting my elbow against my chest”
Would you be kind and post a picture of you putting your elbow against your chest? :-)
Not just an unsteady hand, an amazing flexible one too. :)
Haha – Touche…
If Android’s ShopSavvy was a paid app, then I wonder how much they’d be making? the barcode OCR on the android is open source as well. See http://code.google.com/p/zxing/ . does this mean Android apps are harder to monetize because there are already so many useful libraries?
What’s even more interesting is that one of the first barcode scanning applications was written for Android. I recall the winner of the Google’s Development Challenge wrote an app that did this few years back.
http://jsharkey.org/blog/2008/05/10/winner-of-google-developer-challenge/
It certainly seems that iPhone seems to be a better platform for the “if you build it they will come” mentality. At least for now.
AFAIK, all Android barcode apps are no-cost
Seems to me that some folks seem to jump on every opportunity to make the iPhone platform seem ‘better’ for devs. It’s unseemly.
I definitely agree that Android will do extremely well long-term, but the iPhone platform IS better for devs right now – at least devs who want to make money.
I think there is a serious question here as to what constitutes “better” in this context.
From one perspective, having an OS that does not provide simple functionality is quite a bit “better” for a company who takes some open source code, throws together a version for a particular device in a weekend, compiles it, and then makes a million dollars. That is pretty much an optimal situation for a developer looking to make a quick buck off of very little work. Of course, from that perspective, the “best” phone, from a developer perspective is the one with the fewest features, since that leaves the most low hanging fruit.
From the perspective of a developer trying to make a more complicated app that uses said base functionality, however, that is pretty much the worst possible scenario. It requires you to either have to code the functionality from the ground up, or tell your users they have to install someone else’s paid software to use yours, and then the functionality of your app is dependent on the update schedule of a third-party developer. From this perspective, the best platform is the device with the most complete featureset, with a well documented API to all the tools. It doesn’t leave as much low hanging fruit, but it provides a reliable set of base features developers can build on.
Lee,
I am not sure whether your are referring to the app in the article, but in case you are, neither RedLaser nor pic2shop were thrown together in a week-end. It was the result of months of intense, high-risk, work to make it work on the iPhone 3G (without autofocus).
I don’t believe there is that kind of low-hanging fruit on any platform any more.
Benoit,
I am talking in general terms. What I am saying could be applied to any number of programs on any number of platforms. The number of paid document converters and viewers, simple games and standalone wrappers for mobile websites would attest to there still being plenty of low-hanging fruit out there on pretty much all mobile platforms.
That said, a barcode reader isn’t exactly the most difficult application to code, especially given the ready availability of open source code for just about every language to give you a good idea how to do it. I have no idea if the Zebra Crossing Objective C code was used in RedLaser, but I know that looking it over sure gives you a pretty good starting point for how to make an app like this.
The thing about the Android app is that it’s not actually useful. No one gives a rat’s ass about scanning barcodes. They care about comparing prices.
If the android app had the same easy price comparison features as the iphone app then people would be all over it.
It’s a consistent failing of the open-source community. They don’t realize that consumers only care about how the app is useful–the technology itself is ignored.
Just out of curiosity Ben, which android app are you talking about? Are you talking about Zebra Crossing, which is just a base library for other apps to use, or Shop Savvy, which was doing everything “the iPhone apps” do now, since the launch of the G1, or are you talking about Google Goggles, which does more than any barcode app on the iPhone?
Or the Amazon.com app, which also does barcodes? Or CompareEverywhere…oh wait, that became ShopSavvy. And yes, Ben apparently doesn’t know Android phones did price comparisons by barcode even before there were Android phones. (And way before the iPhone even could do anything of the sort.) And Andora. And NexTag.
And there are the market segment-specific apps, the ones that just do outdoor equipment or records or whatever. And the shopping list/budget apps that log your purchases via scans. (Hell, there’s at least one app just to sell used books online via barcode scans.) And the country-by-country apps for region-specific products.
And then there’s ixMAT Scanner, for the industry-standard base alternative to Zebra Crossing, and everything based off that.
And then there are the ton of apps that scan stuff like barcoded customer loyalty cards so you don’t have to carry the physical cards around any more.
And then there are the Asian barcode games. And the app sharing/recommend barcode reading and generating apps. And the apps that return nutritional information on food when you scan barcodes.
Oh, and then there are a half-dozen, at least, apps that just launch Bittorrent searches and start downloads for you at home, based on barcode scans.
And of course, since Ben mistakenly believes that barcode scanning originated on the iPhone and that the one thing you can use it for there is the only use anybody’d ever need – otherwise it would been Invented Here – he has no idea what all those QR codes are for in app reviews and whatnot at Android sites – like ours, Android & Me, Android Guys, etc. Those are for getting the app directly from the Android Market, Ben.
’cause, see, barcode scanning and price matching have been part of Android phones from the get-go. So it’s grown in the past couple of years into craploads of uses, Asian cell customers were already using scanners for years and had their own uses to introduce, and people just use them. When I read a review of an interesting app I like. I pull my phone out and scan the code and get it. That’s something Android users do regularly, because barcode scanning always worked on the phones, so it’s a big part of the experience.
Kinda like magnetometers, 3G, Copy/Paste and MMS. I guess those were all big deals for Apple to hand out to you, gradually and arbitrarily – me, I got it all on my first Google phone.
“AFAIK, all Android barcode apps are no-cost”
Uh, no. I’ve paid thirty bucks or so for a couple. There are more expensive apps than that. (The medical stuff that’s showing up is ungodly expensive.) Other than that, I regularly buy apps – they’re not all free, by any means.
Stop complaining. 99% of you have no idea how to market anything… have no morals.. Michael does a big story on scamville.. and likely 95% of you are sorry you didn’t think of it first.. now you complain about apple.. try building an FB app and watching facebook change more times than a teenager looking for the perfect prom dress.
Start with asking how many of these genius have built a social brand around themselves.. people are loyal to people.. you sell an app by being interesting.. and the cool thing is you don’t have to act all uptight and corporate on youtube.. sxephil will get as many hits as michael does with a post with a video talking about sex. So sad but true, vloggers are actually more interested in farts than smart people.
Take a simple video response.. just talk to people.. stupid simple.. take you 10 minutes if you just can say WTF.. take the video and the video response.. fire it into posterous.. to a blog.. paint with ads.. you are building a social cobweb and all you are trying to is create emotional connections..
social means putting the face back on the company.. people love people.. they trust people and since we pay for the sins of others.. sell trust, offer trust and don’t rob, rape and pillage people blind.. cause their is a sheriff on the web and he is michael arrlinton.. or however you spell that hard to spell name…
Do what I dream of? Of being able to have one person I buy clothes from.. one place where I eat where I know who my waitress will be.. that is the cool thing and also scary about social.. I want a parent to have the ability to tweet, FB, email, SMS anyone in the are their child is taken.. I want take a picture of these variables.. blue car, snap and send, sorted by simple things like shape, color to build possible paths..
but I am crazy.. I actually think we could take all the plastic in the middle of the pacific ocean, turn it into a solar powered scientific observatory that monitors the currents.. which I guess are important.. maybe grow seawead that will clean the water…
“After releasing an update to the app which made it “actually work”, according to Jeff, they saw a dramatic increase in sales.”
Amazing. I’m stunned that people didn’t want to buy a non-function app.
/sarcasm
This is really encouraging for iPhone developers. Nothing is more powerful than a solid value prop, and RedLaser exactly does that. Handful of apps in a crap-tastic ocean are like that though!
Got it. Like it. Use it to make sure I’m not getting ripped off. I haven’t bought off of it yet. The function is … functioning
I think the real story here is Android has had this for quite some time now and the iPhone is playing catchup.
Ironic
I bought the app and all, but for some reason it never locates nearby results. Heh.
Great to read some real numbers concerning the viability of iPhone App publishing.
If a top 5 App can only average $12,000 rev ($8,400) a day then 99% of Apps can’t be making a real ROI on App sales.
typo $8,400 net rev after Apple’s cut
pic2shop is a free alternative, with a similar or even better barcode scanner.
Change the release dates and keep appearing at the top in the app store. Any other oop’s and aha’s?
http://littlebookoflearning.com/promoting-iphone-app/
Ha! Unfortunately that trick doesn’t work any more. You only appear at the top of your category for version 1.0. All other versions are not promoted in the App Store in the same manner.
-John :)
http://friendswithstrangers.com/2009/12/app-popular-iphone-app-update/
“I had a bit of trouble taking a picture of some barcodes because I have an awfully unsteady hand, but that was fixed by putting my elbow against my chest.”
I uninstalled the barcode stuff (lots of it available for free on Android phones) as soon as I got Google Goggles. You just take a picture of the code, the app does the scanning. No problems from my shaky old hands whatsoever, anymore.
Google Goggles is awesome, and not restricted to barcodes. You can take a picture of a wine bottle label, and landmark, etc. and get results. In this one app they have integrated both ‘visual search’ and an ‘augmented reality’ (using GPS to help process and image of a shop front and find the business’ details)… and it’s free. I wonder how much somthing like this would make in the iPhone market
For barcodes though I still use ShopSavvy as well and it’s fantastic, and also free.
Love both apps.
Oh yeah, I love it. I’d just written a bad review of PlinkArt at DNN a few days before, so…I used the same paintings and drawings to test GG, which…worked much better, obviously.
I still have the base barcode scanner, but I’d rather take a pic with GG and let it do the scanning than stand there in the store holding the camera steady.
Works really well and it’s addictive – in a sad geek kinda way.
Like showing it to my blackberry chums
i’ve had 2 apps that recently made it to the top 50 in their categories (both were placed in the 40′s) this week and this was based on $0 ad budget, and i am an indie developer. so i wouldn’t dismiss it just yet.
“In fact, almost every developer I talk to nowadays says the App Store has become increasingly difficult, and that it would be “impossible to get noticed” if you just stuck your app in the store.”
Oh wow, you must have used the Bizzaro App Store. The App Store I know and love allows any developer to submit any old piece of crap app and make millions without lifting a finger. In fact, it’s “very easy!”
Everything in life is easy, as a matter of fact. Nothing’s difficult.
It seems the iPhone is better for developers, and Android is better for users.
to paraphrase Leo Laporte – iPhone and Mac users are willing to pay for things others get for free.
or unless you want to develop something that is not possible on a non-jailbroken iphone (e.g. background apps)
“It seems the iPhone is better for developers”
As long as you’re a developer who likes the prospect of having his app declined or yanked because Apple wants to make that kind of software or just broke up with Google and feels like breaking stuff.
iphone users are so gullible – when you are all said and done with paying for your iphone and your service contract and your ‘redlaser’ app, you’re over 2k in the hole, and for what? a ‘mobile cuecat’? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CueCat
You’re so right ticktock! Why are so many people buying an iphone just to get this one app.
/sarcasm
You can also become a millionaire by betting $1,000 on 1000 to 1 odds.
And there is an app called “woabi” in the german App Store ranking place 3 since several weeks. I think it’s awesome!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=327208680&mt=8
Gagan, do the chart numbers (e.g. 12,300 on 9/27) refer to the number of US downloads or do they refer to worldwide downloads ?
Just asked Jeff – its US+UK+DE, but not the entire world.
Another good example showing all good things have followers.
A way to show the world is a great place to stay for app developers.
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You just discovered MobileCrunch today? Where have you been bro? Mars? (FYI, there is another blog called TechCrunch too)
Tell your friends. We have cake on Thursdays.
I don’t believe they didn’t do any marketing. Even if Word-Of-Mouth worked later, they needed a critical mass of users first. I am wondering how they got there… http://www.ben4.eu
” I am wondering how they got there…”
Getting barcode scanning working on iPhones was difficult because iPhone cameras don’t do autofocus. They released the first app on the iPhone that worked, and an API for other apps to tie into.
That’s how.
Extremely impressed profits. Yet another iphone rags to riches success story.
So interesting, I decided to make a try to develop such 2D bar code scanner based on ZXing.
Localization is very important for the app.
So I think that there should be a lot localized redlaser type app in future.
Oh, I concur. Which is why I use Android phones. You can’t spit without hitting localized barcode or augmented reality apps on those things. It’s terrible, and totally why they will fail.
many thanks for the share. very helpful.
y I use Android phones. You can’t spit without hitting localized barcode or augmented reality apps on those things. It’s terrible, and to
Forgive me if I am being ignorant, but I don’t understand how this product works. I see that it scans products, but how does it know that the store is charging, and how do you then complete the purchase once you have scanned all of your items? Anyone care to educate me?