What's wrong with buying apps for 99 cents?

It seems to me that most of the complaints are based around the reduced exposure that higher-priced (though higher-quality) apps receive. 99¢ apps dominate the sales rankings, and get more exposure. Same with the free apps.

Why not lobby Apple to create a third-tier of bestselling apps? Top 10 Free Apps, Top 10 Cheap Apps ($3.99 and less), and Top 10 Full-Price Apps ($4.99 and up).

That would acknowledge the price tiers that already seem to exist, and the quality apps (that cost $5 or $10) would be given a better chance to shine. It would also expose more users to the better quality apps, giving them a better appreciation for what's possible on their iPhone/iPod Touch.

One thing Apple could crack down on is developers constantly issuing trivial updates to their app just to keep it near the top of the list. There were a few on my iPhone that I got so sick of seeing updates twice a week that I just deleted them.

The app store needs a wish list like Amazon has, so I can bookmark several apps that I'm interested in, but not ready to buy until I research them further.

It's been said before, but a way to release demo versions would be nice. I've been burned too often buying more expensive apps that turned out to be crap.

And yes, the ratings should be limited only to people who have actually purchased and downloaded the app. Rating it low because of the price when you haven't bought it is lame.

@robogobo: Please STFU!

how much does it take to make a good quality app like say touch grind... does it really cost thousands of dollars? im sorry i just dont think a little iphone app would cost so much that $70,000 would not be enough to live off of.

"but how will people find it unless they specifically look for it."

That is an issue all developers face, not just App Store developers. I think we were all hoping the App Store would be a real 1 stop shop, but I think we have to be realistic. Imagine if there was NO marketing of music beyond the iTunes Music Store- would any artist expect to 'break out' in such conditions?

That being said, I think there can be signficant improvements to the App Store in terms of being able to browse and search for specific applications. I would imagine that Apple will make such improvments as time goes on- it would definitely be in their best interest to do so.

In all honesty, if someone is looking to jump-start their own small software company, pandering to the less sophisticated masses with a Free or $.99 app is a good way to generate sales/ad_revenue figures so you can get investors to give you money for your real flagship software.

Here are some unsolicited, freely given App ideas for any upcoming App store entrepreneurs reading this thread:

1. iPeen: Create an application that allows you to pull up photos from the Photo Gallery and draw various sized/shaped MS-Paint-like penises on people. Then allow you to save/email/upload the modified pictures to Flickr, Facebook, etc. Bonus feature for pay version is creating an animated gif.

2. Menstrual Calendar: Create an application that asks the user to input his/her girlfriend's age, zodiac sign, and date of onset of last period, then press a button and WHAM! The date of then the next period will begin. (the real computation being (previous Date) + (28 or 29 days (determined by some simple algorithm that generates a random number from their zodiac and age data)) = new date). Once saved, application's icon has a red badge with the Days Remaining until Onset. Throw in cheap PMS gags like links to order flowers/stuff for food cravings and you've got gold.

more whining pussies! I've about had it. FREE MARKET. deal with it. whining pussies.

Despite my comment above, I really do understand the concern of developers and can see their point of view on this. I can also say, as I have said from the beginning, that there are some things Apple could do to improve the App Store. #1 that I think we can all agree on is allowing demos. Other than that, I think maybe they could create a 'premium' section for developers who want to charge more than $X (as I mentioned above). This would benefit Apple just as much since they'll be making more per sale and seems like a simple addition.

Above all of this, however, there lies a single problem. There are just too many people interested in developing for the iPhone. There is nothing Apple can do. They already opened this can of worms by building the App Store. They created a way that people can buy and sell apps so easily, there is a huge demand for them and too many developers competing for a piece of that pie. Apple can't turn anyone away, that would be completely unfair. They can't insist that developers charge more than $.99 or consumers would be pissed.

I'm not really sure what anyone can do except a couple of minor changes by Apple and developers who think they can make exceptional apps making exceptional apps and refusing to take less than the app is worth.

My question to a developer is this: Have you tried putting your app on the store at the value you think it is worth and promoting it in the same way you would an app for, say, a Blackberry or WinMo device? Do you think you would sell the same amount as those devices, but perhaps would be a little disheartened that iFart downloads are higher than yours? Take a good look at other apps like yours, is yours really worth that much more? Either way, is the problem not really that there is too much competition and too many choices for consumers? Do you think it would be fair to only allow certain apps from certain developers and how would Apple decide who is allowed?

People want cheap. Developers want money but will only do what is worth the price.
Once again, you get what you pay for( most of the time)

As a developer, when it comes to developing for the iPhone, i'm usually trying to think of what I can make the fastest amount of time that takes the least amount of effort. It is impossible to build a business solely on the iPhone platform, unless you're churning out useless apps every couple of weeks.

No matter how much marketing you do, since the AppStore is the only way for users the purchase apps, they will search for your app, and immediately shop around for something cheaper and/or better. You don't have the convenience of someone buying an app directly from your site, or another 3rd party.

Unfortunately this is the nature of the game where the users demand "pop apps", which is basically the pop music of the software world -- throw-away summer hit titles that are a distant memory by next season.

That's what happens when you democratize the market: People that had no interest in making WM/Palm/BB apps due to distribution difficulties (in my 5 years of supporting mobile devices, I can count on one hand the number of end-user non-iphones that had more than two 3rd party apps on them) now have a single-payor OTA distribution channel.

Take away the simplicity and ease of the App Store, and force iPhone/iTouch users to install their apps via various web sites, fill out their credit card information, etc; and I bet you'll find a sharp drop in Crapplications.