Why I won't spend money on the App store

Now that Apple has officially launched the App Store, everyone seems excited about the possibility of expanding the functionality of their favorite cell phone and doing more with the same old hardware. I can't fault them for feeling that way, but I don't see any reason to spend money on it.

Undoubtedly, Steve Jobs will come out in January at Macworld and discuss how well the App Store is performing, thanks to strong iPhone app sales and even a few iPod touch sales thrown in for good measure. He'll discuss the benefits of using the App store and why we should all buy up "some of the best applications in the world."

It makes sense -- Apple has a vested interest in the success of the App store and certainly wants to see you buy more software than download for free because it gets a piece of the pie on all profits.

But as for me, I don't see any reason to spend money in the App store and I definitely won't. It's not that I'm protesting anything or trying to stand my ground, it's just that I think there will be so many great free apps in the store that I won't even need to worry about paying for software.

It may sound a bit radical, but trust me, I don't think you'll be spending too much money in there either.

Right now, there are two major forces at work: first, some apps in the store are ridiculously overpriced. $14.99 for iTrans NYC, an application that lets me search and locate different stops in the New York City subway? Please.

Secondly, the variety of titles in the App store and the relative ease of developing apps for the iPhone and iPod touch, make it a hot spot for developers of all sizes to create compelling applications at any cost.

And it's that ability for anyone to create applications for the App store that I see the greatest opportunity for us to stop spending and enjoy great apps for free.

The way I see it, the App store will start out as a veritable treasure trove of interesting software with crazy quirks and ridiculous prices. After that, it'll be flooded with free applications that try to improve on the issues with paid software and deliver a few new features too.

Once that happens, major sites like CNET and Engadget will be flooded with features that tell you what the best free apps on the App store are and slowly but surely, they will start to supplant paid apps as the most popular. Once that happens, developers looking to turn a profit will be forced to drop their prices to better compete with freeware, and in the process, create a more level playing field.

As soon as that happens, no one will find any reason to spend money on the App store.

Now, I realize that my thesis puts quite a bit of trust into independent developers that are trying to better the community's experience and not line their pockets, but I'm a firm believer that there are a slew of people like that in the world and more often than not, the really great apps aren't made by major developers, but by those individuals that find problems and want to make things easier for themselves and everyone else.

If there's one thing I don't like to do, it's spend money on applications that can be improved upon (for free) elsewhere. With that in mind, I simply don't know how I can justify spending cash on the 75 percent of the applications currently in the App Store that require a payment.

I not only believe in the value of free applications, but also the value of developers that create applications for free because they've found flaws in the over-priced products of greed.

Say what you will, but I'm not wasting my money on App store applications. Instead, I'll dedicate my time to enjoying all the free applications that will surely eclipse shareware on value and ease of use.

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[nickjsaunders]

I agree with most of this but I think you're forgetting about one major feature of the AppStore that people will (and should) pay for. Games. Good games can't be made by every Tom, Dick, and hairy dev.

[locodude125]

i agree, however, i think that i will probably buy one or two of the reallly neat games!

[sbee]

I think good games will definitely cost good money. For other 'mashup' type of apps like organizer software or subway software like you mentioned, we are definitely going to want to save our $$ given the exorbitant AT&T fees every month.

[jkumph]

Agreed. Selling software is a thing of the past. I made a flashcard app for iPhone and thought about selling it, but ultimately decided to just make it free. If I'm lucky, it'll get really big there will be living to be made from the advertising, but ultimately, who cares? Its incredibly satisfying to make something that helps people learn, and make it really high quality.

BTW, right now its a web app, though I'm working on a native version. Its at http://iFlipr.com .

[magvine]

I'm not really into Apple products (disappointed with an iPod mini that had to constantly be attached to an electrical source or its battery would drain away), and I don't understand people's attraction to them. To me it seems that Palm/Blackberry/Windows Mobile already have a wide array of software (both free and pay) that can accomplish the same tasks without any weird ties to a company. Why would I want an iPhone if I cannot surf the web and download software for it like I do for my Palm? Apple seems like too much of a closed operation.

[drleeds]

Don Reisinger, did you get paid to write this article? If not, you should have, because this site is making money from your hard work. There are ads all over this page. Writing software is hard work. Programmers should be paid for their work. I don't understand why they would want to work for free.

[Timothy Bandy]

I hope cnet takes the same attitude towards its writers. Why pay them when you could get this kind of expertise for free on a thousand different tech blogs?

Seriously, some of the apps are doofy, i mean a tip calculator? do people forget that the iPhone already has a calculator?

But some apps, like the medical apps and games will cost money, that's all there is to it. Check out the most expensive app, ForeFlight. I'm not a pilot but to me this little baby sound phenomenal. You get what you pay for.

http://www.adamhoughton.com/2008/07/foreflight-appstores-most-expensive-app.html

Do you not spend any money on your desktop/laptop software? If you have a game console, do you only play demos and free games. Your stance is simply laughable.

[rpmcestmoi]

Anyone who buys games deserves them. Useful things at a buck a throw? Not you, obviously, initial writer on this subject. Duh.

[optionshiftk]

Yes, some of the greatest apps come free of charge from super intelligent, young independent developers.....one problem: Apple is making the registration process extremely tight and is giving significant favoritism to big name companies like ebay or aim. Until this lackluster registration process is corrected, we will not see much innovation in the apps store.

[aztec92154]

This reminds me of the whole "Freedom vs Justice" idea. People want the freedom to put their apps on the apple store, but think it is unjust for people to waste their time by loading up crappy applications that just waste our time. With more freedom, we get more crappy apps. With more justice, we haveless of an opportunity to get homebrew apps to show up in the store.

[cporpheus]

Expanding on optionshiftk's comment, I think that jailbroken development will only increase because of the registration requirements. This is a unique situation though. I think that the ease of the "Buy" button and instant gratification of the app buying process will win out and developers and big companies will find this to be a good revenue stream. The catch is that developers who want to give their apps away will probably be put on the slow lane in order for Apple to get the revenue stream they want, which implies that big companies and their commercial apps will be there sooner and featured.

[benhomey]

I believe in paying for people's work but of course if they don't charge for it, it's a bonus and blessing. I certainly think people who worked hard to create useful tools that make people's life easier or provides entertainment value are ought to be credited for their work.

What if CNET says they want to hire you to write articles but don't want to pay you, or they say they would rather hire volunteer students for example to write articles for CNET, I'm sure you wouldn't think their professional standards or experience is comparable to you to be in your position and you would certainly think that you ought to be paid for the expertise, experience and the time that you have for them.