Thoughts on the iPhone App Store review process

Should Apple have approved "I Am Rich"? Pretty much everyone agrees that it's a useless application. But once approved, should they have pulled it? Jason Kottke says it should stay in the App Store. He argues that Apple should be providing an open marketplace rather than a hand-selected boutique. Say what you will about Apple's App Store shortcomings (no shopping carts? What were they thinking!), iPhone consumers are split between those who'd prefer greater oversight and those who'd rather let the free market decide. Follow the jump for more thoughts about the App Store review process.Continue reading Thoughts on the iPhone App Store review processRead | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Unfair practices in the App Store?

The App Store might be only a few days old, but it has already proven itself to be a viable and potentially lucrative outlet for developers. With so many apps (and more being added all the time) for sale, getting exposure is extremely important if a developer wants to stand out in the crowd. Unsurprisingly, the market, especially in the games sector, is very competitive. But is the quest to compete leading to some unfair, and ultimately consumer unfriendly practices? Note: All of this data refers to the U.S. App Store, I'm unsure of the situation in other parts of the world.We got a tip from an iPhone developer, who requested anonymity, about some shady techniques being employed by some developers to obtain a higher app ranking in the App Store. As it stands right now, if you choose to browse the App Store in iTunes, not using the search but using the "All iPhone Applications" category, apps are visually displayed in alphabetical order. Well, they are supposed to be displayed in alphabetical order. As it stands right now, only five of the 21 titles displayed on the first page actually fit that criteria -- and they are the last five apps on that page.Some developers have figured out that adding a symbol or space before the game name will promote the app to the first page. Thus, Solitaire City, which alphabetically should be on page 26, is the very first app listed in the store. Other tiles like Whack the Groundhog, $0.99 Sudoku and 'ColorRise 3D' are all listed on the first page, instead of where they should be cataloged.Gallery: App Store HijinxContinue reading Unfair practices in the App Store?Permalink | Email this | Comments

More App Store sales figures

Last week, iPhone app shop tap tap tap released preliminary sales data for its iPhone applications. The figures were interesting (and impressive), but at the time, only seven days of data was available. As Steve Jobs told the Wall Street Journal on Monday, the App Store's first month generated about $30 million US in sales, and I was interested in how that would translate on a micro level. Yesterday, tap tap tap's John Casasanta posted its full July sales totals (save a few territories, which will likely have little effect on the final tally), allowing us to do just that.As with the data released last week, the numbers are extremely impressive. Apple's reporting process calculated sales from June 29, 2008 through August 2, 2008. However, as John notes, because the App Store didn't launch until July 10, 2008, the sales data is actually for 24 days.For tap tap tap's two applications, this is the breakdown:Where to Go (App Store link) sold 24,094 copies at $2.99 a copy in 24 days.Tipulator (App Store link) sold 3,168 copies at $.99 a copy in 24 days.After Apple's 30% cut, tap tap tap's net revenue was $52,815 US for 24 days. Wow. That averages to just about $2200 US a day. Read on for more analysis.Continue reading More App Store sales figuresRead | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Rejected! The unwritten law of the App Store

Section: iPod + iTunes, iPod touch, iPhone + Communications, iPhone, iPhone SDK & AppsGetting an app approved for the App Store is not as easy as you might think. There are standards to uphold. Some are known, like applications can’t be malicious, contain porn, use VOIP over EDGE/3G etc. But some of the rules of the App Store are unwritten. TUAW reports on some of these unwritten laws of the App store by way of developers who have had their apps rejected by Apple. The first rule is no non-alert vibrations. This means that games can’t use vibration for gameplay feedback. Things like getting hit, or driving over rough terrain are big no-nos for vibration. Apple has decided thus far that vibration is reserved for alerting the user of events. Things such as SMS messages, phone calls, voice mail, etc. The second rule of the App Store pertains to the toolbar. Any toolbar in an app is understood to be placed at the bottom of the screen. This is a conformity rule. If you haven’t already noticed, every app that Apple has released (and certainly all other apps as well) conforms to this rule. This is so the user can know where to expect it in an app, and makes sense. Placing the toolbar at the bottom is more functional, as well, since accessing one of its functions wouldn’t require you to cover the rest of the screen with your hand when tapping the icon, as it would if the toolbar was placed at the top of the screen. An optional third rule, not detailed by TUAW, is to not make a ridiculously overpriced app that does nothing...like I Am Rich. Enough said. The second rule makes complete sense to me, but the first rule seems unfortunate. I think most users can tell that in-game rumbles are produced by the game, not alerts. Maybe Apple could compromise by allowing developers to add rumble functionality, but require the setting to default to off. The user would be required to change that setting before any rumble could occur. This way users would be fully aware that vibrations can be produced without alerts. Sounds reasonable doesn’t it? Via [TUAW] Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Jobs: App Store could become a billion dollar marketplace

Apple's App Store for the iPhone has made a total of $30 million in its first 30 days and Steve Jobs says it will "crest half a billion soon," with a full $1 billion possible sometime in the future. The decision to let third-parties develop for the iPhone was certainly a good one, and the company says that software will continue to differentiate the device in the future even as the competition tries to catch up.Read More...

Steve Jobs discusses App Store with Wall Street Journal

This morning's Wall Street Journal has a really interesting article (use Google News to view the complete text) about the App Store, complete with quotes from Steve Jobs himself! While the full article is definitely worth a read, here are some of the highlights: After the first month, App Store sales are about $30 million US, meaning at least $360 million in revenue for Apple if sales continue at that pace (we discussed the success of the App Store on a micro-level, here) Steve on the App Store: "I've never seen anything like this in my career for software." Steve on the future of mobile technology: "Phone differentiation used to be about radios and antennas and things like that. We think, going forward, the phone of the future will be differentiated by software." Steve on the ability to disable a program remotely: "Hopefully we never have to pull that lever, but we would be irresponsible not to have a lever like that to pull." As Steve Sande pointed out in last night's Talkcast, amid all the criticism aimed at the App Store, we often forget that the store is only one month old. That isn't to say that those criticisms are invalid or unnecessary, it just brings some perspective to the "bigger picture," if you will. Now that we are a month in, it is clear that the store, the distribution format, and the platform are real game changers for the mobile industry and for Apple itself.Thanks John!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments