Filed under: App Store
'I Am Rich' makes author exactly that, does little else
Got a cool grand to burn? Before you think about buying the brand-new app I Am Rich, there are a few charities I'd hope you consider. But if you truly have that kind of money to spend, you can buy an app that touts itself as "a work of art with no hidden function at all."
I Am Rich sells for $999.99 in the App Store. It also features a "secret mantra" that "may help you to to [sic] stay rich, healthy and successful." Uh huh. I've got a mantra for you: "Smile and be nice to people." There. That one's free.
Hey, you can't blame the author, Armin Heinrich, because just a few sales would set him up quite nicely. What you can blame, however, is the asinine App Store vetting process, which let this dollop of poop into the system. What rocket surgeon thought this would be better than eWallet or ListPro? I fear John Gruber's prediction that the App Store wouldn't become the next VersionTracker or MacUpdate is proving exceptionally false.
It's not only that I don't want to buy I Am Rich, it's that I don't accidentally want to buy it. It's ridiculously easy to buy apps for your device, and getting this one by accident would certainly ruin my day. Plus, I don't have the minimum system requirement of three popped collars to run the app.
The Iconfactory's Craig Hockenberry notes, though, that he's willing to spend 99 cents on an app with graphics identical to I Am Rich, but only featuring the mantra "I'm not stupid."
Judging from the App Store's app admission track record, though, that one should get approved in no time.
Thanks, Mark, Oliver, Rubbinz, Sherman, William, and Gruber for the tip!
Update: It appears I Am Rich has been removed from the U.S. App Store. For what reasons, exactly? We may never know. Thanks, Adam, for the update!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Johnny Thrash said 8:15PM on 8-05-2008
I would just be happy to be able to purchase Netshare since I didn't get a chance to buy it before it got ripped off the store.
I thought getting apps on the App Store was supposed to be a big ordeal... all verified and authenticated and stuff...
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Techtistic said 11:31PM on 8-05-2008
Who says this isn't a legit app? I bought it and am enjoying it very much. Want to see?
http://techtistic.deviantart.com/art/I-Am-Ritch-93953314
Techtistic said 11:46PM on 8-05-2008
http://techtistic.deviantart.com/art/I-Am-Rich-93953314
Brandon Rotkel said 8:20PM on 8-05-2008
Glad I'm not alone in these sentiments. While it seems pretty trivial on the face of it, I think that the problems you mentioned are real issues that Apple should take some responsibility for.
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Jeremy said 8:21PM on 8-05-2008
The scary thing is,
iTunes doesn't put apps into your shopping cart if you click the buy button.
It buys them isntantly.
I learned the hard way when, not paying attention,
I payed $10 for Zeptopad... waste of money.
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I can\\\'t tell... said 8:46PM on 8-05-2008
you can make it to not do that, check your preferences...
Dave said 4:56AM on 8-06-2008
I'm not so sure. I have my account set up to use the Shopping Cart, but half the apps I've purchased went through immediately (a la 1-Click). I have yet to see any rhyme or reason.
Back on topic: I'm going to grab a screenshot of this gem and use, oh... I don't know, the BUILT-IN photo app to show off my "$1000 application". The best part is, not only will I -look- rich, I'll actually still have $1000 of my own.
Tyler Woodfin said 8:22PM on 8-05-2008
That IS a good way to make money...
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Ricardo Bueno said 12:27AM on 8-06-2008
I bought one
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Trevor said 8:26PM on 8-05-2008
"the asinine App Store vetting process"
What vetting process? When has Apple ever said that they're vetting iPhone apps for quality? Never, and I don't know why people keep thinking they have.
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kleinias said 1:46AM on 8-06-2008
@Trevor,
I think you make a good point, I don't recall Apple ever claiming they would oversee application content-quality. Furthermore, (just my opinion of course) I thing this blog post has the wrong idea about the economics of Apple's App store. Someone correct me if I'm wrong (and I very well may be), but isn't the idea that the market will decide what is a good app and what isn't?
Now, the way Apple (in the long term) will prevent a flood of inconsequential apps, is the $99 fee it costs to submit an application to the store. Providing that the developer is a (at least somewhat) rational actor, he/she will not submit an application unless they think it will end up a profitable endeavor. That means making up not only the money they spent on the submission process, but also enough to make their time working on the application, worthwhile.
Now if they submit an app and it ends up being profitable, at least ostensibly, that would mean enough people thought the application was a worth while purchase. Right now the app store is new and developers are figuring things out, when more and more of these apps fail to recoup a profit, it stands to reason that we will see less and less of them.
Macroy said 8:29PM on 8-05-2008
At least there aren't any typos in the manual.
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MILE said 8:30PM on 8-05-2008
Except for him calling it a "Livestyle" app...!? ;)
Macroy said 8:35PM on 8-05-2008
"Livestyle"?! Apple, is this the kind of QA that led to the MobileMe fiasco?
MILE said 8:30PM on 8-05-2008
Im so angry about the fact that the App Store has become such a fleamarket after just 3 weeks, that I don't even want to comment on this piece of *beep*...!
But while buying some other app today, I noticed that a window popped up, actually asking me whether I really want to download and buy the app...! So at least this should prevent people from "accidentally" buying apps in the future -- something that should have been part of the system from thr very start...!
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NightOne said 8:35PM on 8-05-2008
http://iamricher.mobi/
Load the above in Mobile Safari and save yourself a grand.
Since Apple gets a 30% cut off of every app sold in the App Store then they basically saying that they are willing to participate to the tune of $300 for this pile of crap. Is that the level of credibility Apple wants to maintain?
Also, being that there are so many $9.99 applications and the price of this POS is so outlandish I could see it being easily mistaken as yet another $9.99 application. Imagine the surprise when the bill (or confirmation e-mail) comes in for those people.
What's next? Infommercials in the iTunes store?
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MC Sn@ck T1me said 8:41PM on 8-05-2008
Purchased!
http://mcsnacktime.com/ihasriches.jpg
This is why I play limbo with the poverty line!
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pete said 9:12PM on 8-05-2008
lets see the icon on your phone though. i could just as easy take a snap shot of the preview in itunes and put it in my photo library. so lets see a snap shot of the icon, idiot (only if you actually bought it and are willing to prove it are you an idiot)
and i want to see it in "wiggle mode". i'm fully ware that there is a pic on the developers website of the icon on the phone, idiot.
south said 10:08PM on 8-05-2008
pete, it's supposed to be a joke.
NutMac said 8:44PM on 8-05-2008
Perhaps the author will release a lite free version to hook people into upgrading.
>/ sarcasm <
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