Last night, I taught an intro class on Android. I got the question that I always tend to get: How do you make money with Android apps? Thanks to a post from FierceMobileContent, I now have a better answer than the Android Market.

Multiple new Android app markets are being created with better options for developers to get paid for the apps To quote the post from FierceMobileContent,

Developers in only nine countries are presently able to offer paid apps via Android Market–moreover, paid apps are available in only 14 of the 46 countries that the storefront serves. On top of that, consumers must register for a Google Checkout account in order to download paid Android applications, except in locations where operator billing is available.

Developers can now try other options including Amazon’s upcoming apps store and Verizon’s V-Cast store with billing directly to the customer’s phone bill.

Living in Silicon Valley really distorts one’s perspective of technology. I was reminded of this from two recent incidents.

The first reminder was a travel conference that I attended recently. Of the 2000 attendees, it seemed that I was the only one that was astounded that there was no Internet access at the conference. Evidently, it is possible to have a conference without the Internet. Who knew?

The second reminder was a news article on broadband acceptance in Iowa. Iowa has made great progress in getting basic broadband accessible to 95% of the state’s population. Even with this large buildout, 45% are not interested in getting broadband. Even more interesting is that 31% of the population did not have a computer at all.

Today’s mobile tech quiz question: How much does it cost to license a closed mobile OS? According to sources at Microsoft, it costs OEMs $15/device to use their new Windows Mobile 7 OS. This person does his/her best to explain that $15/device is much cheaper than Android open source model, but it sounds a little desperate. The bigger question is why publish this info. There are only a limited number of phone manufactures in the world. Why not talk directly to them about it? What is the point of sharing this info with the tech world? Strange marketing indeed! 

Read about a brilliant way to combine location-based apps and customer rewards and brand marketing. Yesterday, Loopt and Virgin America rewarded users who checked in at the SF or Cancun International Airports between the hours of 11AM to 3PM PST with 2 for 1 tickets to Cancun. The only problem was that I did not hear about it until it was far to late. Bummer!

More info from mobile developers on the ad revenues associated with iAds and AdMob.  All in all, the jury seems to be on the side of free apps. But will it last?