Category Archives: iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Our thoughts and plans for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch versions of our software

Rate It If You Hate It!

appstore12The AppStore “Rate It If You Hate It” system is such a spectacularly bad idea that I really need to talk about it for a second. I certainly appreciate what Apple is trying to do. Like I’ve said time and again - I’m VERY VERY happy with Apple’s clearly demonstrated policy of working to improve things. I’ve seen other companies allow their flawed systems/devices/OS’s to sit around for YEARS with no effort to improve them. So, please don’t take this frustration with one aspect of the system as an overall indictment.

But seriously – a system that specifically encourages people who are removing an application to review it, with no reciprocating system to encourage people who LIKE their applications to review them, is a terrible plan.

Read on after the jump for the whole story… Continue reading →

AppStore Prices – Is Cheaper Really Better?

pricesOver at the Apple iPhone Group at Yahoo, a discussion has cropped up about application prices in the AppStore. We think (and hear) about this a lot, so I want to take a minute to talk about application pricing (on any mobile platform). It is a topic that is important to developers, retailers, and customers alike.

So, if you’re curious to hear a developer perspective on pricing, read on after the jump! Continue reading →

We Changed Apple! New AppStore Rating System

appstore12OK, I’m just guessing but it is pretty cool that on the heels of our survey Apple has implemented a change in the AppStore rating system. I don’t honestly believe they did it just for us, but it is nice to know that Apple is trying. Unfortunately, it doesn’t solve all the problems of the AppStore rating system but it’s a start.

If you’d like to learn more about this change, read on after the jump!

Continue reading →

Final App Store Survey Results

What One Change You’d Like

appstore1Here’s the result of the final question in our survey (check the archives if you want the rest), as well as the winners of the gift cards.

To the question: “What one change would you like most to see in the iTunes App Store?”, over 60% of you picked free trials. I guess given that so many of you indicated that you bought apps regardless of price (or at least didn’t just buy the $1 and $2 ones), trials makes a lot of sense. 18% opted for better categorization, with just under 10% wanting better find. Specifically:

App Store Survey Results

Of the “other” replies, you asked for:

  • All of the above!
  • All of these, app store is almost unusable
  • General change to the style how people use (browse) the app store

  • More serious apps like eWallet and less junk
  • “Best of breed” featured apps, regardless of popularity (# of downloads)
  • Better search and iTunes like search playlists (to exclude junk devs)
  • Less crap!

  • Moderated reviews
  • Review moderation. Many reviews cite problems that are due to apple
  • Dated reviews with version reviewed
  • Sort by rating
  • Rankings based on revenue

  • Amazon.com-like functionality: wish-lists, similar-apps-bought, order-by-ratings
  • A wish list to keep track of apps, music, etc. until I can decide on them
  • Wish List capacity to store for later purchase
  • A way to save a list of apps I am interested in.
  • Robust wish list (as at Amazon)

  • More game options
  • Would be nice to have a VIDEO review on apps (esp games) rather than on YouTube
  • Demo capability
  • The original ability to see all aps by post date
  • Canadian redeem codes, for the love of Bob!

I grouped those for better readability, but otherwise didn’t edit them at all.

I’m happy to see that Apple took down reviews from non-buyers late last week. I hope – and believe – we’ll keep seeing improvements to the App Store. Find and trials would be great ones!

OK, and now for the 12 gift card winners. Congratulations to: Ken M., David B., Robin C., Addison H., Gina G., Dennis B., Drew C., Terry W., Louie L., Susan L., Nicole T., and Paul T. You’ve each won a US$10 gift card. People in the U.S. will get iTunes gift cards; people outside the U.S. will get gift cards from your local Amazon site. I’ve sent out emails about these already; if you think you’re one of the winners and didn’t see one, please be sure to whitelist emails from iliumsoft.com. I’ll re-send them to anyone I didn’t hear back from.

Once again, thanks to everyone for participating!

How Do You Use the iTunes App Store?

appstore1There’s a lot being written about iTunes and the App Store this week. And a lot of it is by developers who are guessing what people want, how they find it, and how much they’ll pay for it.

Rather than guess, I thought I’d ask.

I’ve put together a very short survey. If you’d like to fill it out, please do! We’d appreciate the answers. And we’ll give away a bunch of iTunes or Amazon gift cards to people who fill it out (and include their email addresses, which we won’t do anything else with), so you’ll have a good chance to win.

We’ll publish the results if we get enough responses to be meaningful. So if you’re interested, help us publicize it!

Check it out. Tell your friends. And if you have comments, please post them below.

Apples2Oranges in the New York Times!

I always love it when our products get on TV or into one of the big newspapers. I’m not sure if it sells more software, but it is definitely fun. You get that giddy “Woo hoo! We’re famous!” feeling. It’s just a blast. Anyhow, I just found out that Apples2Oranges got a mention in today’s edition of the New York Times (B5, lower right corner).

Bob Tedeschi wrote an article about Free Internet Calling services and at the end did one of his “Quick Calls” sections, where he highlights a few cool apps he has come across. It’s there that he mentions Apples2Oranges! You can pick up a copy at your local brick and mortar store, or read the whole article here. (You might need to register.)

So thanks, Mr. Tedeschi! We really appreciate it! I’ve got to go hit the newstand to pick up a couple extra copies!

Apples2Oranges Now Available!

Apples2Oranges, our latest iPhone application, is now available in the AppStore! Compare prices and nutritional information with a few simple taps! Whether you’re looking to save a few bucks or trying to drop a few pounds, Apples2Oranges offers an easy and fun way to do it!

We’re extremely excited about this one because it really is a first-of-its-kind release. There are other unit comparison apps out there, but nothing that really focuses in on one of the most common reason people buy those things. You can read all the official stuff in the product description and on our website, but I’ll give you my personal slant on this one.

First off, I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve sat there banging my head against the grocery store shelf trying to figure out whether the 12 pack of Big-K Cola is a better deal than the 24-pack of Coke. With Apples2Oranges you can figure it out in just a couple of quick taps!

One of my other favorite uses is measuring cholesterol content. At my last checkup my doc pretty much told me that my cholesterol is so high that the fact that I don’t exercise is the probably the only thing keeping me alive (OK, it wasn’t THAT bad but it wasn’t good.) Anyhow, now I’m constantly doing the “This one? Or this one?” thing at the store, reading the nutritional info on the sides of the box. But does ANYONE use the same serving sizes? Heck, no. Again, Apples2Oranges does the trick by letting me get an equal comparison even when the serving sizes are totally different. Thank you Apples2Oranges!

OK, enough infommercial. I really think everyone is going to like this one. It’s insanely useful and the team here did an excellent job on it. Not only that, but our art guys did a bang up job making it really darn pretty (I love the little gears. :) )

Apples2Oranges is available today in the iTunes AppStore for just $4.99. Just click here for a direct link to the official listing. You can also read about it on our web page here. Finally, I’ve included a few screenshots below so you can get a look at it ahead of time!

Enjoy!

Save Money With a Quick Compare!

Calorie Comparison Made Easy!

I Love the Gears! :)