06-22-2006, 11:44 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 484
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Handango charges $140 to be listed on the Verizon Motorola Q
If you have a Smartphone application on the Handango catalog, it will not be listed on the Motorola Q software store (available via a direct link on the home page of each Verizon Motorola Q Smartphone) unless you play at least $140 ("HMR testing fees") to Handango. HMR = "Handango Mobile Ready".
How do you (developers) feel about that? Does it sould like extortion to you?
Handango has the exclusivity for the Verizon Motorola Q software store (a direct link on each Verizon Motorola Q Smartphone home page), so they can ask what they want from developers, since there is no other way to get on this highly visible catalog.
But since Handango already charges 40% fees, plus various additionnal charges, totalling close to 50% total fees, I feel that they are going a bit too far in asking additional "testing fees" for listing products on their on-line mobiles catalogs.
From what we understand, Handango charges this extra $140 "HMR testing fees" for listing on any of their "mobile catalog", including their InHand catalog.
Developers that do not pay this extra testing fee will only be listed on the regular catalog, which can only be accessed from a PC and cannot be accessed from Windows Mobile devices (Pocket PC or Smartphone), even if you have Internet Access.
If you enter "www.handango.com" on PIE, you will be redirected to the InHand Client, which only lists applications that have paid the "HMR testing fee". Handango customers cannot even log to their own Handango's account (e.g. to get a replacement product key) from their mobile devices. This is ridiculously lame!
There are other mobile software store, for example Mobihand has an excellent mobile catalog ( http://mobile.mobihand.com ), and they charge no fees for that (not to mention that Mobihand's royalties is much lower than Handango's). Unfortunately the user must type "mobihand.com" to get there, so it is more effort that following a direct "Download" link on the Verizon Motorola Q home page.
I understand that Handango signed a deal with Verizon and other operators in which Handango guarantees that it will list on their mobile software store only software that are tested for the operator's devices. I have no problem with that, but I think that Handango should wave the testing fees for all the titles with good sales, for which they already make a lot of money in royalties.
An amusing side note: Handango never tested their InHand Client on Motorola Q and it does not work well on this device!
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