What kind of phones do gun people use?

[ThePenguinKnight]

What kind of phone do you, a fellow firearms enthusiast, keep in your pocket?

I'm trying to figure out which market an aspiring app designer should target first if he wants to reach the most firearms enthusiasts, iOS or Android. Unfortunately I'd have to choose one or the other-- it's too expensive to split focus in the beginning stages trying to accomodate both major phone OSes.

Thank you.

 

[wally]

I'm not a big cell phone user, but I have a cheap Android phone and the "free" Freedom POP service. It really is free if you stay below 400 MB a month of data, although call quality is about the worst VOIP I've ever used. I run Nikon SpotOn, Strlok, and IPSC Shot Timer shooting apps. My only data use is checking traffic on Google Maps, and local weather Radar, along with the occasional Google search so I have no trouble staying under the 400MB/month to be truly free. Had it about two years and not spent a dime beyond the initial $50 I paid Freedom POP for the refurb LG phone.

The existence of very low cost phones and service on Android would seem to me to make it your best bet because if your app is compelling enough, its feasible for someone to buy a cheap Android phone and get a "free" or low cost service as I did in order to run it. My motivation was so I could check traffic on Google Maps and weather before heading out to the range or my friend's ranch to shoot, the shooting apps were a nice bonus.

 

[ugaarguy]

I'd do some digging into industry and market research on spending habits. A few years ago iOS users bought more more apps and payed more for those aps, by huge margins than Android users. It makes sense because iOS devices have a high upfront cost which attracts users with more disposable income (or who use their disposable on phones & apps vs other things) than the buyers of low cost android devices. Of android's massive phone OS market share I'm not sure how many buy cheap devices, and how many buy iPhone comparable devices like the Samsung Galaxy S line, Google Nexus/Pixel, LG G5 / V20, and similar. For many developers the model was to dev for iOS first to get high margin sales that paid for your dev cost, then port to android to get the lower margin sales that would hopefully let you make additional profit. But that may not be the case within the subset of smartphone users who are also firearms enthusiasts.

 

[Hanzo581]

Android devices outsell iOS devices by a gargantuan proportion "Android holds 86.2 percent of the market, up from 82.2 percent in the year-ago quarter. Combine that with the 12.9 percent iOS holds, and that’s 99.1 percent of the entire market.". As far as Apple users buying more apps...I can't possible see how that would be.

https://9to5mac.com/2016/08/18/android-ios-smartphone-market-share/

 

[ugaarguy]

As far as Apple users buying more apps...I can't possible see how that would be.

Because the majority of that android user base have android phones because they were free or cheap. The majority of those users download free apps, but rarely pay for apps, and of those who pay for apps they rarely buy higher priced apps. I say that as someone who bought a bought a T Mobile G1 (HTC Dream) within the first year of its release, and who bought a Nexus 7 tablet the day it was released. I'm still an android user, and I do pay for apps, but I know that I'm in the minority.

 

[ThePenguinKnight]

Android apps are more often free than iOS apps, and Apple users are more likely to be willing to pay for an app vs Android users.

I have indeed researched all this. Overall market research isn't as useful as targeted market knowledge in this case, since the overall market for phones may or may not reflect the market amongst gun enthusiasts. I'm not looking to make my fortunes, only to minimize wasted effort-- an app may never see much use if the majority of potential users are on the other platform.

Thanks for your answers.

 

[Hanzo581]

Ah, well at any rate, he never mentioned monetizing the app in his original post. He said he wanted to reach the most firearms enthusiasts, and the way to do that is through Android.

Side note, while I download a lot of "free" apps, I've spent my fair share of money on in game/app purchases. Wonder if that is tracked the same way as straight up app sales. So whatever the app, maybe have basic functionality with the option to go premium for a nominal fee to unlock more content/features?

 

[Tommygunn]

Two soup cans and a string for me!

 

[morcey2]

Two soup cans and a string for me!

You must shoot lots of black powder.

I have a relatively cheap android. I have a couple of brothers that do app development and they both have said that Apple users are much more likely to buy apps than android users even though they're 1/6th the number of users.

 

[Mauser lover]

I hate phones.... I hate the idea that anyone thinks that they can bother me whenever they feel like... If I REALLY need to, and this is relatively rare, I use my wife's tracfone, a flip phone.

However... I kinda am a "techie". Generally, I try to do (legal, I have moral inhibitions against stealing tech and information) workarounds of anything that costs money (cloning the hard drives and OS of my dead laptops so I don't have to buy an OS for my new one... things like that). Or, I really enjoy keeping my obsolete programs (Word 2010 is obsolete? Already?) or operating systems going as long as I can. I ran XP as absolutely long as I could convince myself that it was feasible. Maybe I'm just a curmudgeonly cheapskate.

I have worked with Android and Apple somewhat extensively, and from the point of someone who likes to fiddle with my technology, I like Android's OS. If that has anything to do with whatever application you are developing, take my advice however you like! However, I have made it a point never to spend a red cent (or whatever color they are now, as diluted as our currency is with zinc) on ANY software that I don't absolutely NEED. I would probably fit under the "I like android" but "I'm not going to spend money on android" classification. Have fun with your app development!

 

[WestKentucky]

The answer for me is simply "yep". I'm assigned an iPhone as a company provided leash, run android on my personal phone and tablet, and keep looking at other offerings like the Surface.

 

[GiorgioG]

Use Xamarin / Visual Studio (free) to target both platforms

 

[Guy B. Meredith]

Flip phone on month to month prepay. Don't want to make myself vulnerable to hacking.

Actually, I just do not find a need to spend money on the services the other phones provide.

 

[Sarge]

I would NOT have any type of cell phone if someone else paid for it AND wanted to pay me to use it!!!
I Would however gladly help gathering them all up and destroying them!!!
A majority of cell phone users are Idiots!!!
Sarge

 

[bannockburn]

Have a small Android phone (fits easily in my top shirt pocket), and I like it a lot. Keeps me connected when I'm away from my computer, is very rugged and reliable, and much more intuitive to use (at least to me), than the iOS system.

 

[Alte Schule]

Have an I phone 3 that's at least 10 years old. Was my granddaughters prior to me getting it about 7 years ago. Didn't know that that the ringtone was some Brittany Spears song. Embarrassed the hell out of me when I got my first call on it while in line at the grocery store. The majority of the people I work with are under 30 and they LOL when the old man pulls this ancient relic out of his pocket.
It really doesn't get much use. The majority of the calls I get are from numbers I don't recognize and don't answer.

 

[Torian]

My military issued work phone is an iphone, but I prefer my personal android.

 

[tarosean]

I've owned both, currently IOS. Not a single app has ever intrigued me enough to purchase on either system.

 

[Gtscotty]

Android. I usually don't spend any money on games or other apps, but the one exception to that rule is useful shooting apps. I spent $10 on the Shooter app, and don't regret a cent. I use it pretty much every time I'm at the long range, for practice or a match. If you make something in a similar vein that is reasonably priced (I believe that the Applied Ballistics App is $30... Ouch) and superior, I'd probably be willing to buy your app as well.

 

[jmorris]

I don't keep either in my pocket but my phone is android and the device I use for Internet access is an iPad.

 

[djont57]

Android; as much as I hate cell phones, work & family issues require that I be available at all times. It's a pain; but, at least as far as family is concerned, it does ease my mind to know that when there is an emergency (lots) I'm reachable. I did disconnect my land line though!

 

[entropy]

Android. I use it at work (unofficially) to look up patient phone #'s when they give us the wrong #, and personally for research and watching Epic Rap Battles of History and other amusing You Tube flotsam and jetsam. I also use it as a remote for my Roku.

 

[red rick]

Old ones use a flip .

 

[Hanzo581]

I would NOT have any type of cell phone if someone else paid for it AND wanted to pay me to use it!!!
I Would however gladly help gathering them all up and destroying them!!!
A majority of cell phone users are Idiots!!!
Sarge

This seems like a very rational, well thought out opinion. 4.77 billion cellular device users in the world, basically all idiots.

 

[Milt1]

What kind of phone do you, a fellow firearms enthusiast, keep in your pocket?

I'm trying to figure out which market an aspiring app designer should target first if he wants to reach the most firearms enthusiasts, iOS or Android. Unfortunately I'd have to choose one or the other-- it's too expensive to split focus in the beginning stages trying to accomodate both major phone OSes.

Thank you.

It would be a great help if you could give us some idea of the apps (and what they provide) that you are thinking about doing.