Transactions Further Muddies “Demo” vs. “Lite”

Last month, Ars Technica reported on the distinctions of “demo” vs. “lite” and what was allowed on the App Store. According to Ars, “demo” or “beta” is cause for instant rejection from the store, while “lite” is OK, provided the lite version stands on its own and is not crippled.

Last week, Transactions was released, which processes credit card charges through Authorize.net or PayPal. The “lite” version is limited to two transactions within a twelve hour period. I’m scratching my head how this made it through the approval process. Two transactions is useless for real world use. It’s clearly only useful to trial the app’s functionality before buying the full version. A much better “lite” differentiator is to limit the amount that may be charged.

It is well past time for Apple to implement demo functionality for apps on the store. Allow developers to opt out if they wish. Apple controls the platform. It can’t be hard to add a marker to the FairPlay wrapper. Some period of time after download (even this could be up to the developer), iPhone OS will refuse to launch the app, telling the user that the demo period has expired. Buying the app at that point removes the marker and the app may be launched again.

If (hopefully when) Apple does this, I predict we’ll see average app prices start to rise, since the “risk” of buying something disappears. Higher app prices means a bigger 30% cut for Apple. Isn’t this a no-brainer?

Developer Program Extensions to July 11

Regarding my earlier post about problems with expiring developer program memberships, today I received an email from Apple:

In appreciation of your participation in the program during the beta period, the length of your original program term and your iTunes Connect contract(s) will be extended to July 11, 2009—one year from the opening of the App Store. We will contact you soon with more details and instructions about this extension.

Beginning in May, a full 60 days prior to your new Program expiration date, you will be able to renew your iPhone Developer Program which also automatically renews your existing iTunes contracts.

It’s nice to see Apple make this gesture, though it makes it seem more likely to me that the one-year anniversary of the original program members caught them somewhat by surprise. I guess 20,000+ approved apps in less than a year can do that.

iPhone OS 3.0 Previewed on March 17th

Lots of news today about the potential debut of iPhone OS 3.0 on March 17th.

Engadget says they “got the note” about a a sneak preview that will happen at 10am PST. According to The Boy Genius Report, besides a brand new sdk, we can expect:

• MMS
• Tethering via Bluetooth and USB

And this from MacRumors:

Apple’s calling this an “advance preview of what we’re building,” so we’re not expecting anything ready to go as of the 17th, but hopefully this will allow developers to start building toward future functionality (hey, how about some push notifications?), and presumably users won’t have too many months to wait after that for the real deal.

iTunes Affiliates Can Link to Apps

I don’t know when this changed, but developers can finally deep link to their applications on the App Store and earn a 5% commission on sales. When I first signed up as an affiliate last year (because of the badge in the Program Portal, mind you), the iTunes Link Maker would create links to any media type on the iTunes Music Store, except apps.

5% of the surely minuscule traffic from a web site resulting in a sale on the App Store is probably next to nothing, but there’s no sense in leaving money on the table. Plus, if a visitor to your site buys something else in the same session, that should qualify for a commission, too.

Which brings up an interesting idea I’d shelved a while back: now there is some money to be made by offering a web-based app store. Purchasing still happens in the App Store, but at least there is a possibility for innovation in browsing/searching.

Developer Program Renewals

Inexplicably, Apple does not yet have a system in place to process renewals for the iPhone developer program. It is possible, although Apple assures otherwise, that a developer’s applications will be pulled from the App Store when the existing contracts expire.

I dragged my feet a bit and didn’t sign my contract until May, so I have a bit of time left. Usually, when Apple stumbles, they fix the problem quickly. This seems like it’ll extremely high priority, so I won’t be surprised to see news on this soon.

No Surprise: The iPhone App Store is #1

Some highly paid researchers at Global Intelligence Alliance found out what we already knew:  the iPhone is the leader in mobile applications due to the App Store.

Global Intelligence Alliance Group (GIA), a global leader in customized Market Intelligence services and solutions, has released an analysis of Mobile Application Marketplace initiatives, which indicates that Apple’s App Store is ahead of Android by Open Handset Alliance (OHA) and Ovi by Nokia, based on its timeliness and number, variety and appeal of applications available.

The analysis was conducted along five parameters which GIA deem to be key success factors; time to market, the ability to attract developers, the rate of device adoption, an efficient interface and user experience, and having a critical mass of attractive applications.

And Net Applications reports that mobile Safari is by far the leader in mobile web browsing with a 66% market share.

More info on both studies is available at PC World.