Report charts out “iPhone Middle Class” of app developers

Flurry, a small San Francisco company that provides application use data to mobile app developers, has done a study of the app developers you don’t normally read in the press. They’re neither the top nor the bottom of the field, they’re the bourgeoisie in the middle, the iPhone Middle Class making money but not garnering headlines for their moderate sales revenue.

Flurry’s analysis will be ongoing, but the first post already brings useful analysis of the App Store, by comparing established developers against newcomers:

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New game developers not only hold their own against established game developers, but also outrank them, on average, among the Top 25 games on iPhone. With speculation that more incumbent mobile gaming companies are investing more heavily in the iPhone platform, we would have expected to see an increase in the number of top slots held by established companies over the last several months. However, new developers continue to rank well.

Flurry VP of Marketing Peter Farago, who writes up Flurry’s analysis, says his next report will focus on original titles versus licensed brand names, and he’ll also look at the app market for Android. Hype stories about get-rich-quick app makers and their going-broke-fast counterparts are too common, and not helpful. Flurry’s middle-of-the road focus is refreshingly functional. It shines a light on the part of the app market where most developers will end up.