IngloriousApps's Blog

 In a way, it's true. In a land of free/99cent Apps, a $5 App comes off as been expensive. But I think the term 'expensive app' is subjective. I know I've had some users tell me my App was too cheap. Heck, I use some Apps that I think are quite frankly too cheap considering the amount of mileage I've gotten out of them. For example, I use Carbon, drPodder and Neato EVERY DAY. And considering I only paid like $2 (a one time fee) for each, it's almost like robbery! That's less than a cup of starbucks coffee. Again, the term 'too cheap' is also subjective.

So I guess the question is: what's the reasonable price of an App? Back in the days, we used to pay a whole lot more. I think it boils down to how much you as a user think it's worth. The way I see it, there are 2 types of Apps: Disposable & Non-disposable Apps
1. Disposable Apps: These are like fast food Apps. You bump into them, download them, use them like 3 times, and never open them again (unless you get bored or you mistakenly tap their icon). A lot of games fall into this category (speaking for myself).
2. Non-disposable Apps: These are Apps that you NEED. You use these Apps at least once a day. It serves a specific purpose. A lot of utility Apps fall into this category. If you love music, you NEED to have a good/dependable App to listen to music. If you are a twitter junkie, you NEED to have a good dependable App (like Carbon/Spaz/Phnx/BK).

For most ppl, the $1-$5 one-time fee is a small price to pay for a non-disposable peice of software with unlimited updates and developer support. On the other hand, $1-$5 seems like a lot to pay for a (disposable) software that you didn't even need in the first place.

Now, I know a lot of users (especially webOS fanboys) feel like they have to support their developers by buying as much Apps as possible. That's great. But I think users need to think beyond that. I don't believe in buying/accumulating Apps just for the sake of saying 'I have a lot of Apps'. And this brings up the whole argument of App Catalog size. You don't need 100,000 Apps. You just need a few good Apps, because at the end of the day, you only actually use a few Apps.

I also think the 'expensive app syndrome' comes from the fact that people feel they have to buy every App. We've been trained to consume Apps. People think "If I buy every App, then I'm going to go broke". Well, only buy the Apps you need. Do you go broke when you buy your {Insert your product here} everyday?

The App pricing dilemma also affects developers. It's sometimes hard for developers to determine how much they want to charge for their Apps. They (we) have to weigh in several factors (user base size, similar/competitive app prices, server costs, time spent, customer support, user backlash e.t.c). Adding a '$' sign next to your App may mean putting your app in the 'Ignore zone'. People would most likely scroll past it, especially when they have 100,000 other free apps to scroll to. So it's a tough call for devs. This may be shocking, but some developers would actually like to make some decent income from their App sales. More App sales = Motivation = More Apps = More App Sales = Motivation...and so on. I'm not saying every user should go on an App shopping spree to motivate developers (though that would be nice). I'm just saying the feeling is mutual.
This may sound ridiculous, but when I scroll through the App Catalog, and I see an App greater than $2 (Premium App as David Baxter calls it), I get interested. Maybe it's because I'm a dev, but I feel any 'non-cheap' app (subjective) has to be good. I feel the developer is fulfilling a specific need and targeting a specific audience, hence the App price. I'm not saying every 'non-cheap' app is awesome, and I'm not saying I ignore the free/'cheap' apps (because they're a lot of good free/cheap apps like SpazHD, Mosaic, Neato). And lets face it, we're all cheap. If Google started charging everyone $1/year for search, we'd all loose our minds. A lot of webOS users have been dreaming/wishing/crying/hoping for some 'big name' apps like Netflix, Doc Editing and so on. But here's a question: If a {Insert your Dream App here} App came out today, would you pay $10 for it? $20? $50?

People may also get the 'this app is expensive syndrome' when they buy an app (they thought they needed) that does A,B,C but they assumed (or hoped) it also did D,E,F. In this case, the App falls below their expectation, and that's understandable. Just like in real life, when you pay $50 for a meal, you expect it to be delicious and satisfying (unless you go to a fancy restaurant :) ). Again, the concept of 'delicious' is subjective.

I guess what I'm trying to say (incoherently) is, the next time you find yourself thinking an App is expensive, ask yourself "DO I REALLY NEED IT?" Or if you've already downloaded it: "DID I REALLY NEED THIS APP IN THE FIRST PLACE?" or "WHY DID I BLINDLY DOWNLOAD THIS APP, WITHOUT DOING MY RESEARCH?"