1. Mavrique's Avatar
    +1

    What he (or she) said.....

    Though its probably closer to 95% for me
    Last edited by Mavrique; 11-30-11 at 07:23 PM.
    11-30-11 07:20 PM
  2. adeveloper's Avatar
    Most part of our revenue came not from MobiHand store itself, but from their shopping cart service. We heavily placed links to MobiHand shopping cart, all our trial versions linked to MobiHand mobile store.

    So the loss from non-payment was very significant, we lost a considerable part of our royalties for July|August|September.
    In October when it became clear that the problems would last for a long time, we started removing all the links to shopping carts etc.
    Some apps had been specifically tailored to use MobiHand payment processing system, it took some time and effort to redirect all the revenue streams from MobiHand.
    12-02-11 02:07 AM
  3. CrackBerry Kevin's Avatar
    Hey Guys,

    Heading out of the office right now. Just caught up on this thread and the other one.

    I will make a longer response here over the weekend or on Monday (update: probably late Monday/Tuesday). Miss CrackBerry will beat me down if I'm not home soon (already late for dinner!).

    Kevin
    12-02-11 07:21 PM
  4. Jaji_vzw8330's Avatar
    Wow. This is good news to know. I'm backing up all my apps and codes as we speak. I wonder what the problem is.
    12-03-11 10:23 AM
  5. Azensun's Avatar
    Just my 2 cents...
    Before I launch into my insignificant opinions, let me qualify by saying that I am familiar with both sides of this issue. I'm surrounded by developers in my everyday life and I'm a big customer when it comes to the next great/cool/awesome/gotta-have-it apps, to go with my next great/cool/awesome/gotta-have-it BlackBerry device.

    This is a sad and messy situation all around, and everone loses. Developers not only lose what was once a revenue stream but also a way to showcase their apps. They provide a product and should be paid for those efforts, no question! Customers lose because they might be faced with repurchasing apps to keep up with and receive updates to those apps. The developer/customer relationship is critical and there is no doubt there are losses on both sides. Developers need customers and customers need developers.

    I've been reading all of the posts and hoping this will end well for all involved. I've given a lot of thought to every purchase ever made be it on Mobihand through the CB app store or App World. I admit, I made a lot of purchases through MH/CB app store as they were more successful on occasion than I was when it came to getting tech support. And yes, the coupons were a good marketing strategy. App World makes it pretty easy to download and purchase apps and they are good at update notifications. But they're still a bit limited on app offerings, and it can be somewhat of a PITA to download apps from them on occasion. I can't speak to the tech support as I've never tried it through their links but I do feel like I'm purchasing from a big black hole sometimes when I buy from them.
    I've backed up every code and license key I've ever received, but I guess time will tell how many apps I'll have to repurchase just so I'll be able to update. Small collateral factor in a much bigger war, but it's on my brain, anyway.

    At the end of the day, what is most important is getting this situation resolved in a fair and equitable way so that losses to both sides are minimal. I hope this can happen.
    AxKxB likes this.
    12-04-11 01:05 PM
  6. Chrisy's Avatar
    Anyone have a Mobihand coupon?
    12-05-11 11:53 AM
  7. CrackBerry Kevin's Avatar
    Hey Guys,

    Little update.. sorry on the delay still. Before weighing in again here I wanted to have a good catch-up call with Mobihand and talk to some more devs, etc. Did that. Just have to get my Bold 9790 Review FINISHED and posted then will get my attention back here (getting yelled at by people for not having it up). Need to clone myself.

    I'll be back!

    K
    howarmat and joesworld like this.
    12-08-11 09:44 AM
  8. BigBadWulf's Avatar
    Hey Guys,

    Little update.. sorry on the delay still. Before weighing in again here I wanted to have a good catch-up call with Mobihand and talk to some more devs, etc. Did that. Just have to get my Bold 9790 Review FINISHED and posted then will get my attention back here (getting yelled at by people for not having it up). Need to clone myself.

    I'll be back!

    K
    Dual founders and fearless leaders. Wouldn't that be RIMtastic!
    12-08-11 10:40 AM
  9. CrackBerry Kevin's Avatar
    Hey All,

    Sorry for the slow response here. Been swamped trying to wrap up a bunch of projects before the holidays hit, and like I said above, I wanted to have a good catch up call with the head guys at Mobihand before weighing in here. I did have that call, and they brought me up to speed on where things are at and what they're working towards.

    Let's jump to it!

    CrackBerry on Apps - First things first, let me clarify our take on the CrackBerry App Store. The CrackBerry App Store in its current form has seen some pretty successful days over the years. Especially in the pre-App World BlackBerry Storm era it was a valuable asset within the BlackBerry ecosystem, helping BlackBerry owners get apps they wanted and helping developers make money they wouldn't have otherwise. 2009 especially drove some pretty awesome download numbers. With the emergence of BlackBerry App World and knowing that the PlayBook and future BlackBerry 10 phones would not be supporting third party app stores as the BBOS did, we've known and planned for a long time now that eventually the CrackBerry App Store would likely evolve to become more of a "legacy" app store for older BlackBerry Smartphones on the BBOS. Even with that being the case Mobihand has been working on some innovations like Appverse that make the CrackBerry App store relevant for non BBOS devices, and we have of course been working on our plans to evolve and improve our strategy for covering app content outside of the store (something we're working on across all our sites, not just CrackBerry). Overall the CrackBerry App Store is fairly quiet these days, but there are still loyal users, so we haven't been a rush to phase it out, and the merchandising tools in it for developers are still much better than App World's (sales, coupon codes for free apps, etc.) so we've found it a great medium for working with developers for promoting apps to the community. In the past we had fairly strict rules on linking to the CrackBerry App Store within the forums, but that's something we've loosened up on, with App World being a trusted source for apps. But per above, phasing out the CrackBerry App Store is an eventuality we planned for a long time ago independent of the current developer situation with Mobihand being discussed on this thread (to be dead honest I figured demand for the CrackBerry App Store would be dead the month after App World launched - I was surprised to see the demand continue to be as strong as it was for so long).

    The Mobihand situation - Bottom line, over the years Mobihand has been a great partner to work with and most of the developers I have talked to have felt the same way. The emergence of manufacturer-driven app stores has obviously put a squeeze on third party app store providers like Mobihand and the Mobihand team has been working hard and investing in their company to evolve their strategy to set things up for the future. The current situation with some developers being behind in payments is of course unfortunate. I think developers and concerned followers here will be a little more understanding in knowing that the members of Mobihand's executive team have personally not been paid for the past nine months. They all believe strongly in the projects they are working on and what they are evolving the company into, hence why they've sacrificed their own salaries to keep pushing forward. Obviously we want to see all developer partners be brought current on payments asap, and I would like to see Mobihand continue to carve out their own path for a successful future.

    Mobihand made a couple blog posts informing developers of where they are at and what they are working towards, including the prospect of being acquired. During our conversation I gained more insight into what's going on here. Long story short, with the goal of developers getting paid and Mobihand working through their deals, the worst thing we could do here on CrackBerry would be to do something like pull the CrackBerry App Store prematurely. That wouldn't help developers get paid any faster, nor would it be helpful for Mobihand given their progress in current deals. We were assured that the current situation is literally "weeks" away from being resolved, so I think that's definitely time we all should afford them to have. Mobihand told me they have reached out to (at least some) developers to keep them informed, and the impression I have is that most developers are being understanding of Mobihand's current situation. I'm sure if Mobihand was going through this process again they may have reached out more proactively to developers, but what's done is done so for them it's more about moving forward now in the best manner to get the issues resolved.

    As for end customers, things should essentially be status quo. For any developers who choose to unpublish their apps or quit working with Mobihand, customers still have access to all previously purchased apps when they login even if they are currently unpublished. And most developers I've talked to seem to be quite helpful with any customers who have reached out for support if there's situations where Mobihand hasn't been able to resolve. Again, the CrackBerry App Store is relatively quiet these days - so we haven't been seeing any issues being reported by customers that have prompted us to need to take action. And if there are any customer service needs that are not being addressed, be sure to send them in via support channels or let us know here and we'll be sure we work with Mobihand and developers to ensure they are being addressed. We only ever want to see satisfied users here.

    Next Steps - I think that covers it for now and brings everyone up to speed. Basic course of action on our end is to just keep trucking for the time being and hope things pan out in the next few weeks/months for Mobihand - we think that's what best for developers affected and for Mobihand. Mobihand has some smart, passionate people on their team, so I hope all the things they are working on pull together the way they want.

    All the best,

    Kevin
    Azensun, Michelle Haag and AxKxB like this.
    12-14-11 10:05 PM
  10. blueyestm's Avatar
    I think there's more to it froma customers point of view with apps being pulled. I recently swapped pins as you know (btw thanks again for my phone ) and since the twinkler apps are now removed (not sure when this happened specifically) but I was in the middle of a PIN swap and now can't get new codes for apps I paid for. Emailed support but all I got was that they no longer have those apps in the store. Oh I can still download them as they are in my acct but w/o new codes they are useless and the kicker is I would have repaid for them but they aren't available on appworld either.
    12-14-11 10:21 PM
  11. pistolpetefan23's Avatar
    So if employees aren't getting paid, and they aren't paying developers, where is the money they've been collecting for the last several months? Based on the amounts some of the devs have said they are owed, Mobihand has to have taken in several million dollars in revenue in the last few months. Where is that money?
    Last edited by pistolpetefan23; 12-14-11 at 10:38 PM.
    12-14-11 10:32 PM
  12. Smiley88's Avatar
    I don't have any problems working and dealing with Mobihand but I have a problem with them taking money that they owe to us and use it for their own benefit. They are suppose to collect the money and return those to the developers not "steal" them. They have their 30% commission. This is fraud like wall street.
    12-14-11 11:12 PM
  13. SCrid2000's Avatar
    I'm also wondering where the money could possibly have gone - what expenses does mobihand really have other than some web development, customer service, and server/bandwidth?
    I myself haven't gotten paid by Mobihand for 4 months - but then, I haven't made enough for it to be worth paying me for lol. I wonder if that's how 98% of there accounts are current?
    12-14-11 11:30 PM
  14. anon(1603170)'s Avatar
    So if employees aren't getting paid, and they aren't paying developers, where is the money they've been collecting for the last several months? Based on the amounts some of the devs have said they are owed, Mobihand has to have taken in several million dollars in revenue in the last few months. Where is that money?
    On the "grid"... they just forgot they had to pay developers and either invested everything on "something" or they got ripped off by a larger company and are running in one limb.
    I dont see what sort of project mobihand is doing that takes much more than $500K from developer royalties and leaves them unpaid, thats not even counting their own revenues from fees. Out of these $500K i assumed, almost $200K are from one blackberry application only, and there are quite a few successful applications out there that are probably also missing more than $100K, so basically, it may even be much much more than $500K in just developer royalties.
    They must be building a nuclear power plant or opening their own private jet line.
    Last edited by gbsn; 12-14-11 at 11:42 PM.
    12-14-11 11:38 PM
  15. CheetahAce's Avatar
    And let's not forget that even though developers have pulled their apps people are still buying the app from their superstore app. That's more money going to mobihand and zero going to me and the customers aren't getting full support from mobihand as they usually tell the customer to contact the developer with issues relating to the store that they use to handle. i still get sales on mobihand every few hours every day even though my apps have been pulled. and i'm not getting paid and i have more support to do. nice going.
    pistolpetefan23 likes this.
    12-15-11 03:17 AM
  16. Smiley88's Avatar
    And let's not forget that even though developers have pulled their apps people are still buying the app from their superstore app. That's more money going to mobihand and zero going to me and the customers aren't getting full support from mobihand as they usually tell the customer to contact the developer with issues relating to the store that they use to handle. i still get sales on mobihand every few hours every day even though my apps have been pulled. and i'm not getting paid and i have more support to do. nice going.
    Me too. Not sure how users are purchasing unpublished apps. Maybe we need to close the account from mobihand. Doesn't look like I will see anymore money coming from them.
    12-15-11 09:47 AM
  17. BigBadWulf's Avatar
    I think there's more to it froma customers point of view with apps being pulled. I recently swapped pins as you know (btw thanks again for my phone ) and since the twinkler apps are now removed (not sure when this happened specifically) but I was in the middle of a PIN swap and now can't get new codes for apps I paid for. Emailed support but all I got was that they no longer have those apps in the store. Oh I can still download them as they are in my acct but w/o new codes they are useless and the kicker is I would have repaid for them but they aren't available on appworld either.
    My heart goes out to the developers left unpaid, and I'm trying my best to keep an open mind that MH has some grand reason for this action. With regard to Twinkler, I have attempted to contact them via email and phone. This is one case where MH doesn't appear to have blame. Twinkler, as far as I can tell is out of business. I have yet to get a response from them.
    12-15-11 12:59 PM
  18. boldkeyboardholic's Avatar
    AppWorld won't go away unless RIM dies.
    what could happend - if those two guys not change something ;(


    grr - I even bought my apps because I want to support - and now this...
    (also I don't like how appworld works/layout/design etc and it's sooooo slow on my device)
    Last edited by boldkeyboardholic; 12-15-11 at 02:17 PM.
    12-15-11 02:04 PM
  19. pdl2mtl90's Avatar
    So I am guessing with all the crap Mobihand is pulling and the developers leaving, if I want to upgrade my Blackberry at contract time, I'm screwed in regards to transferring my many purchased apps to the new phone? Might be my breaking point with Blackberry and maybe even AT&T also.
    12-18-11 06:53 AM
  20. QuiteSimple's Avatar
    Me too. Not sure how users are purchasing unpublished apps. Maybe we need to close the account from mobihand. Doesn't look like I will see anymore money coming from them.
    If you have Mobihand mobile shopping cart users can purchase apps through it, although the apps are not posted for sale in Mobihand. The only way to avoid this is to change all URLs pointing to the shopping cart (because Google already has the URLs cached)
    12-18-11 08:21 AM
  21. liquid_metal's Avatar
    App World used to have a similar problem.

    Well, I purchased QL well before there were any payment problems, but there's been no reply to repeated support requests for a key for my warranty-replacement phone. When weeks go by I have to wonder again if it's not just dissing all MobiHand customers to put pressure on MobiHand to pay up. Kind of harsh on the customers, it's a $5 app.
    12-18-11 06:28 PM
  22. CheetahAce's Avatar
    App World used to have a similar problem.

    Well, I purchased QL well before there were any payment problems, but there's been no reply to repeated support requests for a key for my warranty-replacement phone. When weeks go by I have to wonder again if it's not just dissing all MobiHand customers to put pressure on MobiHand to pay up. Kind of harsh on the customers, it's a $5 app.
    I answer every email. usually within minutes. learn how to email.
    Last edited by CheetahAce; 12-21-11 at 03:39 AM.
    andyahs likes this.
    12-18-11 07:03 PM
  23. liquid_metal's Avatar
    Total BS. I answer every email. usually within minutes. learn how to email.
    Hmmm, here's the one from 1,735 minutes ago:

    Hello, I can't get a license key from MobiHand. Trying to reinstall QL on my ____, PIN ________ . Purchased under this same email addr, ______________ . Thank you,


    "Learn how to email", please educate me, you've got a PhD.
    12-18-11 08:07 PM
  24. CheetahAce's Avatar
    what's your email address and what address are you sending to?
    Last edited by CheetahAce; 12-18-11 at 08:16 PM.
    12-18-11 08:10 PM
  25. dcburke789's Avatar
    Hmmm, here's the one from 1,735 minutes ago:

    Hello, I can't get a license key from MobiHand. Trying to reinstall QL on my ____, PIN ________ . Purchased under this same email addr, ______________ . Thank you,


    "Learn how to email", please educate me, you've got a PhD.


    Did you visit Mobihand.com from a pc and swap your device PIN in your account?

    I recently had to get a replacement phone...simple as that
    12-18-11 08:12 PM
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