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      1 page.title=Developer Stories: The Opportunity of Android Tablets
      2 meta.tags="google play, developer story, journal, tablets, pure"
      3 pdage.metaDescription=Developers are investing in a full tablet experience for their apps and seeing those investments pay off big.
      4 page.image=/images/distribute/rememberthemilk.png
      5 
      6 @jd:body
      7 
      8 
      9 <p>"More" and more, developers are investing in a full tablet experience
     10 for their apps and are seeing those investments pay off big. The increased
     11 screen area on tablets opens up a world of possibilities, allowing for more
     12 engagement with the user &mdash; which can mean an increase in usage as well as
     13 more monetization opportunities. And with the growing wave of Android tablets that
     14 continue to hit the market, its an important piece of any developers mobile
     15 offering. </p>
     16 
     17 <p>Here are some stories from developers who are seeing real results as they
     18 expand their offering to include Android tablets.</p>
     19 
     20 
     21 <div style="margin-bottom:2em;" id="rememberthemilk"><!-- START STORY -->
     22 
     23 <h3>Remember The Milk: Lifting installs with tablet design</h3>
     24 
     25   <img alt="" class="screenshot thumbnail" style="-webkit-border-radius: 5px;
     26             -moz-border-radius: 5px;
     27             border-radius: 5px height:78px;
     28             width: 78px;
     29             float: left;
     30             margin: 12px 20px 9px 20px;" src=
     31             "http://lh3.ggpht.com/xmnal18taauP2mjQFEhr1PhcItQ_W32IRuaD86IoL2U_4E-mfeKiliKtkISgOuA6Ln9n=w124">
     32           
     33   <div style="list-style: none;height:100%;
     34   float: right;
     35   border-top: 1px solid #9C0;
     36   width: 220px;
     37   margin: 4px 20px;padding: .5em;">
     38   
     39 
     40     <h5>About the app</h5> 
     41     
     42     
     43     <ul>
     44       <li><a href="http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rememberthemilk.MobileRTM">Remember The Milk</a></li>
     45       <li>A feature-packed to-do list app; never forget the milk (or anything else) again</li>
     46     </ul>
     47 
     48     <h5>Tablet Results</h5> 
     49 
     50     <ul>
     51       <li>83% jump in tablet installs following update </li>
     52       <li>Nexus 7 is most popular Android device for app </li>
     53       <li>Single APK for phones and tablets</li>
     54       </ul>
     55     
     56     <div style="padding:.5em 0 0 1em;">
     57       <a href="http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rememberthemilk.MobileRTM">
     58         <img alt="Android app on Google Play"
     59          src="{@docRoot}images/brand/en_generic_rgb_wo_45.png" />
     60       </a>
     61       
     62     </div>
     63   </div>
     64 
     65   <div style="line-height:1.4em;">
     66     <p style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:12px;">When the Android tablet guidelines
     67       came out in 2012, the team at Remember The Milk had already been thinking about
     68       a redesign for their <a href="http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rememberthemilk.MobileRTM">feature-packed
     69       to-do list app</a>. Omar Kilani, Co-founder of Remember The Milk, explains how
     70       <a href="http://blog.rememberthemilk.com/2013/04/the-all-new-remember-the-milk-for-android-and-tablets-too/">updating</a>
     71       their app to meet the tablet guidelines lead to an 83% jump in tablet installs: </p>
     72 
     73     <p>We took this as an opportunity to think about how we were going to approach
     74       Android tablets differently from a user experience perspective. The guidelines
     75       were a helpful resource, and with the extra screen real estate tablets afford,
     76       users have the opportunity to see all of their data in context and drill down
     77       on more items. All of this is accomplished using a single APK on Play, even though
     78       the phone and tablet versions each capture completely different use cases for us.</p>
     79 
     80     <p>In the month after updating, we saw our tablet installs on Google Play jump 83%,
     81       and the Nexus 7 is now the most popular Android device amongst our users. For us,
     82       designing for tablets was an investment that has really paid off.</p>
     83 
     84     <p>The team also came out with a number of other goodies &mdash; including a new set of
     85       widgets and richer notifications, and more ways to provide an immersive experience
     86       for their users.</p>
     87   </div>
     88 
     89   <div style="clear:both;margin-top:30px;width:auto;">
     90   
     91     <img src="{@docRoot}images/distribute/rememberthemilk.png">
     92 
     93     <div style="width:600px;margin-top:0px;padding:0 90px;">
     94       <p class="image-caption"><span style="font-weight:500;">Tablet redesign led to lift
     95       in installs</span>: Following the redesign of the Android app, in part to meet the tablet
     96       design criteria, Remember The Milk saw an 83% increase in tablet installs.</p>
     97     </div>
     98 
     99   </div>
    100 
    101 </div> <!-- END STORY -->
    102 
    103 
    104 <div style="margin-bottom:2em;" id="mint"><!-- START STORY -->
    105 
    106 <h3>Mint: More screen real estate = more engagement</h3>
    107 
    108   <img alt="" class="screenshot thumbnail" style="-webkit-border-radius: 5px;
    109             -moz-border-radius: 5px;
    110             border-radius: 5px height:78px;
    111             width: 78px;
    112             float: left;
    113             margin: 12px 20px 9px 20px;" src=
    114             "https://lh5.ggpht.com/0xAIZJ1uE05b4RHNHgBBTIH6nRdPTY660T104xY7O2GbHXwab6YVmpU5yYg8yacfBg=w124">
    115           
    116   <div style="list-style: none;height:100%;
    117   float: right;
    118   border-top: 1px solid #9C0;
    119   width: 220px;
    120   margin: 4px 20px;padding: .5em;">
    121   
    122 
    123     <h5>About the app</h5> 
    124     
    125     
    126     <ul>
    127  <li><a href="http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mint">Mint.com Personal Finance</a> by Intuit Inc.</li>
    128       <li>Financial management app targeting 7- to 10-inch tablets and phones</li>
    129     </ul>
    130 
    131     <h5>Tablet Results</h5> 
    132 
    133     <ul>
    134       <li>Able to offer richer UI features</li>
    135       <li>Much higher user engagement</li>
    136       <li>Longer sessions &mdash; more Android tablet users have sessions longer than 5 minutes</li>
    137       </ul>
    138     
    139     <div style="padding:.5em 0 0 1em;">
    140 <a href="http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mint">
    141   <img alt="Android app on Google Play"
    142        src="{@docRoot}images/brand/en_generic_rgb_wo_45.png" />
    143 </a>
    144       
    145     </div>
    146   </div>
    147 
    148   <div style="line-height:1.4em;">
    149     <p style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:12px;">When Intuit was thinking about
    150 expanding their Mint mobile offering to include a version optimized for Android
    151 tablets, they knew that taking the layout that worked for phones and simply
    152 showing an enlarged version wouldnt take full advantage of the opportunities
    153 that tablets afford.</p>
    154     
    155     <p>We knew we had a lot more real estate, and we wanted to provide a more
    156 immersive experience for our users said Ken Sun, Intuit Group Product Manager
    157 at Mint.</p>
    158 
    159 <p>Intuits Mint app, which has a 4-star rating on Google Play, brings a number
    160 of features to Android tablets that arent available for phones, including a
    161 more visual presentation of personal financial data.</p>
    162 
    163 <p>Whereas our app for phones is used throughout the day for quick sessions,
    164 weve seen a larger percentage of our tablet usage happen in the evening, for
    165 much longer sessions, said Sun. People are doing a lot more than just checking
    166 their spending. Theyre looking at historical trends, re-categorizing
    167 transactions, analyzing the data and setting financial goals for the future
    168 &mdash; digging much deeper and being more thoughtful. One example is how much
    169 users are interacting with their own budgets in the tablet app.  Customer budget
    170 operations (view, edit, drill-down, etc.) are 7x higher on Android tablets than
    171 they are on phones.</p>
    172 
    173 <p>Fifty percent more Android tablet users have Mint sessions of 5 minutes or
    174 longer than they do on phones.  Weve found that phone usage is indicative of a
    175 customers regular financial check-in, while tablet usage points towards more
    176 analysis and interaction with that customers personal financial data.  This is
    177 the sort of immersive engagement experience we were looking for; the tablet and
    178 phone apps serve as great complements to each other."</p>
    179   </div>
    180 
    181   <div style="clear:both;margin-top:40px;width:auto;">
    182   
    183     <img src="{@docRoot}images/distribute/mint.png">
    184 
    185     <div style="width:600px;margin-top:0px;padding:0 90px;">
    186       <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>
    187     </div>
    188 
    189   </div>
    190 
    191 </div> <!-- END STORY -->
    192 
    193 
    194 <div style="margin:3em auto"><!-- START STORY -->
    195 
    196 
    197 <h3>TinyCo: Monetization opportunities abound on tablets</h3>
    198 
    199   <img alt="" class="screenshot thumbnail" style="-webkit-border-radius: 5px;
    200             -moz-border-radius: 5px;
    201             border-radius: 5px height:78px;
    202             width: 78px;
    203             float: left;
    204             margin: 12px 20px 30px 20px;" src=
    205             "https://lh6.ggpht.com/QTy7lOGRTS58NW4XEeym2sxpWKDmRNod_n3kBrHlqTRIyzIv2gkw8DfwiR4GIAdxiHw=w124">
    206 
    207           
    208   <div style="list-style: none;height:100%;
    209   float: right;
    210   border-top: 1px solid #9C0;
    211   width: 220px;
    212   margin: 4px 20px;padding: .5em;">
    213 
    214     <h5>About the app</h5> 
    215 
    216     <ul>
    217                 <li><a href="http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tinyco.village">Tiny Village</a> by TinyCo</li>
    218             <li>Game targeting 7- to 10-inch tablets and phones</li>
    219     </ul>
    220 
    221     <h5>Tablet Results</h5> 
    222 
    223     <ul>
    224       <li>35% higher average revenue per paying user (ARPPU)</li>
    225       <li>Consistent increase in user retention</li>
    226       <li>3x increase in downloads to Android tablets in the last 6 months</li>
    227     </ul>
    228     
    229     <div style="padding:.5em 0 0 1em;">
    230 <a href="http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tinyco.village">
    231   <img alt="Android app on Google Play"
    232        src="{@docRoot}images/brand/en_generic_rgb_wo_45.png" />
    233 </a>
    234       
    235     </div>
    236   </div>
    237 
    238   <div style="line-height:1.4em;">
    239     <p style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:12px;">
    240     
    241 <p>Over a year ago, app developer TinyCo, makers of a suite of games such as
    242 Tiny Monsters, decided to prioritize launching across multiple platforms
    243 effectively. They chose Android as one of their primary launch platforms because
    244 of its large installed base and global reach. They also knew that the growing
    245 base of Android tablet users represented a huge opportunity.</p>
    246     
    247     <p>Tiny Village was their first title to take advantage of the strategy, and
    248 it proved to be a winning one &mdash; especially in terms of Android
    249 tablets.</p>
    250     
    251     <p> With continued optimization of the gameplay experience and a genuine
    252 commitment to our Android offering through our Griffin engine, all of our
    253 metrics started to rise, said Rajeev Nagpal, Head of Product at TinyCo. In
    254 fact, theyve seen Android tablet downloads more than triple in the last six
    255 months.</p>
    256 
    257     <p>One of the first things they noticed about usage of Tiny Village on
    258 tablets was an increase in average revenue per paying user (ARPPU)&mdash;about 35%
    259 higher than on smaller-screen devices such as phones. Additionally, average
    260 revenue per user ARPU is now about 35% higher as well. The game is just much
    261 more immersive on tablet.</p>
    262 
    263     <p>In addition to an increase in monetization metrics, theyve also seen a
    264 consistent increase in retention over other platforms. These are really
    265 important metrics for games &mdash; if you can get users to both stay around
    266 longer and spend more while theyre there, you have a recipe for success.</p>
    267   </div>
    268 
    269   <div style="clear:both;margin-top:40px;width:auto;">
    270   
    271     <img src="{@docRoot}images/distribute/tinyvillage.png">
    272 
    273     <div style="width:600px;margin-top:0px;padding:0 90px;">
    274       <p class="image-caption"><span style="font-weight:500;">More monetization
    275 on tablets</span>: On Android tablets TinyCo has seen higher ARPPU and user
    276 retention than on phones.</p>
    277     </div>
    278 
    279   </div>
    280 
    281 </div> <!-- END STORY -->
    282 
    283 
    284 <div style="margin-bottom:2em;"><!-- START STORY -->
    285 
    286 <h3>Instapaper: Riding the growing wave of Android tablets</h3>
    287 
    288 
    289   <img alt="" class="screenshot thumbnail" style="-webkit-border-radius: 5px;
    290             -moz-border-radius: 5px;
    291             border-radius: 5px height:78px;
    292             width: 78px;
    293             float: left;
    294             margin: 12px 20px 9px 20px;" src=
    295             "https://lh3.ggpht.com/30KKcrIFO8V_wRfhnHaI9l0CLH_orIVFE7Xywtr9TBxAf0hi2BaZkKyBOs63Yfavpg=w124">
    296 
    297           
    298   <div style="list-style: none;height:100%;
    299   float: right;
    300   border-top: 1px solid #9C0;
    301   width: 220px;
    302   margin: 4px 20px;padding: .5em;">
    303   
    304   
    305   
    306 
    307     <h5>About the app</h5> 
    308     <ul>
    309                 <li><a href="http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.instapaper.android">Instapaper</a> by Mobelux</li>
    310       <li>Content-browsing utility that targets 7- to 10-inch tablets and phones</li>
    311     </ul>
    312 
    313     <h5>Tablet Results</h5> 
    314 
    315     <ul>
    316       <li>Tablets are now 50% of the app's installed base.</li>
    317     </ul>
    318     
    319     <div style="padding:.5em 0 0 1em;">
    320 <a href="http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.instapaper.android">
    321   <img alt="Android app on Google Play"
    322        src="{@docRoot}images/brand/en_generic_rgb_wo_45.png" />
    323 </a>
    324       
    325     </div>
    326   </div>
    327 
    328   <div style="line-height:1.4em;">
    329     <p style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:12px;">Instapaper for Android is an app
    330 for saving web content to read later. Developer Mobelux decided that creating a
    331 great UI for Android tablet users would be an essential part of their initial launch
    332 plan.</p>
    333     
    334     <p>The app launched at the beginning of the summer of 2012, just in time to
    335 take advantage of a new tide of Android tablets, including the <span
    336 style="white-space:nowrap;">Nexus 7</span> tablet. The app has since seen huge
    337 popularity among tablet users, in particular, on Nexus 7. On the day that
    338 pre-orders of Nexus 7 began arriving, Mobelux saw a 600% jump in downloads of
    339 its app on Google Play.</p>
    340 
    341     <p>We saw a promising new set of Android tablets about to hit the market
    342 and wanted to position ourselves to be ready for them said Jeff Rock of
    343 Mobelux. It was a market that others were hesitant to explore, but the decision
    344 to prioritize tablets has paid off very well for us.</p>
    345 
    346     <p>Since that initial 600% jump in downloads, Instapaper for Android has
    347 continued to see a successful run on Android tablets. In fact, Android tablets
    348 now represent about 50% of their installed base. With more and more Android
    349 tablets coming online, were excited to see how our investment in Android
    350 tablets continues to pay off.</p>
    351   </div>
    352 
    353   <div style="clear:both;margin-top:40px;width:auto;">
    354   
    355     <img src="{@docRoot}images/distribute/instapaper.png">
    356 
    357     <div style="width:600px;margin-top:0px;padding:0 90px;">
    358       <p class="image-caption"><span style="font-weight:500;">Popular with
    359 tablet users</span>: A great tablet UI and browsing convenience make Instapaper
    360 popular with Android tablet users.</p>
    361     </div>
    362 
    363   </div>
    364 
    365 </div> <!-- END STORY -->
    366 
    367 
    368 
    369