I agree with you that within a year the AppStore will be different, and hopefully better. I don't think it will be the way you picture it though. I don't think the 99 cent thing is going to go away anytime soon. Unless Apple tries to draw a distinction between the iPod touch and market that as a portable gaming superstar and the iPhone for more casual gamers. As long as we are talking about a mobile market (as opposed to a portable device), quick and easy apps will win out over games involving console type gameplay. This is already apparent right now, and I think that trend will continue.
Put me down for this idea. I'm not sure about the exact price. $200 would be ok with me. $20 would seem too low. I think I like $100/year for each app + $20/update for over 5 updates per year. Or, just a $20 for each submission would be fine also. I'm assuming Apple can review each app for less than $20. If not, I would go with a higher price to make the review process pay for itself. I think something like this will come to the store, but right now it's in Apple's interest to have anyone with any talent for programming to spend their time developing for the iPhone. So, a low barrier to entry will remain for at least another year. Does anyone want to partner with me? I would like to do an app for each word in the English language - you know, say why the word is important, have an example sentence using the word, automatic google searching and wikipedia lookup of the word, google translation of the word into every language. Basically, everything about the word - your one stop shop. Oh, we could do apps for all the positive integers also, or maybe just the prime numbers - we don't want to flood the app store.
Sarcastic much? Sure it might be useful to ONE person but the AppStore is not your personal Googlephilia. What kind of person would but an app that tells everything about the letter A when you can find the same information on google or wikipedia at the price of free rather then .99 or if your stupid like Khalid Shaikh 4.99.
Looks like Apple's on to it... nice! http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2009/08/03/apple-bans-app-stores-3rd-most-prolific-developer/ --yarri
Wheres the facts? who is he? What is his company? What are his apps? This is all garbage without this info. Spam for all i care. Back it up with some facts..... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@majormauser: Honestly, if you think that releasing 800 applications in less than 1 year is something absolutely normal, I believe your experience in the software industry is non-existent. 800 applications is something perhaps Apple released in the past 10 YEARS and it's a multi-billion dollar corporation. Most of us independent developers won't see the 100 mark in our entire career. Coming here and questioning our judgement, that those 800 apps developed in less than 1 year are actually something great but we missjudged it, is something on the borderline of professional insult. And since you want facts, here are some: Khalid released 5 apps in a day. Considering 24 hour work days with no sleep, that is 4.8 hours (hell ... make it 5) per application. What exactly can you develop in 5 hours? Ok ... you can write 1-2 small utilities ... but 800 what? To further support my facts, I will personally give you $10 through PayPal, if you reply an simply write 800 distinct and imaginary application names. Just names. No code and something else.
That makes it 110 hours of work per app. I have done 2-3 small apps in those hours ... but 800 ... come on! Can you make 800 games at the quality of Realmaze3D? No ... let's make it 10% of the quality of Realmaze3D. Having developed such a great game (I have it on my iPod) you should be the last person asking these questions.
Thanks for the info freind. MC seems mad at apple for not getting the red light soon enough for them to kick Khalid Shaikhs butt of the appstore. Pretty unfair considering apples got other problems. Did anybody LOL at the emails? Khalid is in some hot water with apple thanks to his automated response letter, I hope he gets the hell sued out of him for plaguing the appstore with his 30+ working idiots plastering garbage on the appstore. Anybody want to picture a conversation between apple and Khalid Shaikh?
Actually I don't know where I got 26 from...seems he had 60 people working for him according to his claim. However, I'm merely pointing out that he didn't write them all himself in a few hours each, which isn't even physically possible, not even for apps as low quality as those apparently are. I am, of course, completely opposed to that kind of app spamming, no matter how long it took to write them or how many people were involved, and am glad he got banned. That kind of unethical and destructive behavior shouldn't be tolerated. --Eric
Well, I thought it would be obvious that I was joking, but now that I read more about what some developers are putting on the store, I guess I can see how you have to wonder. Anyway, it looks like Binary Moustache beat me to it, with apps called "God", "Farts", "Poop", "Happiness", and various body parts, etc. - as always, any really great app idea I have is already taken. If you have the stomach for it, check out their apps. I can't even bring myself to link to them.
