Off the top of my head:

Pros:

  • The obvious: no more lite versions! Apps can have a fully-functioning trial period.
  • Paid upgrades! Apps can now offer upgrade pricing to existing users.
  • Upgrading from the trial version to the full one (or any future version) no longer means lost data for users, they can continue using the app as normal.
  • In-app purchases provide better protection from piracy; to my knowledge, apps can’t illegally install DLC. It’s also nice that Apple is finally acknowledging iPhone piracy.

Cons:

  • The free section will now be muddied with totally free apps and “partly free” ones. This can be remedied by separating the listings, or prominently displaying a badge for apps that have DLC.
  • Free apps have notoriously bad ratings, usually disproportionate to the quality of the app. So any paid app that gets listed as a free app with unlocked functionality will suffer, ratings-wise. Perhaps Apple can again restrict rating only to those users that have both downloaded and paid for the app.
  • Apple lied – again. Apparently, free is no longer always free. But does anyone really care?

As a whole, this is excellent news: it solves many existing problems with the App Store, and only introduces very minor issues that can easily be addressed.

Posted on Friday, October 16th, 00:24. Filed under: News, iPhone

It seems Apple has finally made some much needed improvements to the review section of the App Store.

I just visited the store, and noticed that reviews now display the version they refer to. There is also link to just display reviews for the current version.

My favorite change, however, is that there is now a much bigger distinction between “ratings” and “reviews”. Up until now, a user could just rate an app with stars (either on the App Store, or via the misguided “rate after deletion” functionality) or write a full review, accompanied by a star rating. This led to situations where the reviews could all be 5-star, but the average rating of the app would be lower, because of the “invisible” ratings.

Next step: some tools to actually read reviews without trolling every single App Store, and a way to respond.

Posted on Wednesday, March 11th, 20:03. Filed under: Mobile, iPhone

This was definitely a pleasant surprise: after only 5 days in review, I got the email saying that Converted has changed status to “Ready for Sale”. I was expecting it to take at least a couple of weeks, especially since the enrollment process was so frustratingly long.

As happy as I am, however, I do feel sorry for the person(s) at Apple working on a Sunday…

Posted on Monday, January 12th, 00:29. Filed under: Converted, News, iPhone