How to choose a good mobile development app development company (outsourcing)?

This is an interesting question I see alot.

As you know, I own a Game Dev company that does smartphone and web games (we have 130+ of them. ) I also consult with startup companies on how to do things and introduce them to good partners etc...

Here are the options.

1. You can look through Elance or Freelancer to get bids and find someone through a screening process.

PROS: You can find very inexpensive rates due to the competition that is out there and many many companies use the services.

CONS: You get what you pay for. As mentioned in the PROS section, you typically will get inexpensive rates which looks attractive, but you may get subpar work, trouble with timeline, devs that underestimate costs and thus ask for more money to complete etc.. Typically, companies or individuals that use these systems are lower grade. The best companies that do work for others don't need such systems to have work...

2. Look for companies through the web or advertisements.

PROS: You can find some top notch companies out there that don't show on freelance sites and you have a better chance to finding a good price/quality match.

CONS: Its laborious work to sort them out, to find them and to interview candidates.

3. Let someone introduce you to the proper company.

PROS: Some poeple out there have already done the research to find the right guys to do a good job at a good rate. Leverage that knowledge and save yourself LOADS of time and money.

CONS: You have to trust the person that does the referral. If he's good and his ties with the referred company are mostly non-financial (for the referrence), or better yet he doesn't NEED the referral to put bread on the table, generally, the introduction will be good and you'll have a good experience off the bat with the dev company. If not....

So my suggestion to you is simple: Get someone to refer you a partner by asking for it. There is nothing worse than spending months and thousands of dollars in finding a good outsourcing partner on your own going through steps 1 or 2. Its EASY to misrepresent yourself on the web, and as mentioned, the best quality don't advertise on the web much so they are very hard to find. Many don't even have time for more contracts because they are so busy with quality work offered by larger companies that have LOTS of money to spend.

But if you can get "in" on that action, in a country that is less expensive than here, then you get Best Value, at a Reasonable Price and you don't waste huge amounts of time going from one outsourcing project failure to the next ...

With that, have fun searching! (or just e-mail me and I'll send you in the right direction... of course).