the Flagship blog & community for App Developers with main focus on Samsung's bada and cross-platform technologies Problems Developing Free Apps for Bada
During our discussion on the forums regarding the certification process, one of our developer colleagues told me that his free app has been rejected at certification – for reasons that may affect many (if not most) developers of free bada apps.
When it comes to development of free apps I like to put them into two categories:
- free apps without commercial intent
- free apps with commercial intent
The first kind of apps is developed without any direct intent to earn any money. This may be simply something that you developed for fun and/or to solve your own “problem”. So you allow others to use your app, too, without asking anything in return. Normally these apps are really simple and straight-forward solutions (like a BMI calculator, for example).
The commercial free apps, however, are developed with the aim to earn money. There are different types of such apps. However, the most popular are:
- “Demo” or “Preview” Apps: here a developer releases a “Lite” version of an app with the main purpose of convincing the users to buy a more advanced “Professional” version of this app, if they like the Lite version.
- Ads supported Apps: here a small banner is integrated into the app. A developer gets usually paid on a per-click basis.
In-app advertising is very popular on other platforms like Android or iPhone – there are already a good dozen of big advertising networks that specialize on mobile business.
Usually a developer provides banner space in his app and the corresponding advertising network fills the space with an ad. A developer has none or only a very limited control over the content of a banner or the website(s) it leads to.
Many of these ads offer the users some special services, products, information on near-by events, etc. Sometimes such a banner will also lead you to a page where mobile software (like Java games) are offered for download. Unfortunately, such a case is prohibited by Samsung – you may link only to one software source: Samsung Apps store.
As you may imagine, the free app we are talking about has been rejected exactly under these circumstances. The developer wanted to make some money with AdMob and ended up rejected, because he has no control over the content of AdMob’s ads.
In my opinion this is a huge drawback that will scare many developers off – in the long run.
Apart from this TOS-problem, there is also a technical problem that I know of, that hinders you from implementing in-app advertising: the lack of redirection support in the Web Control.
An advertising network will usually not link you to the final page, but send you through a quick page/request that registers the click in their own system first. Only then the user is forwarded to the final page (sometimes there are even more hops, like 4-6 hops).
If you use the Web Control as it is right now to display the ad and open the corresponding link in a new browser window – you will see that you’ll end up stuck on a white page.
We hope that Samsung gives this topic an adequate consideration – in-app adevertising is very important for developers. 
Edit: Certification Horrors Continue!
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18 Responses to “Problems Developing Free Apps for Bada”
By Nour on Jul 17, 2010 | Reply
wow, Samsung is playing it hard or stupid. Ofcourse users don’t prefer mobile ads but making $$$ from sales only require brilliant ideas and luck!
now, this is a killer move for many developers and bad for users who won’t find many good free apps.
hmmmm what an effort wasted by you guys trying to get the ads working… sorry for that
By wit on Jul 17, 2010 | Reply
In fact we have found a workaround for the technical limitation of the Web Control (and I guess many other developers found it, too). But this still leaves the problem of TOS.
So basically you would not be able to use any advertising networks, but rather go and offer banner space to individual companies/advertisers that have nothing to do with downloading apps. This is not viable though.
You’d have to set up your own payment transaction system and clicks recording. All the services of an advertising network would be gone – you’d need to do everything manually. Not viable at all.
I think the TOS should be adapted to allow these links. Furthermore, it’s impossible to install anything that’s uncertified by Samsung, as I understand it. So it’d be impossible to install any third-party software even in the rare case if the user got redirected to such a webpage…?
Maybe we should start collecting signatures…
By sparky on Jul 17, 2010 | Reply
If they don’t play it right, this could be the ultimate bada-killer long-term. :-/
Being so rigid in TOS will have the effect that the app store will have no quality free apps at all. Which in turn will lead to less headset sales in the future.
As far as know, there is no way to install apps from outside the market. So what’s the deal?
Or are they planning to monopolize ads? Not even Apple was stupid enough to do so. (sorry for the expression. I’m just fed up that the whole bada thing could be a fail…)
By sparky on Jul 17, 2010 | Reply
I know that with all that rigidity they are just trying to protect their business as far as they can. But don’t they realize that this kind of over-protection will ruin their business?
If I was an iPhone/Android developer looking for information to start developing in Bada and found this post, I guarantee You I would discard the idea and go back where I came from.
Personally, I have two bada apps in-development which were planned to be ad-supported. Now I can flush them down the toilet, apparently.
By remy_david on Jul 17, 2010 | Reply
I installed several applications containing ad banners. I would rather say the guy at validation office was tired or too strict in reading the TOS…
By ddev on Jul 17, 2010 | Reply
Sorry guys, I’ll prefer another platform to develop without so stupid restriction.
By lovedale on Jul 19, 2010 | Reply
hello people!
I had attended the bada Developer Day in Bangalore.
The architect of bada promised that they will be coming up with an ad control, a bit like web control and buttons in v1.5 of bada.
Its expected in the next 1 or 2 months.
No need to worry fellas
By wit on Jul 19, 2010 | Reply
lovedale,
thank you for that info! That’s good news. But one thing is a technical solution, another thing are the TOS.
If you ban linking to software download sites, then you are indirectly banning all advertising networks out there.
Because as a developer you don’t have a way to filter out those ads.
So, if you are unlucky, at certification process AdMob will deliver an ad to such download site. If you are lucky, it will deliver some ringtones site. In one case you get rejected, in the other probably not. In any case: this is not a serious approach to certification.
By Bjorn on Jul 27, 2010 | Reply
“If I was an iPhone/Android developer looking for information to start developing in Bada and found this post, I guarantee You I would discard the idea and go back where I came from.”
That’s me then. In the mobile space I develop Android and iOS apps and was looking into developing for Bada and stumbled over this great site. A promising start finding a nice developer site of the calibre.
Pity Samsung’s gone down this path of control freakery, as if Apple’s/Job’s creativity in this area wasn’t enough. Sigh!
Well, nice seeing you but I’m going back to my ol’ Android/iOS mine to shovel some more code.
By Vendetta_revived on Sep 26, 2010 | Reply
Someone should ask the Certification team to read the above post by Bjorn and ask themselves if this is the future they want for bada.
By Chintan Dave on Oct 28, 2010 | Reply
Yes. Good News for developer.
Ad Control will now come in SDK Ver. 1.2.0a1 and also this SDK support all wave series mobile apps. So we can make application for each wave phone in one single SDK.
Also in this release of the SDK some good new feature are added like related to web and Flash.
There is change/addition in all most all namespaces.
By krishnarjun on May 4, 2011 | Reply
The moment I see one single advertisement in my bada applications, i will dump my bada phone and move to Android one.
Thanks.
By matt on May 21, 2011 | Reply
This is just another piece of evidence that points to the closing of the handheld phone OS. All of these restrictions are based on “Un-Authorized” content making onto the phone any way other than Samsung’s approval. This is a trend that I see happening all around the industry. Even Intel plans to install “anti-virus” features onto their chips.
All of these features will play right into the hands of governments that are repressive and want to keep information away from their people. Just as Apple has locked down their devices – increasingly mobile phone makers are locking down their platforms in the name of security. The problem is that this same security will be used to prevent freedom of speech and freedom of information for hadheld device users in countries where there are no legal restrictions on such practices.
What do you think the Chinese government will call a “virus”? Cnn.com?
By ios developer on Jul 25, 2011 | Reply
So how it’s now? Can I put some advertisements in my new Bada App or not?
By Chris on Aug 17, 2011 | Reply
Hi Wit,
You mention that ‘In fact we have found a workaround for the technical limitation of the Web Control’ in regards to embedding AdMob.
Are you able to help me with the solution?
As I’m sure you’re aware now – Bada have lifted their TOS limitations on using services such as AdMob.