Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Freeware, Apple, iPhone, App Store
iPhone is the place for adware?
Om Malik posted an interesting piece earlier this week about the growing market of ad-supported software on the iPhone -- due to the strange economies of the App Store (which are still developing), lots of app makers have found the prices on their apps driven way down, as most buyers are pretty wallet-shy when it comes to picking up even quality apps from the store. But as Malik notes, putting ads in the software allows these devs to still get some cash out of their products (and most consumers aren't fazed: Twitterrific, one of the most popular apps on the Store, has had ads in the free version since day one).Unfortunately, Malik doesn't mention the one problem that Apple didn't think to fix in the first release of the App Store -- trial versions. One of the reasons consumers are blanching at the more costly apps is that they have no options to try them out first, and when people are offered a choice of free unknown versus a paid unknown, they'll always take the free option. If Apple could come up with a way to let users try before they buy (some developers, including iconfactory, have created two different versions of their own apps, which people can then upgrade to if they like the app), I'm guessing you'd see more people pay for the more quality apps in the store.
But even if not, Malik seems right (though even he admits we're all flying blind here, on only a month's worth of data and anecdotes). If the only app you can sell in the App Store is a free one, ads aren't a bad way to make up as much of the dev costs as you can.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Flunky Carter said 5:10PM on 9-10-2008
YET ANOTHER MYEK!!!@@!!@~`
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macxprt said 6:11PM on 9-10-2008
Ha ha! MYek!
Arnan de Gans said 5:22PM on 9-10-2008
Well, i rather pay a small fee than have ads blaring in my screen.
If i hate one thing it's commercials, ads and all other forms of internet advertising and especially the ones inside apps, regardless which platform. Website ads i can stand but if an app has ads i remove it that same instant.
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Drizz said 5:36PM on 9-10-2008
Trial versions (and storefronts not supporting them) are nothing new to the mobile space. People have been building stand-alone demos with purchase links in them for years. Why change the App platform when you could simply add a new directory structure to find free trials. The big PITA about the App Store right now are the findability issues, which will increase day over day... :( sucks for us.
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Rob M said 6:20PM on 9-10-2008
Until they (developers or Apple) figure out a way to release demo software, I'm going to continue to be wallet-shy. I'm understandably reluctant to plop down money on something I've never even tried.
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quandmeme said 7:19PM on 9-10-2008
. . . haven't tried and can't get a good review of. There are 5+ review sites trying to fill the space. None are worth reading yet. I really appreciated TUAW's reviews but still haven't seen comparisons of to do apps (currently using zenbe), pdf (and other file managers) (currently using airsharing), or a notepad app that actually syncs to something.
I agree with the posters about orgaization.
If I can't find out in advance, I'll suffer through the free ones for now. I would totally jump on ad supported trials.
Jason Lancaster said 9:52AM on 9-11-2008
Rob, the demo thing is more of an Apple thing and not a developer thing. I was told from Apple [when I submitted my demo app] unless you basically create a fully working copy, Apple won't approve it. If a feature gets crippled after a period of time or tries to up sell something from the start, you fail. Bummer!
Kevin said 11:42AM on 9-11-2008
I only just recently purchased my first paid iPhone app (FileMagnet). After watching a video review of the app and reading multiple other reviews, I decided I could risk $5. Turns out, it was worth my $5. But until there is a good way to demo the software, I'll be "wallet-shy" too. I simply don't want to waste my time/money on crap.
Grant said 6:52PM on 9-10-2008
There is a way to release demo software. I've seen several demos on the App Store already. More developers should be doing it. I don't really think the fault lies with Apple here.
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Jason Lancaster said 9:58AM on 9-11-2008
Are these demos for games, apps, or something else? Could you maybe list a few? I'd like to download some and see what developers did to get Apple to approve their demo app.
XIV said 7:17PM on 9-10-2008
Funny thing. I don't have any ads with twitterrific.
As for me, I agree with Arnan de Gans. I hate ads in the apps which is why I don't have any Malik apps, and the one I had (trying out) got out of my ipod Touch as fast as they came.
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robb said 8:32PM on 9-10-2008
This is based on what? People are much more likely to download and not continue using free apps as well. Of the two dozen or so apps I've got on my iPhone, both free and paid, none have ads. I have deleted a few that did though.
Ads are irritating on a full size screen. They're far worse on a little one.
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alansky said 10:35PM on 9-10-2008
Over my dead body! That's when ad-supported software gets installed on my iPhone--when I'm dead and gone.
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trainwrecka said 12:19AM on 9-11-2008
Demos would be nice, but I would trust user reviews just fine ... IF PEOPLE WROTE TRUE REVIEWS! I feel like I'm browsing a teenage AOL chatroom when I look through the reviews. Most are just BS moaning about price or dislike for something they don't even own! I have each app for a week or more before writing a review and preface it with I OWN THIS so people know it is a legit review.
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DistortedLoop said 8:25AM on 9-11-2008
Try before you buy is the only fair way to let someone test software before purchasing.
My original attitude about apps in the App Store was that I didn't mind blowing $0.99 if it turned out to be a turkey, and that's still my general attitude; but when the price tag is $2.99, $6.99, and even $19.99 for something that does not do what it was advertised to do, I start getting annoyed.
$30 for crapware I can't get a refund on was enough to drive me to the Jailbreak and DRM-removed apps scene. I now try all apps out that have a hacked version floating on the net via the Jailbreak BEFORE I buy it. Saves me from wasting money. I've spent a couple of hundred dollars on apps, and truly believe that developers of good software deserve to be paid, especially when they're asking such small prices as the typical app. I'm not advocating pirating software rather than buying it, but I'm suggesting that if you aren't sure about an app, there's a try before you buy alternative out there for the adventurous. Please go legit and buy an app once you think an app is useful, but I will not be suckered into throwing away more money based on some misleading screenshots and flowery application description.
All that said - I do have a few apps that have little portions of the screen devoted to advertising banners, and they haven't bothered me so far. I take a lot of steps on my laptop and desktop machines to block banner ads and popups, but on the iPhone with the specific apps I have with ads, they're unobtrusive and largely unnoticeable, which probably means that they're not effective, but if an app is free and clearly states that it's ad supported, no complaints from me about it: no one is making me download it.
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King Fysel said 12:34PM on 9-11-2008
"the more quality apps in the store."
Dude meant 'higher quality' I guess. But, hey, that's an example of quality writing - poor quality.
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alucas92 said 5:50PM on 9-11-2008
But there kinda are trial versions for some apps. There free, limited versions of the full app and usually have the word "lite" in their name. Although Apple hasn't fully implemented the trial system, some developers already have.
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