iPhone App Store Sales for #1 Spot Revealed

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/12/23/iphone-app-store-sales-for-1-spot-revealed/)

Apple's broadening of App Store acceptances (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/12/12/apple-broadens-app-store-acceptance-approves-pull-my-finger/) has opened the door to a number of new novelty applications including InfoMedia's iFart Mobile (http://ifartmobile.com/) [App Store (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=293760823&mt=8)]. The $0.99 humor application has rapidly seen success and has rocketed up to the #1 App Sales slot.

Most interesting is that the developer of the app has been very transparent (http://www.joelcomm.com/updated_app_store_data_122008.html) about his sales numbers during his app's climb in ranking.

12/14 - 841 units - #76 overall
12/15 - 1510 units - #39 overall
12/16 - 1797 units - #22 overall
12/17 - 2836 units - #15 overall
12/18 - 3086 units - #10 overall
12/19 - 3117 units - #9 overall
12/20 - 5497 units, - #4 overall

He's since revealed to us the most recent sales numbers for the last couple of days which includes the coveted #1 spot on the App Store's Top 100 (http://appshopper.com/bestsellers/paid) sales.

12/21 - 9760 units
12/22 - 13274 units, #1 overall

After Apple's 30% cut, that means the iFart Mobile is generated $9198 in one day.

These sales numbers are especially interesting to developers looking at the potential market for their iPhone apps. From what we've heard from developers, however, these targets do constantly change and have been growing. So app sales for the #1 spot will likely increase over time as the installed market of iPhones and iPod touches continue to increase.


Article Link: iPhone App Store Sales for #1 Spot Revealed (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/12/23/iphone-app-store-sales-for-1-spot-revealed/)

[rhett7660]

Wow... who would of thought an app like iFart mobile would be number one. Amazing.

Edited thanks.

[themoonisdown09]

Wow... who would of thought an app like pull my finger would be number one. Amazing.

Actually, it's iFart Mobile. :D

[xJulianx]

This seriously makes me want to get into iPhone app development.

$9198 in one day. Madness.

[SpaceMagic]

Oh gosh. I wish I'd learnt how to program :(

[Diode]

Localizing an application will also help increase sales. Not everyone speaks english :-p

[unity]

I think I can say with great confidence that I never expected an Apple or third-party app centered around flatulence to ever hit #1 in sales.

[vga4life]

Wow... who would of thought an app like iFart mobile would be number one. Amazing.

Yeah, I figured it would be lingering in the #2 spot...

[themoonisdown09]

Yeah, I figured it would be lingering in the #2 spot...

At least we know that the application isn't crap.

[QCassidy352]

I weep for humanity.

[mrat93]

Localizing an application will also help increase sales. Not everyone speaks english :-p

A fart is the same in every language :D

[rhett7660]

I am hoping it does pass sooner then later...

[jbolls]

A little less thank 29k in a week, that is a pretty good pull. Maybe that $99 developers license is worth something. Perhaps it is time to ebay for a Macbook.

[Big-TDI-Guy]

I let a squeaker for humanity.

[ChrisA]

While $10,000 in one day may sound like a lot. it isn't because it will not continue at that rate for long. The problem here is that with Apps selling for $0.99 there is no budget for "serious" software. "real" software is very expensive to make. It takes a team of people months and years to write and all the while you are paying them a middle class wage. and payroll taxes and insurance and rent of the office and so on. In fact you don't get much software written for $1,000,000.

I don't see any way that a developer would invest multiple man years of labor in an iPhone app.

[detz]

Not to beat a dead horse but this is what's wrong with the store...what incentive is there for anyone to create a quality app when people hack together stupid apps like this and they make number 1? I'm happy for the guy but honestly this is not helping the iPhone community, pretty soon the only apps on the store will be apps like this and then Apple will be hurting because they will have lost their "adult" base to more mature platforms.

[mkrishnan]

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/132/321310053_a574b005bf.jpg

[funnyent]

its not crap! :D the phase of the app will pass soon...LOL:D:D

[Firefly2002]

That's so sad.

[itcheroni]

What an inspirational movie this guy's life would make. He overcomes initial obstacles (rejection from the app store) to eventually the good word spreads and the fruits of his labor climb the ladder and become number 1. It will inspire millions.

[MacTheSpoon]

So SimCity, currently the number two app and selling for $9.99, is probably making, like, $120,000 a day then? That seems pretty decent to me!

[rockosmodurnlif]

"No one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public." -- attributed to H. L. Mencken

[Beric]

Trash sells, I guess.

Makes me sad. :(

[Kwill]

I predict this transient success will soon run out of gas.

[atticus18244fsa]

So SimCity, currently the number two app and selling for $9.99, is probably making, like, $120,000 a day then? That seems pretty decent to me!

That game is so hard. I always am losing money

[Big-TDI-Guy]

That game is so hard. I always am losing money

You can't type FUNDS to remedy this issue? ;)

[tirerim]

This seriously makes me want to get into iPhone app development.

$9198 in one day. Madness.

Yeah, I am clearly in the wrong business. Web development is nowhere near that lucrative. Not sure I have any ideas that could be that popular, though.

[Big-TDI-Guy]

Yeah, I am clearly in the wrong business. Web development is nowhere near that lucrative. Not sure I have any ideas that could be that popular, though.

iVomit.

Go man, go!

[babyj]

While $10,000 in one day may sound like a lot. it isn't because it will not continue at that rate for long. The problem here is that with Apps selling for $0.99 there is no budget for "serious" software. "real" software is very expensive to make. It takes a team of people months and years to write and all the while you are paying them a middle class wage. and payroll taxes and insurance and rent of the office and so on. In fact you don't get much software written for $1,000,000.

I don't see any way that a developer would invest multiple man years of labor in an iPhone app.

The games market has changed, primarily as a result on the Nintendo DS and Wii but the iPhone is just continuing the trend - simple and interactive games / apps which take a lot less development resources. A good example is the DS game Brain Age, this was created by a team of 9 developers in 90 days (under 3 man years in total) and has currently sold 15 million copies.

You can write a lot of software for $1 million, or a little. More and more companies are going down the lot of software route, resulting in simple games and then relying on the massive target market which can mean massive profit margins. Nintendo must have easily made $50 million profit from Brain Age, other companies know that and its a massive incentive for them to invest in similar games / apps.

It is a bit of a concern that with apps priced so cheaply it will put companies off from investing the money and resources in major apps but that will become less of a problem as the iPhone market expands through unit sales. Though it doesn't even seem to be that big a problem at the moment.

[tirerim]

You can't type FUNDS to remedy this issue? ;)

Heh. That one takes me back. Or, a bit more recently, PIRNTOPSGUZZARDO.

[DavidLeblond]

What an inspirational movie this guy's life would make. He overcomes initial obstacles (rejection from the app store) to eventually the good word spreads and the fruits of his labor climb the ladder and become number 1. It will inspire millions.

Unless I'm mistaken, it was Pull My Finger that overcame obstacles. I think this guy just whipped it up when Pull My Finger got their foot in the door.

[itcheroni]

Unless I'm mistaken, it was Pull My Finger that overcame obstacles. I think this guy just whipped it up when Pull My Finger got their foot in the door.

Ah, the Pull My Finger app, the Rosa Parks of the App Store if you will. :D

[AiralynRose]

Unless I'm mistaken, it was Pull My Finger that overcame obstacles. I think this guy just whipped it up when Pull My Finger got their foot in the door.

him and everyone else... i just counted 35 "fart" apps. really? this disgusts me. One fart app - ok, someone was bound to do it.
Two - competition can be good.
Five or more - absolutely ridiculous and unnecessary.

[DavidLeblond]

him and everyone else... i just counted 35 "fart" apps. really? this disgusts me. One fart app - ok, someone was bound to do it.
Two - competition can be good.
Five or more - absolutely ridiculous and unnecessary.

Only slightly harder to program than a Flashlight app and tons more fun. :D

[nfl46]

I am loving my major in college. I'm double majoring in Computer Information Systems and Computer Science. One more year left and I'll have my bachelors. I can't wait until I get my Masters because App Store here I come! LOL.

Nearly $10,000 in a day- wow.

[Macmaniac]

A sucker is born every minute.

[JasonDawg18]

Ah, the American dream!

[iOrlando]

I predict this transient success will soon run out of gas.

yeah but hey...if you can pull in 40-50 grand before it runs out...i dont see that big a problem with it...

[yoman]

So SimCity, currently the number two app and selling for $9.99, is probably making, like, $120,000 a day then? That seems pretty decent to me!

I was thinking the same thing. SimCity is probably making EA very happy.

The app has probably already brought in close to a $1million to EA's coffers.

[Auzburner]

That's mind blowing. An application for a phone only 1 1/2 years old in Apple's iTunes App Store has made $9198 in a single day and it's primary function is humor from fart noises!!! Unbelievable.

[Compile 'em all]

I predict this transient success will soon run out of gas.

:D

[kas23]

If I could, I would rip a page out of this guy's book and develop my own fart app.

I wonder, what distinguishes this fart app from the other 50? Probably not much, so the other 50 or so apps must be selling similarly well. Oh, Lord.

Maybe Apple should make the minimal price of an app $5. This would deter people buying crap like this and as a result, people will stop making them. Developers will then decide to put some time and effort into their apps. If I was a serious developer, I would be pissed that my product is being killed by crap like this.

[.Andy]

If I could, I would rip a page out of this guy's book and develop my own fart app.
But it's not as easy as ripping one out.

[kdarling]

Wonder if Apple will make an ad showcasing this #1 sales leader.

Wouldn't everyone want to buy a device with such a breakthrough program?

:rolleyes:

Next up: the related Apple patent application.

[winmacguy]

But it's not as easy as ripping one out.

Just eat a curry the night before. It has always worked for me in the past.;)

[twoodcc]

wow, those are some impressive numbers. makes me want to get some apps out there quick!

[arn]

What an inspirational movie this guy's life would make. He overcomes initial obstacles (rejection from the app store) to eventually the good word spreads and the fruits of his labor climb the ladder and become number 1. It will inspire millions.

Unless I'm mistaken, it was Pull My Finger that overcame obstacles. I think this guy just whipped it up when Pull My Finger got their foot in the door.

I think a lot off fart apps were rejected over the past 6 months.... So this was one that got let in after apple changed their policy.

arn

[BrownManUPS]

Is this tax free? Arn I think there would be some taxes. Still, even anything about $8000 is worth getting a peice of this pie.

[DavidLeblond]

Is this tax free? Arn I think there would be some taxes. Still, even anything about $8000 is worth getting a peice of this pie.

It is income, therefore it isn't tax free. I hope these developers aren't blowing all the money they earn or else they're seriously going to be hurting when April 15th rolls around. Probably get stuck with a fee too if they aren't paying estimated taxes.

[Schtumple]

Absolute madness, I might invest in the iPhone Dev License if that much money can be made, even with a small time app that doesn't get high in the charts, it's still a bit of money coming in :)

[Kwill]

Not sure I have any ideas that could be that popular, though.
Combine this with Koi Pond for a new app named iBubble.

[kas23]

But it's not as easy as ripping one out.

I'm sure someone in this thread could squeeze one out in no time. It probably wouldn't cause such a stink if they know what they're doing.

[kas23]

Absolute madness, I might invest in the iPhone Dev License if that much money can be made, even with a small time app that doesn't get high in the charts, it's still a bit of money coming in :)

I don't know if it's a good thing or bad thing, but there was a small segment on the local 11 o'clock news last week (when this article hit the stands: http://www.newsweek.com/id/174266) about the people making a quick buck through the App Store. Who would have ever knew this would have so quickly become so ingrained into our culture.

[Maxington]

This just shows that anything is possible with the programming for the App store. Great to hear about this success story.

[Xian Zhu Xuande]

While $10,000 in one day may sound like a lot. it isn't because it will not continue at that rate for long. The problem here is that with Apps selling for $0.99 there is no budget for "serious" software. "real" software is very expensive to make. It takes a team of people months and years to write and all the while you are paying them a middle class wage. and payroll taxes and insurance and rent of the office and so on. In fact you don't get much software written for $1,000,000.

I don't see any way that a developer would invest multiple man years of labor in an iPhone app.
Spare us, please. With games like SimCity ranking at #2 this complaint has grown old and quickly. There is more than enough demand for high-quality iPhone apps that produce high-level sales, and if these numbers hold true, just think what games like Spore have made. EA isn't complaining about how little money they're making on the App Store—they're shoveling in new games, and other major companies are coming in to join them.

[DavidLeblond]

Absolute madness, I might invest in the iPhone Dev License if that much money can be made, even with a small time app that doesn't get high in the charts, it's still a bit of money coming in :)

I never made close to the amount of money iFart did, but my app LifeTimer (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=288188955&mt=8) paid 2 mortgage payments (therefore paying for the dev license AND the iPhone.)

My suggestion is to download the SDK first, play with it, and if you get a good start on an app then pay the $100.

[Zimmer62943]

Pathetic idiots buying these stupid apps rocketing that developer to #1, there are so many better and more useful ones out there.

[goofy166]

I have 7 apps in the app store. Sales have been as high as $6500 a day and as low as $2000 a day. My apps are priced at $4.99, $9.99 and $19.99. The $20 app is generating 2/3 of the income so I don't buy the idea you can only make good money at 99 cents.

Here is my question -

Why is the number of reviews for app shown in the list of apps so much larger than the number of reviews shown on the apps product page?

[sushi]

At least we know that the application isn't crap.
Well, not really considering where farts are generated. :p

A fart is the same in every language :D
True.

I predict this transient success will soon run out of gas.
Snort!

Combine this with Koi Pond for a new app named iBubble.
Fish farts. Cool.

I have 7 apps in the app store. Sales have been as high as $6500 a day and as low as $2000 a day. My apps are priced at $4.99, $9.99 and $19.99. The $20 app is generating 2/3 of the income so I don't buy the idea you can only make good money at 99 cents.
What apps?

[kdarling]

Is this tax free?

Death and taxes, man. Count on them. :)

Looks like up to now, he's grossed a little over $30,000. That's a 25% tax bracket, so he owes about $7500 in taxes. (If he keeps up the sales, he'll soon be in the 33+% brackets.)

But wait, there's more. It's his own business, so he owes 12% (another ~$3600) in self-employment tax for social security, for a total of $11K in taxes so far. (Rough calculation)

The good news is he can take half the S-E tax off his original gross income for calculating the original tax.

[junior]

If I could, I would rip a page out of this guy's book and develop my own fart app.

I wonder, what distinguishes this fart app from the other 50? Probably not much, so the other 50 or so apps must be selling similarly well. Oh, Lord.

Maybe Apple should make the minimal price of an app $5. This would deter people buying crap like this and as a result, people will stop making them. Developers will then decide to put some time and effort into their apps. If I was a serious developer, I would be pissed that my product is being killed by crap like this.

If these brilliant developers had any brains, they'd create a ton of 'crap' apps that will allow them to rake in 20k per day, giving them plenty of funding for the more complex apps they'll want to release.
I'd say that's far better than just sulking and passing up opportunities.

[alexbates]

I have 7 apps in the app store. Sales have been as high as $6500 a day and as low as $2000 a day. My apps are priced at $4.99, $9.99 and $19.99. The $20 app is generating 2/3 of the income so I don't buy the idea you can only make good money at 99 cents.

Here is my question -

Why is the number of reviews for app shown in the list of apps so much larger than the number of reviews shown on the apps product page?

Wow, thats pretty impressive.

It is definitely not supposed to be that way. It has been that way since the App Store came out. I don't know why Apple won't fix it. At some times, I have seen some of the free Apps say they have 15,000 reviews when they really only have 1,000.

[evands]

I have 7 apps in the app store. Sales have been as high as $6500 a day and as low as $2000 a day. My apps are priced at $4.99, $9.99 and $19.99. The $20 app is generating 2/3 of the income so I don't buy the idea you can only make good money at 99 cents.
Mind sharing which apps are yours, or at least which category? Those are impressive figures! I have 3 apps in the store and 2 in review... it'd be great to be seeing half that much :)

Why is the number of reviews for app shown in the list of apps so much larger than the number of reviews shown on the apps product page?
I think it is from the anonymous, no-text reviews people leave when they delete your app and are prompted for a review. I partially draw this conclusion because the star figure is almost always lower when you're seeing the larger number... and people who are deleting your app are almost certain to leave a lower-star review than those who keep it and choose to write a review in the app store.

Oh, also, to the SimCity poster a while back: I think it was porntipsguzzardo, not pirntopsguzzardo... ;)

[ethana]

I have 41 cheap and simple (but useful) apps on the App Store right now and have been growing my catalog since late July. Each app took me less than a day to do. Some days I've cranked out five apps (and no, they are not the stupid "Countdown till Easter, Countdown till Christmas" apps). I easily have pulled $10k/month for the last 6 months in a row, quit my day job, and now do iPhone stuff full time. I have no employees, no costs (besides tax), minimal no-cost marketing, and no time schedule. I work MAYBE five to ten hours per week on this stuff.

Lately I have starting working more towards full-time on developing. I'm starting to develop some apps that will probably make me a lot more money and be even more useful to people, I've hired my brother as a contract employee for some basic work, and I expect to triple my monthly earnings by the end of 2009, especially with the sales of iPhones increasing daily worldwide. I'll have so many apps on the store that if one tanks, I have a catalog of others to back me up.

It can be done. And the apps can be simple but useful and still make you great money.

[Delirium39]

It is definitely not supposed to be that way. It has been that way since the App Store came out. I don't know why Apple won't fix it. At some times, I have seen some of the free Apps say they have 15,000 reviews when they really only have 1,000.

The larger review count includes the ratings people are asked to give when they delete an app. The smaller count is just the written reviews.

[alexbates]

I have 41 cheap and simple (but useful) apps on the App Store right now and have been growing my catalog since late July. Each app took my less than a day to do. Some days I've cranked out five apps (and no, they are not the stupid "Countdown till Easter, Countdown till Christmas" apps). I easily have pulled $10k/month for the last 6 months in a row, quit my day job, and now do iPhone stuff full time. I have no employees, no costs (besides tax), minimal no-cost marketing, and no time schedule. I work MAYBE five to ten hours per week on this stuff.

Lately I have starting working more towards full-time on developing. I'm starting to develop some apps that will probably make me a lot more money and be even more useful to people, I've hired my brother as a contract employee for some basic work, and I expect to triple my monthly earnings by the end of 2009, especially with the sales of iPhones increasing daily worldwide.

It can be done. And the apps can be simple but useful and still make you great money.

41! I have never seen a company with that many apps in the App Store. What is your company name in the App Store?

[akadmon]

Not to belabor the point, but this too shall pass.

[ethana]

I have 7 apps in the app store. Sales have been as high as $6500 a day and as low as $2000 a day. My apps are priced at $4.99, $9.99 and $19.99. The $20 app is generating 2/3 of the income so I don't buy the idea you can only make good money at 99 cents.


That's awesome, you are making good money. Question though... what is your plan once your $20 app rapidly drops in sales?

There is probably a relatively small market for people who want to spend $20 on a single app on the App Store, so although your numbers are high now, will they be 2 months from now when your market is dry and you're at the bottom of the release list?

I'd love to hear what you plan to do, especially if your next app doesn't take off like you may hope, because I've run into similar problems and it's partly why I stick developing the cheaper $0.99 apps myself.

[dolbinau]

I have 41 cheap and simple (but useful) apps on the App Store right now and have been growing my catalog since late July. Each app took my less than a day to do. Some days I've cranked out five apps (and no, they are not the stupid "Countdown till Easter, Countdown till Christmas" apps). I easily have pulled $10k/month for the last 6 months in a row, quit my day job, and now do iPhone stuff full time. I have no employees, no costs (besides tax), minimal no-cost marketing, and no time schedule. I work MAYBE five to ten hours per week on this stuff.

Lately I have starting working more towards full-time on developing. I'm starting to develop some apps that will probably make me a lot more money and be even more useful to people, I've hired my brother as a contract employee for some basic work, and I expect to triple my monthly earnings by the end of 2009, especially with the sales of iPhones increasing daily worldwide. I'll have so many apps on the store that if one tanks, I have a catalog of others to back me up.

It can be done. And the apps can be simple but useful and still make you great money.

Where did you learn to write Apps? Did you ever develop for OS X?

I'm just wondering if it is possible for absolute beginners to "hop on the bandwagon", but somehow it must be harder than it looks.

[ethana]

I'm just wondering if it is possible for absolute beginners to "hop on the bandwagon", but somehow it must be harder than it looks.

I won't be revealing what my company name is on the App Store for competitive reasons.

As for beginners to hop on, probably not at the rate of apps I have been able to put out. I've been in programming for about 10 years prior to this, so it was a quick transition for me. I came from C# on the Windows side. Plus, if you have a day job that isn't related to this, it's going to make it even harder for you to pick up and run with it.

That being said, just grab a book, read, learn, and go. If you have a good idea, take a month or two and put out your first good app. After the first one if just gets easier. From there you can make the transition.

[Moopy Sac]

Death and taxes, man. Count on them. :)

Looks like up to now, he's grossed a little over $30,000. That's a 25% tax bracket, so he owes about $7500 in taxes. (If he keeps up the sales, he'll soon be in the 33+% brackets.)

But wait, there's more. It's his own business, so he owes 12% (another ~$3600) in self-employment tax for social security, for a total of $11K in taxes so far. (Rough calculation)

The good news is he can take half the S-E tax off his original gross income for calculating the original tax.


Please reference the difference between "average tax rate" and "marginal tax rate".

You sound like Joe the Plumber.

[jbolls]

This is what the free market is all about. If people are going to spend $0.99 on a fart app, then people should be producing fart apps. Does it reflect poorly on today's society, maybe, maybe not. How much can you get for a buck these days? Not much. Why not have something sophomoric? Do we really need to be THAT serious ALL the time?

I have been doing software development for almost 10 years now and have worked on some small, several thousand dollar projects and some large, several million dollar projects. If you can pump out some code that farts and make 30K in 8 days, do it. That is a pretty good ROI. Do 3 of those a year and you are making 90k, not a bad salary.

[kas23]

This is what the free market is all about. If people are going to spend $0.99 on a fart app, then people should be producing fart apps. Does it reflect poorly on today's society, maybe, maybe not. How much can you get for a buck these days? Not much. Why not have something sophomoric? Do we really need to be THAT serious ALL the time?

I have been doing software development for almost 10 years now and have worked on some small, several thousand dollar projects and some large, several million dollar projects. If you can pump out some code that farts and make 30K in 8 days, do it. That is a pretty good ROI. Do 3 of those a year and you are making 90k, not a bad salary.

Not to mention how stellar your resume will look!

[queshy]

what an embarrassment
...
and a dumb app

[Bevz]

Well done to the person/people who developed it!
The app may not be my cup-of-tea, but who cares, that's what the app store is for... custom apps for everyone! If people want to buy a fart app; good on the developers for giving them one! They clearly know their market, and a big thanks to apple for doing all their advertising for them! ;) LOL

Great to see someone publish their sales figures too, very interesting!
:D

[SolRayz]

This is what the free market is all about. If people are going to spend $0.99 on a fart app, then people should be producing fart apps. Does it reflect poorly on today's society, maybe, maybe not. How much can you get for a buck these days? Not much. Why not have something sophomoric? Do we really need to be THAT serious ALL the time?

I have been doing software development for almost 10 years now and have worked on some small, several thousand dollar projects and some large, several million dollar projects. If you can pump out some code that farts and make 30K in 8 days, do it. That is a pretty good ROI. Do 3 of those a year and you are making 90k, not a bad salary.

You are absolutely correct when describing the free market, with the presumption however, that some consumers are dumbasses and will buy anything.

I am personally still waiting for more useful applications from the app store, a video recorder being one of them.

[kk1ro]

I think this guy deserves it.
He came up with the concept a long time ago and he had to wait half a year for his app to be approved.

We don't have to be "grown-up" all the time, we can have some stupid fun with friends, once in a while.
Having said that, I bought the app and already pulled some "pranks" with it. It's great, stupid and childish fun that is worth the $1 price tag, IMO.

[koobcamuk]

At least we know that the application isn't crap.

I just hope the developer doesn't follow-through.

[kockgunner]

more incentive to make crap apps.

[Tymmz]

Sad.

[sushi]

I think this guy deserves it.
He came up with the concept a long time ago and he had to wait half a year for his app to be approved.

We don't have to be "grown-up" all the time, we can have some stupid fun with friends, once in a while.
Having said that, I bought the app and already pulled some "pranks" with it. It's great, stupid and childish fun that is worth the $1 price tag, IMO.
Agree.

Nothing wrong with having some fun at times with your iPhone/touch.

[Bentov]

Why do people think that a crapload of cheap, pointless apps make people not want to buy better, more useful apps. ":mad:Yea, I bought iFart, now I can't buy i<insert name of useful app here> because wtf:eek: iFart is only $.99" What kind of logic is that?

After being a phone and ipod, what is the iPhone really? *gasp* a mobile entertainment platform perhaps? Just because :

a)you don't have any use for it. (Does anyone really?)

b)you didn't think of it. (the real reason people are bothered by this)

doesn't make it the bane of all iPhone development. Adapt to the market, quit your whining, and create what the people want. :) If you apps don't sell, guess that means you misinterpreted the public.

If someone creates a pointless, mind numbingly stupid app, but now can afford to pay their mortgage, make a car payment, or buy their kid an iPod; that is what I want.

[oticon6]

I tried Pull My Finger... and deleted it 30 seconds later. The App Store needs a big change to restore consumer confidence in more expensive apps (as well as the revenue change suggested by Tapulous). I'm considering delaying the release of my game until this happens (I'm confident it will) so that it doesn't get forgotten before it even has a chance...

[dragossh]

Where did you learn to write Apps? Did you ever develop for OS X?

I'm just wondering if it is possible for absolute beginners to "hop on the bandwagon", but somehow it must be harder than it looks.

I heard this (http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Objective-C-Developers-Library-Stephen/dp/0672325861) is the best book for learning Objective-C / Cocoa.

I, for one, followed some tutorials on the internet and then made some small apps in Xcode. But I also developed in Delphi and C# for a while, so while it felt a little bit strange at the beginning, I picked up quickly. I still remember how I couldn't understand Navigation Controllers or delegates :D

So yeah, I suggest you buy that book and jump in.

[kornyboy]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5G77 Safari/525.20)

Man, I'm in the wrong business.

[ArtOfWarfare]

Ummm...

yeah...

$10,000 is a lot of money.

I mean, how much money do you think they invested in making the application? Probably just $100 for the iPhone dev membership. Maybe $600 for a Mac Mini to make it on, but they probably already had the Mac. Maybe $400 for the iPod Touch to test it on, but they probably already had the iPod Touch.

So, hell yeah, that's an awesome return. Almost no effort going in, huge amounts of money coming out.

And the incentive to make quality products? Well, how about the fact that the programmer themselves want quality products? I'm not releasing Void Masters until I'm content with the quality and it's something I'd be willing to spend $50 on (though I'll probably only charge $10 for it... doesn't matter though because thus far I've spent nothing but time on it. I'll probably spend $400 for an iPod Touch to test on and $100 for the dev fee... so it's costing me just $500. With just 72 sales I make all of that back. I may just go and look into getting me a real drummer to play the soundtrack rather than using Garage Band loops. May just go get me some voice actors too...)

[ikermalli]

C'mon, everybody loves farts!

[macFanDave]

I am loving my major in college. I'm double majoring in Computer Information Systems and Computer Science. One more year left and I'll have my bachelors. I can't wait until I get my Masters because App Store here I come! LOL.

Nearly $10,000 in a day- wow.

And if you live in a dorm that was anything like what I lived in, farting was elevated to a form of high art. So, in reality you have a TRIPLE major going!

Butt, you'd better get in on fart app trend early, because when that bubble bursts, it's gonna be pretty smelly.

[nik.martin]

While $10,000 in one day may sound like a lot. it isn't because it will not continue at that rate for long.

Thanks Mr. Obvious.

[ImageWrangler]

Well... this story reversed my mind about Apple being the bad guy about banning and/or not allowing certain apps in. I stand corrected, Apple was right to keep stupid apps out, because stupid apps show how stupid humans are.

Like the others too expressing the sentiment here "I weep for humanity," indeed, me too. Despite the backlash, maybe should pull a 'Netshare' on these apps, i.e. yank them. A little bad publicity but save the app store from looking like total junk of banal stupidity.

[macus3r]

i think a lot of you are failing to realize that iPhone is selling at an EXPONENTIAL/ACCELERATING rate.

Talk about "the market drying out" or "market saturation" is nothing but crazy talk. There are over 7MM iPhone subscribers on AT&T's network and growing. It's clearly obvious Apple is on a warpath with the phone, kicking ass, taking names etc.

The fact that Apple constantly advertises Apps and the App store function via the web + TV is practically free marketing for everyone who's got an App on the store--Apple has gone as far as segmenting their consumer's choices for them... I can't see how any of you could perceive this as negative.

Sure, it's a FART app, but it's still a program and still generating decent daily revenues, and as the developer has indicated, revenues are increasing day by day. As far Apple is concerned, they could probably care less that it's a FART app any more than if it were anything else--their commercial terms are clearly stated they net 30% of revenue--sell all the fart apps you can! Apps like these are clearly driving their revenue line and I'm sure they've got NO complaints with that.

I think a lot of you posters need to get off your high horse. There's plenty of useful apps out there, and as EA or the folks at GameLoft could probably explain, the Top 10 ranking, in the grand scheme of things, will not dictate the revenue performance of their App on the store. After all, if your App provides a solid, enjoyable UTILITY, then it will by all means reach #1, even though it's started all the way at the bottom, just like everyone else. Design and create a decent app folks. Anyone can reach #1.

Case in point: New York Times. Arguably the best print news, easily one of the worst Apps in the store. Still, downloaded thousands of times.

[blilly]

While $10,000 in one day may sound like a lot. it isn't because it will not continue at that rate for long. The problem here is that with Apps selling for $0.99 there is no budget for "serious" software. "real" software is very expensive to make. It takes a team of people months and years to write and all the while you are paying them a middle class wage. and payroll taxes and insurance and rent of the office and so on. In fact you don't get much software written for $1,000,000. -edit-

No, YOU are wrong in thinking that putting an app in the store is the end of the story and the rest is left to users to find it. Any smart, serious developer WILL devote time to develop a great app for this platform, but they will have to market it just like their other products.

Look at some of the solutions to tap into larger systems like Basecamp, Salesforce, etc. ... if well planned, built, and marketed, ANY app can be a success without being "#1".

[MacToddB]

Yeah, I was thinking of Koi Farts in Beer... X-ray edition!

Hey, my app, 100sounds, is #13 in Entertainment! It has a couple of fart sounds, but that's only 1% of the 200 (and counting) sounds! Guess I should've stopped at 1sound.

Combine this with Koi Pond for a new app named iBubble.

[tveric]

Guess I should've stopped at 1sound.

Well, when it comes to marketing, you've hit upon a truth.... Keep It Simple.

[Digitalflick]

Anyone see idiocracy? Kind of reminds me of the movie theater scene.

:D

[irun5k]

It is income, therefore it isn't tax free. I hope these developers aren't blowing all the money they earn or else they're seriously going to be hurting when April 15th rolls around. Probably get stuck with a fee too if they aren't paying estimated taxes.

Does Apple report a 1099 or something to the developers? Back when I was in shareware development, I set up a sole proprietorship.

This involved, but wasn't limited to:

1) Filing for a fictious name
2) Getting a zoning permit, since work was being done in my home
3) Periodically mailing myself my software in a sealed envelope with a postmark, in case there was any copyright disputes
4) Having someone do my taxes, because doing a schedule C for two states in a year that I moved and one state having state income tax became overwhelming

This, IMHO, is the absolute most simple way to legally set up a software outfit. Most will want to set up an LLC at a minimum. For example, what if I sue the iFart developers for crashing my phone or something. Do they have protection?

My guess is that most of these peeps are just kids in their bedrooms with no intention of every paying any taxes. They'll be in for a rude awakening if they're ever audited though.

[goofy166]

Mind sharing which apps are yours, or at least which category? Those are impressive figures! I have 3 apps in the store and 2 in review... it'd be great to be seeing half that much :)


I think it is from the anonymous, no-text reviews people leave when they delete your app and are prompted for a review. I partially draw this conclusion because the star figure is almost always lower when you're seeing the larger number... and people who are deleting your app are almost certain to leave a lower-star review than those who keep it and choose to write a review in the app

Ok that sort of makes sense, but how about this - we've given out a lot of promo codes and many have written reviews that have not appeared even after 3 days. Are promo reviews ignored by apple?

[goofy166]

That's awesome, you are making good money. Question though... what is your plan once your $20 app rapidly drops in sales?

There is probably a relatively small market for people who want to spend $20 on a single app on the App Store, so although your numbers are high now, will they be 2 months from now when your market is dry and you're at the bottom of the release list?

I'd love to hear what you plan to do, especially if your next app doesn't take off like you may hope, because I've run into similar problems and it's partly why I stick developing the cheaper $0.99 apps myself.

I have to be careful because all my competitors are lurking. Definately have a solid plan that will grow our income stream as I can lock in my position. I see tons of oppurtunity in this space and not from fart programs,

[NOV]

Anyone see idiocracy? Kind of reminds me of the movie theater scene.

:D

LOL was about to post the same thing. This is Idiocracy in full effect.

[pawn3d]

That's mind blowing. An application for a phone only 1 1/2 years old in Apple's iTunes App Store has made $9198 in a single day and it's primary function is humor from fart noises!!! Unbelievable.I'm actually quite dissapointed in the Mac community. :(

[pawn3d]

Well... this story reversed my mind about Apple being the bad guy about banning and/or not allowing certain apps in. I stand corrected, Apple was right to keep stupid apps out, because stupid apps show how stupid humans are.

Like the others too expressing the sentiment here "I weep for humanity," indeed, me too. Despite the backlash, maybe should pull a 'Netshare' on these apps, i.e. yank them. A little bad publicity but save the app store from looking like total junk of banal stupidity.

You understand that Apple is getting exactly what it wanted, right? SALES
Among the easiest people to sell are well, STUPID PEOPLE.

They are targeting their products to people who are not tech savvy. This is the result. Give people a phone that plays YouTube? This is the result. iFart made their sharolders some money. Mission accomplished.

[sushi]

I just hope the developer doesn't follow-through.
Snort!

Adapt to the market, quit your whining, and create what the people want. :) If you apps don't sell, guess that means you misinterpreted the public.
Good point.

You understand that Apple is getting exactly what it wanted, right? SALES
True.

[kdarling]

Please reference the difference between "average tax rate" and "marginal tax rate".

Hey, I'm an engineer, not an accountant. I just gave a rough answer as to the taxes. Something I guess you could've done better.... but didn't.

[internetmachine]

So what's the difference between this and the "I am rich" application. Nothing at all. The dev should try to put it on the store again and sue Apple if they refuse to let it through.

[MacToddB]

So what's the difference between this and the "I am rich" application. Nothing at all. The dev should try to put it on the store again and sue Apple if they refuse to let it through.

It's not the app (someone did a free version), it's the cost.

People were accidentally buying it (supposedly) and complaining to Apple, causing a customer satisfaction concern that Apple didn't want.

The developer could certainly upload the app and sell it for $.99, I'm sure.

With these fart apps, people know what they're getting and $.99 is a small price to pay. That's why we priced 100sounds (http://www.100sounds.com) at $.99, and actually give you 200 sounds, including several farts and other body sounds. Such a deal!

[freebooter]

The world is practically falling apart around us, criminals run government, industry and finance, our food, air and water are poisoned, thousands of nuclear weapons are pointed at us on hair trigger, the best minds on Earth are busy devising better ways to control, exploit and kill us, and iFart Mobile tops the list of iPhone app.s.
How tragic, yet how unsurprising. Our health, wealth and freedom are doomed.

[tirerim]

Oh, also, to the SimCity poster a while back: I think it was porntipsguzzardo, not pirntopsguzzardo... ;)

Depends on which version of the game you had. :-)

[~NeonFire372~]

Civilization as we know it is crumbling! Down with democracy! The world is coming to an end!

It's an iPhone app. It makes farting noises. It sold a lot of copies. Big deal. If people want to buy it, let them buy it. If the developers want to make games to cater to that particular humor/"pointless app" market, let them do it. You don't have to buy it if you don't want to and how does it effect you anyway other than the possibility of seeing similar apps on the stores from developers looking for a quick buck?

There will always be less than useful or great or intelligent items on the market - just look at any game Electronic Arts has ever released or those cheap reality show knockoffs. If the market is there, why not take advantage of it? Just because you don't like it doesn't mean others do.

A bit of humor every once and a while wouldn't hurt some people in this world. :rolleyes:

[buccsmf1]

why are more people not disgusted by this? When i noticed it was the #1 paid app a few days ago i nearly threw up. The first thing i thought.... how are so many idiots getting their hands on iphones?

And what message does this send to developers? Why should they bother spending all the time and effort towards developing a quality app when they can just put out a pile of **** novelty app and watch the sales jump through the roof....

this is what the iphone user base wants MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE..... Farting apps...... PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR A FARTING APP..... what a ****** joke

[Moopy Sac]

Hey, I'm an engineer, not an accountant. I just gave a rough answer as to the taxes. Something I guess you could've done better.... but didn't.

Engineers don't have to pay taxes?