Reviews on the AppStore

When I look for software, I like to try it out before I buy it. However, with the AppStore for the iPhone/iPod Touch, you can't so you have to rely on reviews and the product description. Even for free apps, some people find reviews important. The review mechanism on the AppStore has a lot to be desired. For instance, anyone can post a review even if he/she hasn't downloaded/purchased the app. This should change as it skews the reviews and can be misused, especially for paid applications. Second, there is no way for developers to respond to comments without posting a review with a star rating (and of course, who is going to give his own program anything less than a 5 star review?). Third, even posting a 5 star review, it looks like I only get one, so I can't respond to reviews and point out why I shouldn't get poor reviews. Apple should take some lessons from VersionTracker; while VT isn't perfect, it is a lot better than the AppStore. Fourth, there is no way to post a review without giving it a star rating; so people that ask questions like "How do I get a GrandCentral account?" give it a 2 or 3 star review.

While the current review system works for music, it needs to seriously change to be usable for applications.

(On a side note, why do people post crappy reviews saying stupid things without reading the instructions or contacting support?)

AppStore approval mechanism has a lot to be desired

Today I saw a new program at the app store called "I Am Rich". The description says:

The red icon on your iPhone or iPod touch always reminds you (and others when you show it to them) that you were able to afford this.

It's a work of art with no hidden function at all.

This app costs $999.99! Does the author think any idiot is going to buy it? Why did Apple approve this? This is worse than the flashlight apps. The AppStore is turning into a pile of crappy apps with a small number of quality apps. As I indicated on the T4Show podcast yesterday, the cruft in the store is going to make it harder for serious developers to make money because people will get tired of sorting through this junk and then the main (only) avenue for distribution will basically be gone. Apple needs to actually screen applications and needs to charge way more than $99 to be in the program ($99 is far too low to screen out the people that aren't serious).

The iPhone, light years ahead of other devices

Yesterday I read a rant about how the iPhone is a crappy Mac. The author is completely misguided; he's comparing a handheld device to a desktop saying what it doesn't do. It comes as no surprise that the author writes desktop applications and not handheld applications. I've been writing handheld applications for most of my career; I started writing Newton applications in 1994 and then started writing Palm OS applications around 1997, I think. In terms of a handheld device, the iPhone is not only a joy to use, but it is a joy to develop applications for it. While the Newton was way ahead of its time when it was canned, it didn't survive long enough to be a competitor in today's world. If you look at Palm OS, it is still so backwards. It has never (natively) supported different screen sizes (the Dana and the HandEra 330 had extensions to handle larger screens), it doesn't have protected memory, it has no where near the capacity of an iPhone and many applications don't look as elegant as iPhone apps.

Granted the Palm OS has some ability to have background tasks (at least through alarms and some people have actually gotten true background tasks working), but how stable are Palm OS devices? I know, people have had the iPhone crash, but it is leaps and bounds above the Palm OS in terms of stability. If you want to get into distribution of applications, the author rants about that as well. There are definitely pros and cons of having Apple control everything. For the most part, having centralized distribution is ideal for developers and users; users don't have to look around to tons of places to find stuff and for developers, they have a huge audience. At the moment, I think the pros outweigh the cons on distribution.

The iPhone does have some things that need to be improved, but its first (or second start) is so much better than what competitors have had years in the market to refine. Thinking of the iPhone as a desktop may lead to disappointment; thinking of it as a handheld will definitely make people smile (OK, at least me). For all those developers that complain about the iPhone, I think that they should write a Palm OS application and see what it is like to have to create jump tables because your application is over 16K and you have to have a launch code execute something not in the first 16K. Or create a table of data that scrolls. Or present a list of contacts in the address book? Or dial a phone number? I could go on and on. I really enjoy the iPhone and developing applications for it. My views might change later, but this has gotten me excited about writing handheld applications again.

My first iPhone app has been released!

My first iPhone application, GrandDialer, is now available on the App Store. Basically it allows GrandCentral users to call people and have their GrandCentral number appear on the caller ID. The reviews have been pretty positive and I'm quite excited. It is free and seems to be getting a bunch of downloads (the audience is quite limited at the moment because GrandCentral isn't accepting new users). If I charged for it, would people pay? I think some would, but not everyone.

The App Store is a bit of a mixed bag; the centralized distribution is cool. The waiting for Apple to post it is a downer; the review system needs lots of work (the only way I can respond as a developer is to post a 5 star review which just isn't right).

I have some idea on what to add to the app, but I'm quite limited in what is exposed from GrandCentral.

If you have a GrandCentral account and an iPhone/iPod Touch, go grab a copy of GrandDialer!