'AppStore Secrets' : Price Drops, Usage and Ad-Supported Models

[slughead]

lol only 20% use it the first day.

I must confess, I do that a lot with free downloaded programs.

When buying programs, however, I usually wait until I absolutely need it to actually purchase it, and it's usually accompanied by cussing under my breath because I'm such a cheapskate.

 

[branjosef]

I don't like seeing trendline graphs going down like that unless its gauging my chances for contracting communicable diseases.

 

[XCool]

I'm not sure how big their sample size, in terms of the number of apps tracked that they came to conclude the graph.

So far, I am aware of only one app that calls home to Pinch Media, which is Analytics App, which I reviewed here: http://www.onemoretap.com/2009/02/14/review-analytics-app/
Note that the developer's privacy policy did mention about this, so no worries.

Anyone knows of any other app that calls home, and when it does, calls back to Pinch Media?

 

[chimerical]

Not overkill at all, in fact I would argue that Many Iphone apps connect to a server for content. This allows developers to track their usage. Its also how they can track how many more copies of the app have been cracked and stolen vs. downloaded from the app store.

Interesting to see. What about people who are offline though? For example, Wi-Fi based iPod Touches are generally offline most of the time, and many apps do not require Internet access for their functions (including many games). And for those where part of the functionality requires Internet access, do they queue up data and wait for Internet connectivity to phone home? If not, then that's a lot of data unaccounted for.

 

[chimerical]

It seems one of the factors this study overlooks is that the lack of a demo or trial system for the app ecosystem means that the only way to try out an app (without particular intent to keep using it) is by downloading it. I would surmise this comprises a bulk of the apps they're talking about.

In the end, most users find a select few they will use often. The multitude of other "one-time-use" apps are simply evidence of the path of discovering those few.

 

[cwwilson]

When I first got my iPhone I couldn't stop downloading apps. Currently I have 3 pages of them and most are purchased and yet there's so few I even use anymore and a couple I haven't even launched.

 

[grahamtriggs]

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that there's no consequence to free apps. In general, you get what you pay for. There are notable exceptions (RolandoLite, etc) however a lot of apps are just buggy or not worth the paid version... People realize this after the first use.

Interesting sweeping statement... I would argue there are a lot of buggy / poor paid apps too.

What doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize is the people will download the free app and play with it, whether they are particularly interested in it or not. Even if you create a really good app, if it's free, you are going to see a lot of early interest in it, that loses some of it's user base as they realise it's just not relevant to them.

 

[branjosef]

There are definitely alot of buggy apps out there, that I am almost scared to pay for any because nothing is worse than paying for something that doesn't work as advertised. I've had that happen a few times, so now if i find an app I like, I scour the comments to see what other people are saying. So far, ive passed on a few promising apps because people complained about them not working correctly.

 

[Bodypainter]

the most important feature is missing...

i think that the most important feature on the app store is still missing: to be able to "test" a program!

i have decided not to buy as many programs anymore, because i am fed up with programs that look cool on the screen, but are totally unusable on the iphone. one of the main features on the new android phone's app store is that you can "give back" programs after a certain amount of hours.

it would be a nice move from apple to allow giving back applications within the first 60 minutes. i can imagine that it would lower the peoples risk to buy crappy programs and should motivate programmers to put more effort into their programs quality!