App Store Hits 15,000 Apps, 500 Million Downloads

[one1]

Ok if what you say is so easy to do then why don't people rent movies from itunes and "remove the time limit" and keep the movie. Then people would have a good free source for movies. Obviously there's more to renting movies then it seems.

I'm 100% certain that Apple could implement a way of renting apps with out people stealing them just as they have done with renting movies. Did you think about that before you printed a big FAIL across my idea?

You need to get with a Dev and study DRM before speaking any more.

 

[firewood]

Ok if what you say is so easy to do then why don't people rent movies from itunes and "remove the time limit" and keep the movie. Then people would have a good free source for movies.

There seem to be other easier sources for "free" movies, so that's not anywhere near as big a problem with the iTunes store, compared to apps, where some early statistics from a few developers suggests that "removing limits" is already a huge problem. Apple may need to tighten things up (or allow developers to do so) with respect to app DRM, or certain market incentives will become distorted

.

 

[kdarling]

that's why google android can't help promoting out its android marketplace... but the copycat might be bad, i guess.

There have been stores on phones before. Dumb phones especially have access to carrier stores. A few carriers have even put Handango agents on their smartphones.

But let's be clear here. No one else is copying Apple's gimped version of an app store, where you can ONLY buy from Apple., Other phones also allow other stores.

Jobs crowed a couple of years ago about how he was going to tear down the walled gardens, where you could only download apps and music from the carriers. Yeah, he did that.. by replacing them with Apple instead.

P.S. I also am in favor of a free trial method that would let me try an app and it would delete itself after a week or whatever. .

A trial period works great on other phones. I'm constantly trying out programs on WM to compare to each other. The best ones gets money.

 

[firewood]

But let's be clear here. No one else is copying Apple's gimped version of an app store, where you can ONLY buy from Apple.,

Given that Apple is making tons more sales from their store than any other platform's (possibly "non-gimped") versions of app stores, that may well change...

.

 

[kdarling]

Given that Apple is making tons more sales from their store than any other platform's (possibly "non-gimped") versions of app stores, that may well change....

I don't think you seriously believe that any other phone maker could put the genie back in the bottle, and suddenly declare that people can only buy apps through them.... do you?

As for Apple, they claim they're "not making much money" from the store, because they "only" get 30% of the $1 million a day in average sales and it costs them sooo much to run. What a sad sack story.

Perhaps they should let any one of us on the forum run it for a while instead. I guarantee you it won't cost $300K a day to maintain. Or farm the store out to Amazon, like Borders and others have done.

Re: download numbers. Right. Too bad they don't break them out by reloads, free apps, etc. Reminds me of the "250,000 developers" who downloaded the SDK according to Apple. Not saying their numbers aren't impressive, but they're fairly meaningless without more detail.

 

[Srai-W]

Nice. 22 of the 500 million are me.

Haha - I was just thinking "0 of the 500,000,000 are from me!" and won't have any soon. I just had a play with an ipod touch today and it is pretty cool, but yeah, no intention yet. Maybe when they get to 64gb I will think about it

 

[rtdunham]

The dollar amount people are willing to pay needs to go up if developers are expected to invest the time required to develop high quality apps. Prices in the app store are generally lower than they are for apps on other platforms.

but isn't that an interesting contrast with the argument that in today's economic circumstances, apple's hardware has to get cheaper if it's to remain competitive! i know, software vs hardware, etc. but pricing's a tricky thing. I'm afraid that only in hindsight will we know whether apple's pricing decisions are prudent. Wednesday's analysts call should give some insight on the hardware side.

Having said that, I see the opportunity for a slick apple device that would compete successfully with netbooks for meaningful market share.

It would be slotted between the iPhone and macbook in both price and size, but might perform almost all the functions of both. I don't think such a device would take much marketshare from either product, because netbooks seem to serve best as second computers, more convenient than laptops for trips but inadequate as an only computer, and too big to be a phone replacement. (There's nothing wrong with overlapping functionality: haven't you ever been sitting at your computer and wished you could dial a phone call and have your conversation thru the laptop's speakers and mic, without leaving the keyboard?*)

*--My seeing this as an unfulfilled need may reflect my ignorance. Maybe skype or somesuch does this. Or can you connect via BT your laptop and iPhone and achieve this functionality? I know there's iChat, but wouldn't a direct phone connex be nice, with video maybe served by the computer? The whole point of the in-between product ( i don't think apple would consider it a netbook, though it would compete in that space--maybe an 8-10 inch MBA? or a tablet with keyboard?) is that achieving the broad spectrum of functions of both devices would be made apple-simple for the user, and not requiring workarounds. If, of course, they include copy-and-paste. Introducing the first mainstream video phone service to the masses wouldn't hurt such a product. (I do think a mini-MBA could hurt MBA sales, based on my impression that most MBAs are used as second computers.)

What do others think? (Like i have to ask, on this forum, right?!)

 

[rtdunham]

... I'm saying they're making a lot for having no part in the development of most of these apps...

go to your nearest department store: what part do they play in the development of the brand name products sold there (yes, many retailers now also develop their own private labels--as does apple, btw, with the apps that come with the iPhone, or the iLife & iWork apps it sells along with hundreds of other software titles in its stores).

What about your nearest hardware store? See any products on its shelves that that retailer had a hand in developing? Your nearest cellphone store? Game store? Shoe store? Sporting goods store? Camera store? Or, for that matter, computer store, other than Apple and the occasional Sony store.

Considering those stores, especially the soft goods stores, do you think they're keeping only 30%? Google the term "keystone" or "keystone pricing" for an eye-opener.

Providing the venue for sales is huge to the manufacturer (software developer).

 

[rtdunham]

However did we manage to buy and sell software for thirty long years before the App Store? Oh yeah, advertising online and in printed media and by using product websites...

Actually, for the first 20 years of software sales (presuming the start to have been 30 years ago) we bought and sold software through brick-and-mortar computer stores, direct sales, direct mail, print advertising, and trade shows; in the past ten years or so, the emergence of the internet and online marketing has hugely reduced the cost effectiveness of those earlier strategies. Vendors don't get the bang-for-buck from those efforts that they used to, and certainly not the bang they get from the new alternative. That's why newspapers are struggling now. That's why the huge computer trade show COMDEX had 200,000 attendees one year and was the world's largest trade show, and four years later was shuttered: Vendors found it more cost-effective to skip the pricy event (remind anyone of apple's recent declarations re: Macworld?) and market their wares on the internet.

Business is now being done "on the world wide webs" as some would say
and apple's App Store is a tremendously successsful example of that, meeting both vendors' and consumers' needs, albeit neither perfectly.

 

[bettykoyle]

Okay well this isnt that accurate

think about how many dumb apps you have installed and deleted right away? does this account for the 500?

ive downloaded around 200 or so and clearly deleted around 150

 

[Oxtail]

The crap apps are the ones you read the reviews for but didn't buy or the scores of apps that don't get reviewed.

People are willing to pay $10 - $30, like I said earlier, if there was a trial feature, not this "lite" app garbage, there would be better apps.

Which dictionary app did you end up getting?

Whenever I see people advocating trial programs, I cringe a bit. It reminds me of my Dell laptop I got 5 years ago that came loaded with a ton of trial apps. I ended up reformatting the hard drive and reinstalling Windows from scratch so I could get rid of those wonderful trial apps.

I ended up buying WordBook. None of the big named dictionaries really seemed worth the price with their clunkier interfaces and navigation.