No Refunds on iPhone Apps - iPhone Users Complain

There's some interesting developments concerning Apple's App Store

Competitor after competitor have launched their own app stores, but none have been able to come close to matching Apple's industry-leading iTunes App Store, which serves the company's popular iPhone smartphone. The App Store has suffered a bit in the past from controversy, though, with many developers unhappy with Apple's inconsistent approach to application acceptance.

Now, with Apple trying to put that controversy in rear view, a new one is brewing. Recently, there has been a growing user outcry, particularly in the influential business user segment, over Apple's no-refunds policy concerning App Store downloads.

With some apps like GPS applications or business applications coming in at $30, $50, or even more, users are becoming furious when these pricey apps occasionally fail or prove to be bug prone. With no returns, these users are out of luck, with Apple leaving them no recourse. Apple's policy explicitly states -- refunds will only be offered if the download fails.

These complaints have been given a prominent voice by a recent piece from Eric A. Taub of The New York Times. Mr. Taub writes, "None of this may matter if the most expensive app you’ve downloaded is a 99-cent virtual beer glass. Once the novelty wears off, most people can live with the financial loss. But asking people to spend $100 on an app that they haven’t had the opportunity to try and can’t return may limit its popularity. Even if you don’t return a piece of consumer hardware you purchased, you can always try to sell it to someone else. But an unwanted app remains yours forever."

[via Daily Tech]

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The Successful Models For Selling Apps At The Apple (AAPL) App Store

The Apple (AAPL) App Store, with over 1.5 billion application downloads, has become a tremendous market where software developers can sell their products. Individuals or corporations must register with Apple and pay a small fee to become official developers in order to be able to sell applications at the Apple App Store. Apple has to approve each application prior to release. More than 10,000 developers have registered with the Apple App Store and have produced over 65,000 applications.

Apple benefits from maintaining an App Store in two ways. First, it dramatically increases the versatility and desirability of iPhones and iTouches. People can effectively customize their iTouches and iPhones by downloading the applications that complement their lifestyle. Apple also profits directly from the sale of paid applications. Apple takes a third of the price every time a user downloads an application that they have to pay for and the developer gets the rest.

Applications at the App Store fall into two categories: paid and free. The winning formula for paid apps is not complicated from a developer’s standpoint: create a great product and price it right. The creation of a successful application is still no easy feat. The Apple App Store maintains a list of the top 100 most downloaded applications. This is often the first place users go to shop for apps. The apps on the top 100 have incredible momentum so it is often very difficult for new developers to muscle their way onto the list.

The model is less straight forward for free applications. There are number of ways that developers seek to profit from offering free applications at the App Store. 24/7 Wall St. has chosen four software developers that have released products that have been among the top 100 most downloaded free applications at the App Store. Each of them seeks to profit by offering free applications in a different way.

[via 24/7 Wall Street]

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Free iPhone Music - Only if Spotify is Allowed on the AppStore

"If Spotify has its way, iPhone owners will no longer be slaves to iTunes, song-by-song payments or finite disk capacity," Adam Taylor reports for TIME Magazine.

"Last week the Swedish company behind Spotify's streaming music provider announced plans to release a free iPhone application that will let users listen to songs played directly off of its online service, with no need to download," Taylor reports. "That would give iPhone users instant access to any of Spotify's 6 million songs, without taking up precious memory space — way more than the maximum 7,000 tracks that a 32GB iPhone can hold."

Taylor reports, "Songs can also be temporarily stored, or cached, ready to play during those moments when web connection drops, like when you're going through a tunnel or underground. Spotify's new application could change the way iPhone users listen to music. But first, it has to get the okay from Apple."

"Spotify's new application won't be available to everyone, only those who opt for the premium service, which costs $15 a month for unlimited streams... access to pre-releases and better audio quality than the free service, which forces users to listen to ads after every few songs," Taylor reports. "Spotify hopes to have its new application available on the iPhone within the next few weeks. The trick is getting Apple to approve an application that some observers see as a potential challenger to Apple's own iTunes."

[via Mac Daily News]

Get a Free iPhone 3GS! Yes, that is correct! Stay away from the trouble of earning enough to pay for it for you can get it the simple way .... straight to your doorstep! Free! Interested? Then find out how to get a Free iPhone 3GS!

Top iPhone Games Reviewed

We take a peek at the hottest iPhone games on the App store

The iPhone is hot, and not just because it's overheating -- its also hot because it has some of the best handheld games on the market. In this first edition of our iPhone gaming update we look at what's new on the App store scene and what games are selling the best.

This week's top 15 paid apps are:

1. Hero of Sparta (Gameloft)
2. Sally's Spa (Games Cafe Inc.)
3. Flight Control (Firemint)
4. StoneLoops! of Jurassica (PlayCreek)
5. Real Soccer 2009 (Gameloft)
6. Fast & Furious The Game (I-Play)
7. Bejeweled 2 (PopCap Games, Inc.)
8. Doom Resurrection (id Software)
9. Bloons (Digital Goldfish Ltd.)
10. Knights Onrush (Chillingo Ltd.)
    
    Honorable Mentions:
    Tetris (17), Sally's Salon (13), The Sims 3 (20), and F.A.S.T. Fleet Air Superiority Training (11)

Hero of Sparta continues to be the App store's hottest seller, priced at $0.99. This hack-and-slash adventure released in December 2008 features some pretty impressive 3D graphics and slick storytelling cut-scenes. The game will give you about four hours of solid gameplay, or about 6-10 for obsessive types -- not bad for the price. This one is recommended for fans of the God of War, Gauntlet, or Diablo franchises.

[via Daily Tech]

Get a Free iPhone 3GS! Yes, that is correct! Stay away from the trouble of earning enough to pay for it for you can get it the simple way .... straight to your doorstep! Free! Interested? Then find out how to get a Free iPhone 3GS!

Developer unrest prompts App store re-jig

Apple has tweaked the App Store in response to unrest at how the store presents its wares. The App Store now spotlights the most popular applications on each category page, separating the most popular free apps from premium apps. The overall layout has also been adjusted to mimic the design of the App Store application on the iPhone itself.

There's been a growing tide of criticism of the store, which has become a victim of its success. The proliferation of cheap and free iPhone apps - necessary to get visibility on the site - is perceived to be suppressing the development of quality premium products.

Read the whole article @ Mobile Entertainment

Get a Free iPhone! Yes, that is correct! Stay away from the hassles of earning enough to pay for it for you can get it the simple way .... straight to your doorstep! Free! Interested? Then find out how to get a Free iPhone!

Top 100 Free iPhone Application on AppStore

App Store starts with 500 applications online a few months ago, the number of applications in App Store grow rapidly and reached 10000 applications!

The 10000 applications include paid applications and free applications. Meanwhile, we like FREE things, free apps are more attractive than the paid apps. The questions is, how can we find the good free apps among the 10000 apps on App Store. Luckily, based on the number of downloads, we can come up with a list of the Top 100 Free iPhone Apps.

Top 100 Free iPhone Apps

The ranking is base on the number of downloads, it may not be very accurate, because the number change everyday, but at least you can have an idea of which 100 apps are most popular. Here is the Top 100 Free iPhone Apps:

#	Name	Rating
1.	TapDefense
2.	Joost
3.	Amazon Mobile
4.	5800+ Drink & Cocktail Recipes…
5.	Easy Wi-Fi for AT&T

Read the whole article @ iPhone Daily

Get a Free iPhone! Yes, that is correct! Stay away from the hassles of earning enough to pay for it for you can get it the simple way .... straight to your doorstep! Free! Interested? Then find out how to get a Free iPhone!