A better App Store

Narf.

http://www.betterappstore.com/ that is.

Hey you all, you should really look inside http://www. betterappstore.com/

Best Features: FAST fulltext based search (Apple App Store gives results mixed with music, that suckc), FAST Page reloads.

Some sort of method to allow outside developers to link purchases. So, for example, if The Omni Group wanted to offer a bundle where you buy OmniFocus the desktop application and OmniFocus for iPhone and iPod Touch they could provide a coupon code that is used on the App Store to affect the download.

What would be amazing would be the ability to swap, sell or give your apps away. Obviously currently once you buy an app it is locked through the DRM to your account, so if you don't like it or don't use it then there's nothing you can do with it.

If you could transfer your app(s) to another user then they could enjoy the apps you're not using. Just like people sell old books, CDs and the like. It wouldn't be too complicated for Apple to do, and would be really handy for all the people who've bought apps without being able to try them, and found they're don't like them.

Ok, so if everyone here agrees that "reviews" by people who obviously didn't buy the app don't belong in the Customer Review section...who the hell is writing all those "reviews"? :p

While Apple should fix these issues, people can help make the system work better without Apple doing anything at all:

1) Everyone should use the "was this review helpful" button, especially to mark bad reviews with a NO. Over time, the most helpful review *will* float to the top three and get read along with the star rating. (I think Apple should allow non-purchasers to review, but offer a "Have No Actual Experience With This" star button for them to use that doesn't affect the star rating.)

2) TUAW and other Mac sites can do *much* more in the way of comparative reviews of paid apps. We depend on you to help us judge between Files, FileMagnet, Annotator, etc. (For instance, today's review of Ecco Notes ended, roughly, "there are a bunch of voice note apps, I've tried some but not all, and this is my favorite." NOT helpful for anyone trying to decide which voice note app to pay for.) Make it a policy to do comparative reviews, or at least to list the competition to help us find similar apps.

Don't treat content like books as applications; it clutters up the store, and makes them hard to find (20 bibles, WTF?!).

-YOU know... I don't think they should get rid of people being able to post 'too pricey', purely because it's valuable feedback for the developer!
However! How about adding a 'feedback' section/button? That'd solve the problem.

-Demo versions would be lovely.

- Getting rid of some of the crap on there. I'm temped to make an app of a piece of feces that you can poke and smudge and sell it for 99p/c. An ironic app!

- Apple, test the apps! The review process is meant to weed out the poor apps. Why isn't it?

- New apps section. Maybe even a section where you can browse 'new apps in past x days/week/month'. I'm tired of sifting through the store!

- This is an aesthetic thing, but since Apple (and it's fans) are all about aesthetics, how about getting some nice icons on apps? Some of the icons have no relevance to the app whatsoever.

I recently wrote a topic about this in my blog, Mobile Evolution: http://creativealgorithms.com/blog/?q=content/what-would-make-appstore-perfect
Some of the items noted have been fixed, but many are still pending.

I would like to see different ways to sort on the device--the iTunes desktop version has a lot more features, but I find I'm browsing more on my device. I would also like to see some policing of competitors posting free promos in their competitors reviews. Some are so blatant it's sickening.

I really like the Shopping Cart idea, especially since there is now a $1,000 app on the store (called "I Am Rich"). I'm still scared that myself, or someone else in my family, might accidentally buy that app.