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This is hilarious? Do you think apple should get in there and regulate these prices? Or some other authoritarian action?

If a product is too expensive for what it is don't buy it.

Capitalism.

I promise that if you don't buy apps at those prices we won't try to sell them at those prices for long.
 
Yes. For a couple of reasons.

Does it take any more effort to code an app for the ipad than it does for the iphone?

Yes. And from all appearances (sorry, NDAs) Apple is not kidding around with the HIG compliance, either...so devs cant let certain things slide.

BTW...developing iPhone apps vs desktop apps: Not measurably different. In may way the constraints make for more work.

But fret not; the dev retort will simply be to get the iphone version. It will in almost every case I can think of be a lesser experience.
 
Are you arguing that is a bad thing? That has increased the quality of life by making goods more affordable with minimal loss in quality. Macs are made in China but its quality is outstanding.

Most software is not made in China...at least not for the markets you are in.

Extrapolate.
 
This is technically not...accurate.

the iPad and are iPhone are the same platform (iPhone OS)

kinda like leopard and snow leopard?

so if i have to pay for the app again... i might do, but not if its an order of magnitude more expensive!

There are things iPad apps can do that iPhone apps will never be able to do.
By design.

Look, the iPad is not a `big iPod touch`. A much more accurate description would be that the iPod is an iPad nano...complete with the restrictions and limitations.

Within say, 3 weeks, this will become very, very obvious. Devs are losing their sh*t because of the more stuff you can do...and it goes far beyond just having a bigger screen.

I am surprised more stuff has not slipped out to be honest, but I guess no one wants to piss off the gatekeeper considering the possibilities.

You will see :)
 
I never thought I’d see Apple customers complain about paying $5 for a really great product.

Yes, I mean why the hell do people complain about paying five times as much for Flight Control's version to a larger screen? Or ten bucks for CroMag Rally?!

What a greedy bunch!
 
Yes, we take advantage of the poverty of third world countries to manufacture goods cheaply. I don't see anything wrong with that. These people would have no jobs and no wages at all if our factories weren't there. To call it slave wage is ridiculous. They are not held in the factories against their will. Slaves don't make a wage at all.

Actually they are, would you do their job? No you wouldn't.
 
It's almost axiomatic that every app should be guaranteed to make a minimum of $100K, regardless of the quality, because the developer put at least marginal effort into getting it approved and published. That is only fair under the current world economic system.

Now iPad owners, too, have a right to own lots and lots of apps even if they only really use a handful of them. Pages of apps impresses the ladies. Fact. Even as every developer should, by the fact Apple said "yes," receive a loaded to the gun-holes Wells-Fargo truck, every iPad owner, by right of ownership, is entitled to $.99 downloads for their life, and the life of their heirs.

The solution: government should subsidize the app store with taxpayer money or maybe without considering how fast cash is being printed these days. Developers get paid for shoddy work and iPad owners get even more cheap dreck to light their tablet up like a Christmas tree.

Everyone should be happy now (until they get their tax bill).

<This message is 100% satire. Any complaints can be mailed to to Highgate Cemetary, London, UK>
 
vini-vidi-vici said:
Some people are freaking cheap-skates. $1, $5... what's the difference? I mean, people spend more than that on lunch every day. Sheesh, a good cup of coffee can set you back almost that much. Movies in a theater are twice that.
Thank you! Amazes me how out of touch some people are. They make the same complaints about $3 iPhone apps. $5 to $10 is nothing in this world.

The way I see it, if developers can reasonably expect that people will pay $10 for their app, we're going to get better apps in the end. Insane that people think if they bought an iPhone app, they should automatically get a free version for other devices.

Not to mention that if you're kvetching about the cost of apps or your iPad, you have already made at minimum $499 purchase for a device that, if you're really honest with yourself, you want but you don't really need. If you can't swing $5-10 for the apps what business do you have shelling out for the iPad in the first place?

<<Posted from my front porch, waiting for the delivery of my iPad next weekend>>
 
I'm not made of money, but I hope the prices go up for the iPad.

As customers, sooner or later, we will get what we pay for. Once the gold rush mentality wears off, developers are going to make hard economic decisions on how much to invest in the platform.

If prices remain at 99 cents, we're going to get crappy apps. It just won't be worth it for developers. Or, even worse, we will get smarmy "promotion" apps like the ones on FaceBook.

The screen size,CPU/GPU, and battery of the iPad provides for a more powerful platform to run apps. I have no problem with developers building bigger and better apps and charging more for it.

With that said, if the iPad version is just a "bigger" edition of the same iPhone app, then the price should be the same.

I think Apple is trying to lead the way with iWork costing 30 bucks ($10 per App) for the iPad. And I think the bigger screen and better apps will lend itself to a willingness by customers to pay higher prices.

Phones and their apps feel like "single serving sized" products. But their nature, they are going to be limited. I am not surprised to see low prices–although I think 99 cents is too low for SOME of the apps.

But an iPad is more of a full computing experience. I expect the apps to be much, much better, and I am willing–and happy–to pay more accordingly.

To the Developers: Make kick butt apps for iPads. Ignore the cheap kiddos who complain if an app is 99 cents instead of free. There are tons of people like me who have no problem spending $5, $10, $20, even more, for killer apps–especially if they are beautiful, have killer functionality and experiences, and improve productivity.

I agree that well thought out apps on the ipad can be amazing and am thus willing to pay a premium for those. However, not interested in upscaling the same app, calling it XL or HD and charging me twice the price. The market will decide though.
 
Has anyone else thought about what Command & Conquer-style games could be like on the iPad? Holy crap. I got bored of those types of games years ago on the PC, but they would kick ass on the big touchscreen iPad. For a fully fleshed out one, with many maps, and even multiplayer, I'd pay more than the prices that you lot are moaning about.
 
I couldn't possibly pay almost as much for a game I'll get hours of gameplay from as I would for a burger that lasts me 5 minutes!
 
I have about six pages of apps that I thought I could move, freely, onto my iPad next Saturday.


yep you sure can. they will run in the black box etc. but they won't be designed to work with the ipad so they might not be as slick. but in theory they should work (those that require GPS and cell data won't on the wifi only etc)
 
Has anyone else thought about what Command & Conquer-style games could be like on the iPad? Holy crap. I got bored of those types of games years ago on the PC, but they would kick ass on the big touchscreen iPad. For a fully fleshed out one, with many maps, and even multiplayer, I'd pay more than the prices that you lot are moaning about.

This.

Lets be honest, the touch interface isnt really great for the majority of games. I think the fact that developers like Rockstar feel the need to add "fake" arrows and buttons on the edge of the screen in GTA for iPhone is pretty telling in this respect. Most action games needs physical buttons. Then you have these rare games whose gameplay is actually built around the touch interface, like Flight Control. Racing games can also work since you can tilt the device like a wheel, but even here you do miss a few buttons.

But strategy games are based on point-and-click! I always thought "man, that is what a gaming experience on my iPhone is all about, too bad the screen is too small to make it useful".

Now with the iPad however, its just perfect. And since Apples technology is multi-touch, its perfect for "framing" a whole army or mark bigger areas.

Seriously guys, this could be a real popularity-booster for a somewhat forgotten genre, and a wake-up call for all RTS developers.

I hope to see a lot of ports, and hopefully, some iPad-exclusive RTS games.

If they turn out good, I will by an iPad for this alone. RTS games could actually be one of those rare things an iPad could do BETTER than a Mac or PC -- unlike web surfing, which despite Steves cute little marketing effort in the keynote, i just dont see happening without a real keyboard and flash. My MBP will still be best for writing emails and screwing around on youtube.
 
I couldn't possibly pay almost as much for a game I'll get hours of gameplay from as I would for a burger that lasts me 5 minutes!

Not to forget, $5 only gets you a really crappy burger. Well you guys in the US actually have decent cheapskate choices, but even the yummy In and Out Burger in Hollywood is still fast food. And here in Norway $5 couldnt even get you fries for your greasy stick-too-orange-looking-cheese-in-your-throat double cheeseburgers at McDonalds.

People need to **** about this. I used to pay at least $49 on games for my PSP a few years back. Sonys device has about the same screen size as the iPhone, and if Im not mistaken, the iPads CPU and RAM is actually faster.

Where do you guys come from? Just because the iPhone had $1 apps doesnt mean quality iPad apps for $5 or even $15 isnt a steal.

Remember, its not just the bigger screen in itsself, its about the broader possibilities for more content and a deeper gaming experience that the larger screen makes possible. Its already been demonstrated by Apple (iWork and awesome new calendar, amirite?), and I dont get why developers couldnt take advantage of the iPads bigger screen and better specs as well. Of course they will. This is a whole new game now, and its gonna be awesome.
 
Remember, its not just the bigger screen in itsself, its about the broader possibilities for more content and a deeper gaming experience that the larger screen makes possible. Its already been demonstrated by Apple (iWork and awesome new calendar, amirite?), and I dont get why developers couldnt take advantage of the iPads bigger screen and better specs as well. Of course they will. This is a whole new game now, and its gonna be awesome.

If the apps are better, and productive apps are actually productive, I will be happy to pay more for them. I am not a game person, and that seems to be the issue with most people. If the games are higher quality, I don't see what the big deal is. Early on we may see some crap games that just enlarged the version for the iPad. As developers stop rushing and start taking their time coding quality product, price increases will be worth it.
 
So there's going to be iPhone apps, iPad apps, and universal apps... I really hope they get the App Store ready for this.

I bought a fifty dollar iTunes gift card in preparation for the iPad launch... probably not going to be enough considering I'm going to buy all the iWork apps.

Waiting to snag up these gift cards when they go on sale in costco — last time I got $120 worth of cards for $96 and got TomTom when it was on sale, the actual price I paid was, $55 and it made our two iPhones into two full featured TBT navigation systems!
 
Just weighing in on the $5 games argument, some of the stuff that Apple has shown and has been floating around are probably going to be priced at higher amounts e.g. Mirrors Edge at $15. Where do you guys think the winning range is for a ipad game? I'm definately not a fan of iphone devs being lazy by upscaling and just charging extra, hopefully people will see through this!

Your then going to have the usual, show your ipad off to your friends apps, which are normally crap. Then you'll have ones which hopefully are at a good price and take advantage of the screen real estate to actually be productive. A few friends and I were contemplating doing a social networking aggregator on the iphone but screen size was always the big issue, now we have this launching with the Ipad: www.orbiipad.com . We've managed now to put a few feeds on the right hand view without it looking too cluttered, something that would not have been possible on the iphone...

Also I can't wait for strategy games as someone mentioned below. The point and click nature of some of the iphone games was fun, but always strained my eyes. Can't wait to command armies on the ipad!
 
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