The Chrome Web Store has very little in common with Apple’s iTunes stores, with the exception of the obvious ripoff of UI. According to TechCrunch’s Jason Kincaid, no one is buying anything on the Chrome Web Store, unlike Apple’s App Store.
A quick look around the Web Store shows dismal download rates for “paid” applications, and downright pathetic payouts for developers. Pathetic might be a bit harsh, but apparently MathBoard, an app that has the “most activity” on the web store, was only installed 65 times last week. According to Kincaid, that works out to being about $165 in the developer’s pockets per week. Not exactly enough money to keep the lights on, is it?
This really leads to some interesting thoughts. FIrst, what the heck is Google’s end game with the Chrome Web Store? It’s way too early to tell, but the lack of promotion, and lack of consumer interest in the product really makes you wonder if this thing is even worth the space on the internet. Secondly, will people really pay for glorified web apps? Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see web developers treated the same as iOS and other application developers, but have we gone so far down the “free-web” road that people will never pay up to use the services? The numbers on the Chrome Web Store suggest that this might just be the case. Free seems to rule the day when it comes to Google related projects, so it’s no surprise that their Chrome App Store has taken on a similar ecosystem.
The TechCrunch article suggests that free applications are getting way more attention on the Chrome Web Store, a ratio of 65 paid installations to about 8000 free installations, but if developers can’t keep the lights on in their offices, how can this thing even begin to flourish? Pretty curious don’t you think?
Article Via TechCrunch
