iPhone App Store Thoughts

First, i have to say that the App Store has a very deep bench. There is a lot to pick from. If you cannot find something you like, I'd be amazed. Despite the depth I do have a small quibble or two.

The thing that troubles me the most about the App Store is that there is no "Try-Before-You-Buy." A good example is my daughter bought a finger painting software app. It turns out that it didn't work the way she thought and was really difficult to use. We paid five dollars which in the scheme of things is not a big deal. But what if you bought 3-5 apps that didn't work the way you wanted? That would add up fast.

I myself bought Omnifocus for twenty dollars, basically on sight-unseen (if you don't include the screen shots). I was dying for a good task manager and what got me to buy it was the reviews. That's all I really had to go on. That can still be risky, especially if the developers are less than honest and create their own viral marketing campaign. Clearly that needs to be rethought.

The second qualm I have is in regards to not being able to share an application with other iPhones in my house. If I buy a game, because we all have separate profiles, I have to but that game multiple times. If i buy a game for Xbox 360 or PS3, we can all use it on whatever machine in the house that we want to. On the other side of the coin, I can see a developers point (especially since I am one) that people should not be able to "just share apps at will." But maybe there could be some sort of "family pack" pricing. Just a thought.

All that being said, the App Store is very nice other than these issues. I'm stunned at how many applications are available. With a starting point of more than 500 certainly dwarfs people who have been playing in this pond for years. It's really amazing, when you think about it. My only advice is, "choose well."

Jaye