Building Always Taeyeon 2.0 was for my benefit, but I also wanted to distribute it to other users. This was going to be quite difficult after the app was removed from Google Play. Shortly after it was suspended, I tried distributing it on other app stores like GetJar and AndroidPit, but they rejected it with similar reasons as Google Play. With this new release, I figure I would try a new strategy (because otherwise I would have no strategy).
I know I was already disadvantaged because any user would have to install the APK directly (and enable unknown sources). So the first thing I did was make the latest version publicly available on a static URL. You can always download it at http://bit.ly/always-taeyeon. The link just forwards to a Google Drive file which I can keep up to date with the latest version. Step #1 accomplished – anyone can download my app.
The second disadvantage from being out of Google Play was that users wouldn’t get upgrade notifications when there is a new version. It might be tough to get everyone on 2.0, but if I release further versions, I don’t want to have to go through that pain again. I looked at services that can automatically send a push notification when you have a new version and even thought about using the Google Drive REST API to look at the last modified date as an update check. That would have been over-engineering. Instead, I just popped a simple JSON file on the server which my app can check; if there is a new update, a notification is raised in the app and clicking on it would go to the link above to download. This solution is actually better than Google Play, because a user might turn off upgrade notification in Google Play.
Finally, the hard part is getting all my existing Google Play users onto 2.0 and this new system. Luckily, I had built in a delivery system when I launched the app to ensure that I would have periodic (i.e., daily) photos. Instead of another Taeyeon photo, I can just add an image with my upgrade “advertisement” and hope that it reaches as many active users as I can. The advertisement was fun to make, here’s what it looks like:
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