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      1 page.title=Developer Stories: The Opportunity of Android Tablets
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      8 <p>More and more, developers are investing in a full tablet experience
      9 for their apps and are seeing those investments pay off big. The increased
     10 screen area on tablets opens up a world of possibilities, allowing for more
     11 engagement with the user &mdash; which can mean an increase in usage as well as
     12 more monetization opportunities. And with the growing wave of Android tablets that
     13 continue to hit the market, its an important piece of any developers mobile
     14 offering. </p>
     15 
     16 <p>Here are some stories from developers who are seeing real results as they
     17 expand their offering to include Android tablets.</p>
     18 
     19 
     20 <div style="margin-bottom:2em;" id="rememberthemilk"><!-- START STORY -->
     21 
     22 <h3>Remember The Milk: Lifting installs with tablet design</h3>
     23 
     24   <img alt="" class="screenshot thumbnail" style="-webkit-border-radius: 5px;
     25             -moz-border-radius: 5px;
     26             border-radius: 5px height:78px;
     27             width: 78px;
     28             float: left;
     29             margin: 12px 20px 9px 20px;" src=
     30             "//lh3.ggpht.com/xmnal18taauP2mjQFEhr1PhcItQ_W32IRuaD86IoL2U_4E-mfeKiliKtkISgOuA6Ln9n=w124">
     31           
     32   <div style="list-style: none;height:100%;
     33   float: right;
     34   border-top: 1px solid #9C0;
     35   width: 220px;
     36   margin: 4px 20px;padding: .5em;">
     37   
     38 
     39     <h5>About the app</h5> 
     40     
     41     
     42     <ul>
     43       <li><a href="//play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rememberthemilk.MobileRTM">Remember The Milk</a></li>
     44       <li>A feature-packed to-do list app; never forget the milk (or anything else) again</li>
     45     </ul>
     46 
     47     <h5>Tablet Results</h5> 
     48 
     49     <ul>
     50       <li>83% jump in tablet installs following update </li>
     51       <li>Nexus 7 is most popular Android device for app </li>
     52       <li>Single APK for phones and tablets</li>
     53       </ul>
     54     
     55     <div style="padding:.5em 0 0 1em;">
     56       <a href="//play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rememberthemilk.MobileRTM">
     57         <img alt="Android app on Google Play"
     58          src="//developer.android.com/images/brand/en_generic_rgb_wo_45.png" />
     59       </a>
     60       
     61     </div>
     62   </div>
     63 
     64   <div style="line-height:1.4em;">
     65     <p style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:12px;">When the Android tablet guidelines
     66       came out in 2012, the team at Remember The Milk had already been thinking about
     67       a redesign for their <a href="//play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rememberthemilk.MobileRTM">feature-packed
     68       to-do list app</a>. Omar Kilani, Co-founder of Remember The Milk, explains how
     69       <a href="//blog.rememberthemilk.com/2013/04/the-all-new-remember-the-milk-for-android-and-tablets-too/">updating</a>
     70       their app to meet the tablet guidelines lead to an 83% jump in tablet installs: </p>
     71 
     72     <p>We took this as an opportunity to think about how we were going to approach
     73       Android tablets differently from a user experience perspective. The guidelines
     74       were a helpful resource, and with the extra screen real estate tablets afford,
     75       users have the opportunity to see all of their data in context and drill down
     76       on more items. All of this is accomplished using a single APK on Play, even though
     77       the phone and tablet versions each capture completely different use cases for us.</p>
     78 
     79     <p>In the month after updating, we saw our tablet installs on Google Play jump 83%,
     80       and the Nexus 7 is now the most popular Android device amongst our users. For us,
     81       designing for tablets was an investment that has really paid off.</p>
     82 
     83     <p>The team also came out with a number of other goodies &mdash; including a new set of
     84       widgets and richer notifications, and more ways to provide an immersive experience
     85       for their users.</p>
     86   </div>
     87 
     88   <div style="clear:both;margin-top:30px;width:auto;">
     89   
     90     <img src="{@docRoot}images/distribute/rememberthemilk.png">
     91 
     92     <div style="width:600px;margin-top:0px;padding:0 90px;">
     93       <p class="image-caption"><span style="font-weight:500;">Tablet redesign led to lift
     94       in installs</span>: Following the redesign of the Android app, in part to meet the tablet
     95       design criteria, Remember The Milk saw an 83% increase in tablet installs.</p>
     96     </div>
     97 
     98   </div>
     99 
    100 </div> <!-- END STORY -->
    101 
    102 
    103 <div style="margin-bottom:2em;" id="mint"><!-- START STORY -->
    104 
    105 <h3>Mint: More screen real estate = more engagement</h3>
    106 
    107   <img alt="" class="screenshot thumbnail" style="-webkit-border-radius: 5px;
    108             -moz-border-radius: 5px;
    109             border-radius: 5px height:78px;
    110             width: 78px;
    111             float: left;
    112             margin: 12px 20px 9px 20px;" src=
    113             "https://lh5.ggpht.com/0xAIZJ1uE05b4RHNHgBBTIH6nRdPTY660T104xY7O2GbHXwab6YVmpU5yYg8yacfBg=w124">
    114           
    115   <div style="list-style: none;height:100%;
    116   float: right;
    117   border-top: 1px solid #9C0;
    118   width: 220px;
    119   margin: 4px 20px;padding: .5em;">
    120   
    121 
    122     <h5>About the app</h5> 
    123     
    124     
    125     <ul>
    126  <li><a href="http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mint">Mint.com Personal Finance</a> by Intuit Inc.</li>
    127       <li>Financial management app targeting 7- to 10-inch tablets and phones</li>
    128     </ul>
    129 
    130     <h5>Tablet Results</h5> 
    131 
    132     <ul>
    133       <li>Able to offer richer UI features</li>
    134       <li>Much higher user engagement</li>
    135       <li>Longer sessions &mdash; more Android tablet users have sessions longer than 5 minutes</li>
    136       </ul>
    137     
    138     <div style="padding:.5em 0 0 1em;">
    139 <a href="http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mint">
    140   <img alt="Android app on Google Play"
    141        src="//developer.android.com/images/brand/en_generic_rgb_wo_45.png" />
    142 </a>
    143       
    144     </div>
    145   </div>
    146 
    147   <div style="line-height:1.4em;">
    148     <p style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:12px;">When Intuit was thinking about
    149 expanding their Mint mobile offering to include a version optimized for Android
    150 tablets, they knew that taking the layout that worked for phones and simply
    151 showing an enlarged version wouldnt take full advantage of the opportunities
    152 that tablets afford.</p>
    153     
    154     <p>We knew we had a lot more real estate, and we wanted to provide a more
    155 immersive experience for our users said Ken Sun, Intuit Group Product Manager
    156 at Mint.</p>
    157 
    158 <p>Intuits Mint app, which has a 4-star rating on Google Play, brings a number
    159 of features to Android tablets that arent available for phones, including a
    160 more visual presentation of personal financial data.</p>
    161 
    162 <p>Whereas our app for phones is used throughout the day for quick sessions,
    163 weve seen a larger percentage of our tablet usage happen in the evening, for
    164 much longer sessions, said Sun. People are doing a lot more than just checking
    165 their spending. Theyre looking at historical trends, re-categorizing
    166 transactions, analyzing the data and setting financial goals for the future
    167 &mdash; digging much deeper and being more thoughtful. One example is how much
    168 users are interacting with their own budgets in the tablet app.  Customer budget
    169 operations (view, edit, drill-down, etc.) are 7x higher on Android tablets than
    170 they are on phones.</p>
    171 
    172 <p>Fifty percent more Android tablet users have Mint sessions of 5 minutes or
    173 longer than they do on phones.  Weve found that phone usage is indicative of a
    174 customers regular financial check-in, while tablet usage points towards more
    175 analysis and interaction with that customers personal financial data.  This is
    176 the sort of immersive engagement experience we were looking for; the tablet and
    177 phone apps serve as great complements to each other."</p>
    178   </div>
    179 
    180   <div style="clear:both;margin-top:40px;width:auto;">
    181   
    182     <img src="{@docRoot}images/distribute/mint.png">
    183 
    184     <div style="width:600px;margin-top:0px;padding:0 90px;">
    185       <p class="image-caption"><span style="font-weight:500;">Making the most of tablet screens</span>: Mint used the extra screen area on tablets to offer quick access to additional tools and information.</p>
    186     </div>
    187 
    188   </div>
    189 
    190 </div> <!-- END STORY -->
    191 
    192 
    193 <div style="margin:3em auto"><!-- START STORY -->
    194 
    195 
    196 <h3>TinyCo: Monetization opportunities abound on tablets</h3>
    197 
    198   <img alt="" class="screenshot thumbnail" style="-webkit-border-radius: 5px;
    199             -moz-border-radius: 5px;
    200             border-radius: 5px height:78px;
    201             width: 78px;
    202             float: left;
    203             margin: 12px 20px 30px 20px;" src=
    204             "https://lh6.ggpht.com/QTy7lOGRTS58NW4XEeym2sxpWKDmRNod_n3kBrHlqTRIyzIv2gkw8DfwiR4GIAdxiHw=w124">
    205 
    206           
    207   <div style="list-style: none;height:100%;
    208   float: right;
    209   border-top: 1px solid #9C0;
    210   width: 220px;
    211   margin: 4px 20px;padding: .5em;">
    212 
    213     <h5>About the app</h5> 
    214 
    215     <ul>
    216                 <li><a href="http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tinyco.village">Tiny Village</a> by TinyCo</li>
    217             <li>Game targeting 7- to 10-inch tablets and phones</li>
    218     </ul>
    219 
    220     <h5>Tablet Results</h5> 
    221 
    222     <ul>
    223       <li>35% higher average revenue per paying user (ARPPU)</li>
    224       <li>Consistent increase in user retention</li>
    225       <li>3x increase in downloads to Android tablets in the last 6 months</li>
    226     </ul>
    227     
    228     <div style="padding:.5em 0 0 1em;">
    229 <a href="http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tinyco.village">
    230   <img alt="Android app on Google Play"
    231        src="//developer.android.com/images/brand/en_generic_rgb_wo_45.png" />
    232 </a>
    233       
    234     </div>
    235   </div>
    236 
    237   <div style="line-height:1.4em;">
    238     <p style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:12px;">
    239     
    240 <p>Over a year ago, app developer TinyCo, makers of a suite of games such as
    241 Tiny Monsters, decided to prioritize launching across multiple platforms
    242 effectively. They chose Android as one of their primary launch platforms because
    243 of its large installed base and global reach. They also knew that the growing
    244 base of Android tablet users represented a huge opportunity.</p>
    245     
    246     <p>Tiny Village was their first title to take advantage of the strategy, and
    247 it proved to be a winning one &mdash; especially in terms of Android
    248 tablets.</p>
    249     
    250     <p> With continued optimization of the gameplay experience and a genuine
    251 commitment to our Android offering through our Griffin engine, all of our
    252 metrics started to rise, said Rajeev Nagpal, Head of Product at TinyCo. In
    253 fact, theyve seen Android tablet downloads more than triple in the last six
    254 months.</p>
    255 
    256     <p>One of the first things they noticed about usage of Tiny Village on
    257 tablets was an increase in average revenue per paying user (ARPPU)&mdash;about 35%
    258 higher than on smaller-screen devices such as phones. Additionally, average
    259 revenue per user ARPU is now about 35% higher as well. The game is just much
    260 more immersive on tablet.</p>
    261 
    262     <p>In addition to an increase in monetization metrics, theyve also seen a
    263 consistent increase in retention over other platforms. These are really
    264 important metrics for games &mdash; if you can get users to both stay around
    265 longer and spend more while theyre there, you have a recipe for success.</p>
    266   </div>
    267 
    268   <div style="clear:both;margin-top:40px;width:auto;">
    269   
    270     <img src="{@docRoot}images/distribute/tinyvillage.png">
    271 
    272     <div style="width:600px;margin-top:0px;padding:0 90px;">
    273       <p class="image-caption"><span style="font-weight:500;">More monetization
    274 on tablets</span>: On Android tablets TinyCo has seen higher ARPPU and user
    275 retention than on phones.</p>
    276     </div>
    277 
    278   </div>
    279 
    280 </div> <!-- END STORY -->
    281 
    282 
    283 <div style="margin-bottom:2em;"><!-- START STORY -->
    284 
    285 <h3>Instapaper: Riding the growing wave of Android tablets</h3>
    286 
    287 
    288   <img alt="" class="screenshot thumbnail" style="-webkit-border-radius: 5px;
    289             -moz-border-radius: 5px;
    290             border-radius: 5px height:78px;
    291             width: 78px;
    292             float: left;
    293             margin: 12px 20px 9px 20px;" src=
    294             "https://lh3.ggpht.com/30KKcrIFO8V_wRfhnHaI9l0CLH_orIVFE7Xywtr9TBxAf0hi2BaZkKyBOs63Yfavpg=w124">
    295 
    296           
    297   <div style="list-style: none;height:100%;
    298   float: right;
    299   border-top: 1px solid #9C0;
    300   width: 220px;
    301   margin: 4px 20px;padding: .5em;">
    302   
    303   
    304   
    305 
    306     <h5>About the app</h5> 
    307     <ul>
    308                 <li><a href="http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.instapaper.android">Instapaper</a> by Mobelux</li>
    309       <li>Content-browsing utility that targets 7- to 10-inch tablets and phones</li>
    310     </ul>
    311 
    312     <h5>Tablet Results</h5> 
    313 
    314     <ul>
    315       <li>Tablets are now 50% of the app's installed base.</li>
    316     </ul>
    317     
    318     <div style="padding:.5em 0 0 1em;">
    319 <a href="http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.instapaper.android">
    320   <img alt="Android app on Google Play"
    321        src="//developer.android.com/images/brand/en_generic_rgb_wo_45.png" />
    322 </a>
    323       
    324     </div>
    325   </div>
    326 
    327   <div style="line-height:1.4em;">
    328     <p style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:12px;">Instapaper for Android is an app
    329 for saving web content to read later. Developer Mobelux decided that creating a
    330 great UI for Android tablet users would be an essential part of their initial launch
    331 plan.</p>
    332     
    333     <p>The app launched at the beginning of the summer of 2012, just in time to
    334 take advantage of a new tide of Android tablets, including the <span
    335 style="white-space:nowrap;">Nexus 7</span> tablet. The app has since seen huge
    336 popularity among tablet users, in particular, on Nexus 7. On the day that
    337 pre-orders of Nexus 7 began arriving, Mobelux saw a 600% jump in downloads of
    338 its app on Google Play.</p>
    339 
    340     <p>We saw a promising new set of Android tablets about to hit the market
    341 and wanted to position ourselves to be ready for them said Jeff Rock of
    342 Mobelux. It was a market that others were hesitant to explore, but the decision
    343 to prioritize tablets has paid off very well for us.</p>
    344 
    345     <p>Since that initial 600% jump in downloads, Instapaper for Android has
    346 continued to see a successful run on Android tablets. In fact, Android tablets
    347 now represent about 50% of their installed base. With more and more Android
    348 tablets coming online, were excited to see how our investment in Android
    349 tablets continues to pay off.</p>
    350   </div>
    351 
    352   <div style="clear:both;margin-top:40px;width:auto;">
    353   
    354     <img src="{@docRoot}images/distribute/instapaper.png">
    355 
    356     <div style="width:600px;margin-top:0px;padding:0 90px;">
    357       <p class="image-caption"><span style="font-weight:500;">Popular with
    358 tablet users</span>: A great tablet UI and browsing convenience make Instapaper
    359 popular with Android tablet users.</p>
    360     </div>
    361 
    362   </div>
    363 
    364 </div> <!-- END STORY -->
    365 
    366 
    367 
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