My colleague, Aulia Masna, brought out a rumor about the possibility of cellular operator billing cooperation for app purchasing at the iOS App Store. Said operator is Indosat. Previously, Indosat managed to invite Research in Motion (RIM) to cooperate for app purchasing at the BlackBerry App World using Dompetku mobile payment system. To be honest, I think that rather than approaching Apple which has strict rules regarding this matter, it’s better than operator approaches Google for cooperation for Android app purchasing at the Google Play Store.
My reason is simple. iPhone (along with iPad and iPod) is relatively pricy looking at the niche market. This niche market is in the segment of A and B class (middle and upper class). Although there’s no guarantee that iOS device owner must own a credit card, so far I haven’t heard any complaint about this. Not being able to purchase at the App Store Indonesia is compensated by using iTunes Gift Cards at another country. Not an ideal solution, but it’s not a big problem, as well.
On the other hand, Android consumer comes from various economy classes. With a device starting in the segment of USD100 – USD200, Android device fits better for Indonesian consumer’s budget who wants more sophisticated smartphone solution – rather than messaging solution from BlackBerry. Some local vendors have also implemented Android to their devices. This market is bigger than App Store user and percentage of credit card owner in this community is lower.
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