App Store Updated to Better Showcase Apps

Apple Insider, quoting TouchMeme developer Krishna Vegesna, reports that Apple has made some changes to the way it displays applications in the App Store, which they break down into three areas:

– Most popular apps are now highlighted in each category page – Free apps are separated from — and hence no longer dominate — paid apps in the side bar – Tweaked the design to make it more consistent with the iPhone App Store app

Says (and quotes) Apple Insider:

While Friday’s changes may not solve all of developers’ problems, Vegesna said he believes Apple “now truly understands the software as a service model and is enhancing the [App Store] every week (in some cases, multiple times a week).”

Is it a big enough step to really help amid the onslaught of 10,000+ apps? Probably not, but it’s a step and hopefully yet another sign that Apple is willing to keep working to help developers, users, and themselves benefit from the App Store model.

If you’ve had a chance to check it out, and noticed the difference, let us know if it improved your experience and ability to find apps.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

App Store Updated to Better Showcase Apps

Macalope: Why There’s No Flash or Java For the iPhone

Another analyst deflating missive from everyone’s favorite mythical Mac pundit, the Macalope. This time, the horny headed one explains why there’s no Flash or Java on the iPhone:

Uh, because they blow?

There’s more to it than that, of course:

And here we have the real issue. Sure, the iPhone could run Flash, but — particularly given the already unoptimized state of Flash on OS X — it would probably have to run some stripped-down, crappier version of Flash.

For the full story behind the various procs and cons, check out the full article, and also take a look at the Macalope’s weekly column for the latest Windows Mobile CES news — which makes TiPb wonder if Ballmer is picking his code names from Lady Marmalade these days…

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Macalope: Why There’s No Flash or Java For the iPhone

Audiko: an easy (and free) way to create ringtones

Filed under: Audio, Cool tools, Freeware, iPhone

When the iPhone came out, things looked pretty bleak in the ringtone department. You were supposed to use the sounds that came with the iPhone, and like it. Things loosened up a bit, as Apple thought it was just fine to buy them from the iTunes store. If you already had the music you wanted to make into a ringtone, too bad, you had to buy the track again, and only if it was designated an 'official' ring tone capable song.

Then things got easier, and people started using GarageBand to do the deed, and Apple seemed to be looking the other way. Then iToner came out, and now we have PocketMac Ring tone Studio, which are utilities you can buy and create the ringtones you want from your own music. We've also reported on how to create ringtones using just iTunes.

Somewhat under the radar is Aukido. It's a website you can visit, upload one of your music tracks, cut it to a proper length, and even do a nice fade at the end so it isn't abrupt. I've tried it on a few tracks I own and it worked great. You can then download the track as an MP3, or better yet, the iPhones native M4R format. Then you drag it into your iTunes ringtone folder and you are ready to go.

The site is also crammed full of other ringtones people have created and left on the site. That could be legally murky, and I've only used my own tracks. Your mileage may vary, but Aukido is worth a look, and an upload/download.

Audiko: an easy (and free) way to create ringtones originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Audiko: an easy (and free) way to create ringtones originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stats: 99 cent apps aren’t selling any better

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, iTunes, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

This is interesting: the prevailing argument about App Store pricing seems to be that developers are rushing down to 99 cents because apps priced there sell better (and developers say they can't fund really great apps priced there). But Mobile Orchard did a little number crunching, and their conclusion upends the whole premise: 99 cent apps don't sell any better than their more expensive counterparts. They plotted each app's popularity against its price, and while there are a few 99 cent apps out there selling better than any higher-priced app, the only real way to make the app "sell" better is to give it away for free. Above $0, price doesn't really matter than much in terms of popularity.

You could argue that Apple's 0 to 1 popularity scale doesn't tell us much (we're not looking at actual sales here, just a number Apple has given to each app in terms of downloads), but Mobile Orchard's conclusion makes sense, in a strange way: free apps, we know, are much more popular than any paid apps, and if people are willing to pay 99 cents, why wouldn't they be willing to pay more? Why should a 99 cent app sell better than an app of equal usability that costs $1.99? It shouldn't, and according to this data, it doesn't.

Very interesting. There is an exception -- in the Entertainment category, 99 cent apps do sell markedly better than the apps above them (Games, also, as you can see above, seem a little stronger in the 99 cent bar). But in the Business and Productivity categories, higher-priced apps actually sell better than their cheaper counterparts. People will pay what your app is worth, whether that's $1, $10, or even higher. The problem may be getting people to understand the app's worth in the first place (and that's where something like an App Store trial system might work), but Mobile Orchard's data says that price isn't a factor in an app's sales.

Thanks, Dan!

Stats: 99 cent apps aren't selling any better originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Stats: 99 cent apps aren't selling any better originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stephen Fry Pwns the iClones

Stephen Fry, the British comedian and technology commentator who was once partner to TV’s Dr. House, Hugh Laurie, recently annihilated RIM’s BlackBerry Storm on Twitter, and now is back to give an even grander beat down to the mobile industry in general, a 4 star Bold review, a 1 star Storm review, and an iPhone OS 3.0 wish… er… demand list. Daring Fireball, however, points us a couple paragraphs of particular interest:

Apple have shown that there is a huge demand for exciting, innovative, lovable and imaginative consumer devices. All the rivals have to do is to … is to what? To produce cut price lookalikes or truly to pioneer and innovate? Well, the latter is what they should do, but the former is what most of them will do of course, because these dumb firms never ever learn. They are afraid to be good. They will blame stockholders, consumers, anyone but themselves.

Don’t you sometimes long to be CEO of a company like Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Nokia or Microsoft? So that you can say to your coders, your designers, your development teams and your software architects: “Not [redacted] Good Enough. I haven’t said ‘Wow’ yet. I haven’t gasped with pleasure, amusement or admiration once. Start again. Not [redacted] Good Enough.”

Can’t say I’d do any different were I blessed/cursed with being such a CEO. How about you? Any advice for our iCompetitors?

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Stephen Fry Pwns the iClones