A Comparison of Distribution Channels for Large-Scale Deployments of iOS Applications

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Author(s): Donald McMillan (University of Glasgow, UK), Alistair Morrison (University of Glasgow, UK)and Matthew Chalmers (University of Glasgow, UK)
Copyright: 2013
Pages: 18
Source title: Developments in Technologies for Human-Centric Mobile Computing and Applications
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Joanna Lumsden (Glasgow Caledonian University)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-2068-1.ch014

Keywords: Human Aspects of Technology / Information Science Reference / Social Sciences & Humanities

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Abstract

When conducting mass participation trials on Apple iOS devices researchers are forced to make a choice between using the Apple App Store or third party software repositories. In order to inform this choice, this paper describes a sample application that was released via both methods along with comparison of user demographics and engagement. The contents of these repositories are examined and compared, and statistics are presented highlighting the number of times the application was downloaded and the user retention experienced with each. The results are presented and the relative merits of each distribution method discussed to allow researchers to make a more informed choice. Results include that the application distributed via third party repository received ten times more downloads than the App Store application and that users recruited via the repository consistently used the application more.

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A Comparison of Distribution Channels for Large-Scale Deployments of iOS Applications

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