Funambol Users Weigh In on Ads in Mobile Applications
by Kristin Shoemaker - Dec. 18, 2008Comments (1)- Related Blog Posts
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In early October, Lisa wrote about open source mobile push and sync provider Funambol, and its decision to try supporting its services with ad revenue. Lisa felt (and OStatic commenters seemed to agree) that as long as the service was good, and the ads weren't intrusive, it wasn't a bad trade.
Today, Funambol released the results of its user survey regarding its ad funded mobile email service. The survey results echo some of the comments here -- ads that are non-intrusive, relevant, and respect user privacy are acceptable when subsidizing the cost of useful, free applications. It seems targeted ads, paired with the right services, could prove to be a solid market model.
Funambol launched the ad-supported service on Nokia S60 phones, and had several hundred people participate. Funambol states that though there is definitely some bias in the survey results (due to the relatively small number of participants, the fact that they all used Nokia devices, geographic distribution and technical skill level), the results are indicative that this is an avenue worth pursuing.
During the first month, it was estimated that each user generated about $10 in ad revenue a month. Survey respondents indicated they'd be willing to pay $15 monthly for an ad-free service, or $6 monthly for an equivalent ad-supported service. 84% of those surveyed said they'd recommend others try ad-supported mobile applications.
Funambol believes ad-supported mobile applications are worth a closer look, and hold benefits for all involved. Perhaps the best part of the survey is Funambol's focus on the idea that the application serving the advertisements must serve the end-user, first, lest the ads become annoying -- or irrelevant.
If the ad revenue funds a preferred open source application -- and if the open source vendor considers the users' input, as Funambol is -- there's no reason why this model wouldn't be worth pursuing. Undoubtedly many open source enthusiasts (or those who just want an alternative syncing service) would be willing to further kick the tires (and perhaps click an ad or two in the process).
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