VizualBusiness: App Prices Hit A Ridiculous (Fantastic?) Low In Indian Nokia Store

Monday, April 30, 2012

App Prices Hit A Ridiculous (Fantastic?) Low In Indian Nokia Store

App Prices Hit A Ridiculous (Fantastic?) Low In Indian Nokia Store:

In an incredible turn of events, the prices of apps in the Indian Nokia Store have hit rock bottom. This has happened because Nokia has reduced the levels at which developers can price their applications. Earlier Level 1 was Rs. 25 (about 50 US cents), now it is just Rs. 5. So for example 1 Euro app, which is say the lowest level in Europe, will cost just Rs. 5 in India. In terms of pure conversion Rs. 5 equals just 0.072 Euros.
App prices in India were already lower compared to the pricing in other parts of the world, this is something I’ve covered before, but the new rates really ring in a bonanza for Indian users. Its like having a fire sale all year long.

As you can see fantastic applications like Joikuspot which retail for about 8 Pounds in the UK, can be had for as little as Rs. 35 in India. That’s not even half a pound. However, it is important to realise that pure currency conversions do not work, and that Nokia strives to keep prices in tune with what consumers are willing to pay for apps in India and Rs. 35 is a great price for Joikuspot.
Similarly, quality games like Asphalt 6 and Angry Birds can be had for just Rs. 5 and 10 respectively. While this may sound like ‘are you freaking kidding me? That so awesome!’ for the consumer, the developers may well feel like ‘are you freaking kidding me? That’s bullshit!’.
Our friends at Unleash The Phones suggest that developers might even want to withdraw their apps from India, because of these exceedingly low prices. While I am not sure how the Nokia Store submission works, the impression I get from the post is that developers can only specify a level at which they want to sell their apps and Nokia automatically sets the prices in different countries. E.g. Level 1 could mean 1 USD in the US, .80 Pounds on the UK, .90 Euro in Europe, Rs. 5 in India and so on. A problem will arise if they can only set a level as a price for their app across the world and this cannot be changed based on country. (I’ll try and get some clarity on this aspect soon.)
Nokia India been really working hard to delight its customers over the past few months, first the brilliantly priced unlimited downloads from the Nokia Music Store and now these super cheap apps. As long as there is no developer backlash, its a very welcome sign for consumers. Nokia believes that what it is loosing on margins, it’ll make up in volume – while making its customers super happy.
[via: Unleash The Phones]