I like the Android OS.   There is a foregone conclusion in many circles that it’s the heir apparent to the iPhone OS.  Maybe it will happen, maybe it won’t.  But after seeing it at last year’s Google I/O conference, a seed has been planted in my mind that I should develop for it.  The barrier to entry for developing Android apps is really low.  Basically all the tools are free (SDK, Eclipse).  The language is Java, which even c# refugees such as myself can easily pick up in an afternoon.  Documentation needs to improve, but other than that any question you have will pretty much be answered on the android forums.

The seed came to fruition early this year and I wrote a really simple app – which did one thing and that is play the Rimshot sound.  I put it out on the Android Marketplace and to my amazement, 2000 people   downloaded it in the first 2 days. 

The cool thing about the Android Marketplace is that there is no wait time, there is no submission process, there isn’t a thing standing in your way.  As soon as you upload the application, it is immediately available in the store.  You pay a one time $25 fee and you are in.   Compare this with the iTunes store ($99, plus months waiting for submissions to be approved), Microsoft Mobile Store ($99 to enroll, $99 per application) or BlackBerry App World ($200 per application).

The experience emboldened me and I wrote a second application, called That’s Not Funny.  This application contains a collection of sounds that are handy when somebody says something that’s unfunny (e.g. Boo sound, Wa-wa-wa-wa, etc…).  In addition, I integrated ads into the application.  I was trying to see whether it is possible to make a living writing mobile apps. 

The number of downloads for That’s Not Funny totally blew me away.  As of now, it’s been downloaded by over 50,000 users.  Given the number of G1 phones out there, that’s like 1 in every 12 owners.  The integrated ads yielded $174 for February and about $240 in March.  Can’t really live on that, but if you have several successful apps, it starts to become possible.

Which brings me to today.  I’ve released my first paid application called Better Deal.  It’s 99 cents.  The idea came to me while I was at Costco, trying to decide between 2 gigantic sets of paper towels.  One was 704 square feet for $16.99 and the other one 640 square feet for $14.99.   I couldn’t figure out which one was a better deal, without trying to do massive brain acrobatics in a crowded and noisy store.  

So I set out to write an application, which would be able to figure these types of pricing issues for you.  It was not too hard to write.  Really, the most complicated task was getting the layout right. 

I am realistic and guessing that it won’t get 50,000 downloads or anywhere close to that.  But it’ll give me a gauge of what to expect for paid apps.

If you are reading this on your G1 phone, you can get the application here.