提到靠应用赚钱这一点，苹果开发商总是比Andorid同行更吃香，但近日手机游戏平台木瓜移动（PapayaMobile）宣布，该平台已推出一系列合作服务，帮助Android开发商实现应用内置付费功能。

screenshoot of PapayaMobile

如果开发商和用户都认可这一服务，这将是一个巨大的双赢。木瓜移动董事长沈思还将作为主要发言人之一，在近日美国举办的2010年DiscoveryBeat大会上提到这一点。

Android应用营收很大程度上有赖于广告赞助，但实际上还有很多可挖掘的空间。一年以前，苹果通过推出应用内置付费功能，或应用内置虚拟商品销售，刺激了其应用营收增长。用户只需轻点屏幕就可以购买产品，该交易会通过手机自动处理。这一举措也促进了应用免费体验模式的推广，用户可以免费玩游戏，但需付费购买游戏中的装备等虚拟商品。免费体验模式这一招对Facebook上的社交游戏公司非常管用，比如说社交游戏发行商Zynga就靠这项营生赚了个钵满盘满。苹果iPhone游戏开发商ngmoco也因此身价倍增，最近转手给日本DeNA公司，也卖出了4亿多美元的高价。

Android现在每日可出售20多万部手机，由此可见，其手机应用的市场潜力也十分巨大，但Android应用商店仍然有待改进。为打破这一僵局，木瓜移动联合了一些计费服务公司，使用木瓜移动软件开发工具推出了针对Android的应用内置付费功能。在这一项目上，木瓜移动的合作者包括手机支付公司Zong、Billing Revolution和Adknoledge公司的Super Rewards部门。

选择与Zong合作的开发商可以整合40个国家的手机运营商计费系统，用户只需输入自己的手机号码就可以在游戏中购买商品，Zong公司会通过短信给用户发送一个保密的PIN代码，用户收到短信后在线输入该代码，就可以通过手机号码支付费用，不需要通过信用卡就能顺利在线购买商品。如果使用Billing Revolution提供的解决方案，用户也只需轻轻一键，就可以在手机上完成信用卡交易。

screenshoot of Zong

这两家公司还支持用户在木瓜移动平台购买虚拟货币，用户可以使用这些虚拟货币购买游戏中的商品。木瓜移动软件开发工具卸载了制造虚拟货币的功能，开发商就无需创造自己的虚拟货币，可以将更多精力投入到游戏本身的开发中。沈思表示，与主流手机计费公司合作，有助于木瓜移动开发商全面解决应用营收的问题。

如果开发商选择Adknowledge提供的服务，玩家还可以选择其他付费系统，比如说注册任务。用户可以注册一个广告作为其赞助商，不需要通过信用卡，只要注册购买鲜花或者向Netflix公司下订单就可以为应用付费。Adknowledge公司的Super Rewards部门将通过成千上万的指定广告赞助商，奖励一些虚拟货币给用户。

Zong公司的董事长大卫·马库斯（David Marcus）表示，开发商还是不断反映稀少的付费选项是Android应用难以生财的重大障碍之一，相信上述这些合作服务将有助于弥补这些不足。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译）

PapayaMobile creates partnerships to help developers make money on Android apps

When it comes to making money on apps, Apple developers are far ahead of Google Android developers. But PapayaMobile is announcing today that it has set up key partners to enable in-app purchases for Android apps.

If developers support it and consumers take to it, it could be a big deal. We’ll hear more about this development from Si Shen, chief executive of Beijing-based PapayaMobile, at DiscoveryBeat 2010, where she is a panel speaker today.

Android apps are monetized largely through advertising, but that leaves a lot on the table. A year ago, Apple pumped up its app economy by launching in-app purchases, or the ability to pay for an item from inside an app. The user simply taps the screen to buy something and the transaction is handled automatically. That has enabled a free-to-play model, where a user plays for free and pays real money for virtual goods, such as better weapons, in an app. The free-to-play model has worked so well for social game companies on Facebook that publishers such as Zynga are now worth billions of dollars. And Ngmoco, which focused on Apple’s iPhone platform, was recently sold to Japan’s DeNA for $400 million.

Since Android phones are selling at 200,000 units a day or more, the potential for a huge mobile app economy is there as well. But the Android Market needs a big upgrade. PapayaMobile, in the meantime, has organized a group of companies to enable in-app purchases for apps that use PapayaMobile’s software development kit. PapayaMobile has now partnered with mobile payments firm Zong, Billing Revolution, and Adknowledge’s Super Rewards offer division.

The Zong deal will let developers integrate billing via mobile carriers in 40 countries. With Zong, a user can make a payment inside a game by entering his or her mobile phone number. Zong sends a secure PIN code via text message, and then the player enters the code online. The payment is then billed to the mobile phone number. The user can thus pay for something online without having to enter a credit card number. Billing Revolution also enables users to pay for credit card transactions from any mobile phone with a single-click checkout.

These two companies allow users to pay for virtual currency from PapayaMobile, which in turn allows users to pay for virtual goods inside games. As part of its SDK, PapayaMobile offloads the task of creating a virtual currency, allowing developers to focus on their games instead. Shen said that partnering with key players in mobile monetization will let developers have a comprehensive solution for monetization when they use PapayaMobile.

With Adknowledge, PapayaMobile will let players use alternative payment systems such as special offers. With offers, users can sign up for an ad known as an offer. Rather than pay via credit card, they can pay for an app by signing up to buy flowers or subscribe to Netflix. Adknowledge’s Super Rewards division will let players earn virtual currency via thousands of targeted ad offers.

David Marcus, chief executive of Zong, said developers have continually cited poor payment options as one of the barriers to making money on Android. These solutions help fix that.（source:venturebeat）