iPhone App Store suggestion: “Try Before You Buy”
One problem with the Apple’s online App Store for its iPhone/iPod Touch applications is that deciding whether to spend money on an application is more difficult than it should be. I have a simple solution to this: let us try the application before we buy it. Or at least give us a day to play with the application before you charge our account.
The App Store allows users to post reviews of applications; this helps others to decide if an application is worth their money. However, there’s no guarantee that Apple will allow a plurality of opinions on its website – especially the honest, rude and invective reviews that (for better or worse) can have a big influence on purchasing decisions. And as far as I can see, there’s no system in place for distributing review copies of software (even to large, mainstream media outlets), as happens with all other commercial software platforms. Even existing iPhone App Store review sites focus on free applications, leaving developers like Adamcode, makers of iPhone budget software ‘Spend’, to compile their own reviews from the blogosphere.
(By the way, if you’re looking for some basic, but great, software to manage your budget, Spend is a worthwhile investment. I can never remember to take notes or get receipts, but my iPhone is always with me.)
As I said before, the solution is simple: let us download a trial version of the product without paying, then give us the option to pay for it after 24 hours (or whatever time/usage limit the developer decides), or to have it wiped from our iPhone. I guarantee this will lead to greater revenue for Apple’s developer community (and thus more development for the iPhone) if people don’t fear being burned by poor purchasing decisions.
Could Apple do this? Apple already does online movie rentals, so we can assume they’ve got the technology to make content disappear after a given period of time. Developers also know this is a hurdle for potential customers, because they are making ‘lite’ versions of paid applications (such as ‘Spend Lite’ from aforementioned Adamcode). I’d love to try out a game like Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D, but I’m wary of spending $AU13 on a piece of junk. If I could try it out for a day, it would make my purchasing decision much more informed.
Are there any applications you want to buy, but would like to try first?
FalKirk:
I simply don’t understand comments like this. As of my last count, there were 30 free “lite” programs with corresponding for pay equivalents. These “lite” programs allow one to try a limited version of the program for free, forever. What is the advantage of adding the complexity of a time limited trial version of a program when an un-timed, free trial version exists already?
11 August 2008, 9:18 pmtim:
Actually, you’re making a good point about the ‘lite’ versions being a suitable trial of a program; I didn’t really make that connection. Time-limited trials also wouldn’t work well for programs whose novelty factor wears off in under a day, such as some games. These rely on impulse purchasing.
However, I still see a gap in the market for application reviews. Perhaps someone will be able to make enough money from a review site to offset the cost of purchasing the applications; perhaps review sites will continue to rely on free and ‘lite’ programs for their stock of reviews.
11 August 2008, 10:10 pm