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Apple Expects Google Voice App Developers To Pay Refunds Out Of Pocket

gizmodo.com.au

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Re: Apple Expects Google Voice App Developers To Pay Refunds Out Of Pocket

#51

Post by voidpointer »

misuba wrote: post #21
axod wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> "people will abandon them for greener pastures." Developers, maybe some. Customers? not until there is a comparable phone on the market. Which there isn't.

And there won't be, until... developers start developing for something else. If just ten independent developers with interesting apps ported to another platform (doesn't have to be to Android, but of course I'd prefer that) in a coordinated fashion, they'd get immense press and have some real impact.

People went crazy about iphones before there was even such a thing as an appstore on the horizon.

I really don't understand why no other manufacturer is capable of producing something that gets close to the iphone. Even less since android is available as a platform. Sure, there still is the lack of multitouch, but I really don't get why nobody can come up with a serious device.

Re: Apple Expects Google Voice App Developers To Pay Refunds Out Of Pocket

#52

Post by anigbrowl »

9oliYQjP wrote: post #6
quoderat wrote: post #2

If Apple gets any more evil, they will become kind of parody found in a Mike Myers movie. Makes me regret buying my Cinema Display from them

I went to a free iPhone Developer Tech Talk where they specifically addressed this policy. Not too many developers in the audience seemed thrilled about it, but it was laid out in front of them. If a customer comes to you for whatever reason asking for a refund, Apple's official policy is that it is your problem to deal with. I specifically made a note about it because I caught the Apple representative's very lawyer-…

You raise reasonable points, but consider in turn that Apple's whole brand is built around providing a friendly experience. They're certainly aware of app store trends at the upper management level, as evidenced by discussions with stock analysts on conference calls about whether the trend towards $0.99 apps means a race to the bottom that could lower the perceived value of the platform.

I agree that it's not as simple as Steve Jobs rolling around in a swimming pool of money cackling at the misfortune of penniless developers, but I find it hard to believe nobody has mentioned to him that the peasants are revolting.

Re: Apple Expects Google Voice App Developers To Pay Refunds Out Of Pocket

#53

Post by CamperBob »

jacquesm wrote: post #33
axod wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't buy the "People buy the iPhone because it has the app store". The app store is a nice value add, but it's hardly instrumental in the iPhone success story.

people buy an iphone because it is a sexy gizmo, because they want to be part of the hip crowd. If they could they would wear it on a chain on their chest instead of in their pocket. It's a status symbol first, phone second.

Translation: "I've never used an iPhone."

Re: Apple Expects Google Voice App Developers To Pay Refunds Out Of Pocket

#54

Post by CamperBob »

voidpointer wrote: post #51
misuba wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And there won't be, until... developers start developing for something else. If just ten independent developers with interesting apps ported to another platform (doesn't have to be to Android, but of course I'd prefer that) in a coordinated fashion, they'd get immense press and have some real impact.

People went crazy about iphones before there was even such a thing as an appstore on the horizon. I really don't understand why no other manufacturer is capable of producing something that gets close to the iphone. Even less since android is available as a platform. Sure, there still is the lack of multitouch, but I really don't get why nobody can come up with a serious device.

I really don't understand why no other manufacturer is capable of producing something that gets close to the iphone.

Because they're idiots who won't stand up to the tin-pot dictators at the mobile carriers.

The secret to Apple's success is actually quite similar to the secret to Microsoft's success: they've been fortunate at having incompetent competition.

Re: Apple Expects Google Voice App Developers To Pay Refunds Out Of Pocket

#55

Post by axod »

jrwoodruff wrote: post #28
axod wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't buy the "People buy the iPhone because it has the app store". The app store is a nice value add, but it's hardly instrumental in the iPhone success story.

I disagree. I know LOT's of people with an iPod touch that want an iPhone just because they want their apps to access the 'net everywhere, not just wi-fi spots. The iPhone is a game changer, and the app store is absolutely instrumental in the story of it's success. If it isn't, why is the iPhone tagline "there's an app for that?"

The iPhone was a success before the app store. It succeeded because it looks sexy, it leveraged off the iPod, it's got an awesome UI, and the best mobile browser by far. The app store doesn't even come into the equation.

>> "because they want their apps to access the 'net everywhere, not just wi-fi spots."

This may be true more in the US, if you don't have many wifi spots. Here in the UK, you get free data (3G and wifi spots). The wifi spots cover most towns and cities, restaurants etc.

In 5 years we'll probably have wifi everywhere, so the whole thing will be a little redundant.

Re: Apple Expects Google Voice App Developers To Pay Refunds Out Of Pocket

#56

Post by axod »

ljlolel wrote: post #44
akd wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the people you're talking about are nonrepresentative. There is a vast number of people who have not installed any apps, and even more who have apps but don't use them. Very few people see the iPod touch as an economical substitute for the iPhone.

No. You are wrong. Anecdotally, my older father is a way heavier user of apps than me. He listens to a lot of radio (NPR and even Pandora!) and loves the tip calculator and about a million other apps. Kids loving playing games so much on their parents phones that Nintendo actually acknowledged the iPhone as a competitive threat on their earnings call. Statistically, 75% of iPhone users use apps, which is 5x more than…

>> "No. You are wrong."

How successful was the iPhone before the app store existed? I'd say very.

>> "Apple's iPhone is important because for the first time ever there is an incredibly simple, usable interface to a full-powered computer."

OR

Apples iPhone is important, because it's the first usable portable interface to the web.

Re: Apple Expects Google Voice App Developers To Pay Refunds Out Of Pocket

#57

Post by [deleted] »

jacquesm wrote: post #33
axod wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't buy the "People buy the iPhone because it has the app store". The app store is a nice value add, but it's hardly instrumental in the iPhone success story.

people buy an iphone because it is a sexy gizmo, because they want to be part of the hip crowd. If they could they would wear it on a chain on their chest instead of in their pocket. It's a status symbol first, phone second.

[deleted]

Re: Apple Expects Google Voice App Developers To Pay Refunds Out Of Pocket

#58

Post by semiquaver »

ljlolel wrote: post #44
akd wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the people you're talking about are nonrepresentative. There is a vast number of people who have not installed any apps, and even more who have apps but don't use them. Very few people see the iPod touch as an economical substitute for the iPhone.

No. You are wrong. Anecdotally, my older father is a way heavier user of apps than me. He listens to a lot of radio (NPR and even Pandora!) and loves the tip calculator and about a million other apps. Kids loving playing games so much on their parents phones that Nintendo actually acknowledged the iPhone as a competitive threat on their earnings call. Statistically, 75% of iPhone users use apps, which is 5x more than…

First off, comparing iPhone users to the overall mobile phone market is misleading at best. And while I don't doubt that 75% of iPhone users use apps,

"For free applications, only about 20 percent of users return to use the app the first day after they download it, and then it quickly drops off from there. By 30 days out, less than 5 percent are using the app. The chart for paid apps shows a slightly steeper fall-off rate."

The iPhone isn't effectively utilized by the vast majority of its users, who value its cachet more then its applications ecosystem. As sibling points out, all the evidence you need is in the overwhelming success of the device before the app store existed.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/19/pinch-media-data-shows-...

Re: Apple Expects Google Voice App Developers To Pay Refunds Out Of Pocket

#59

Post by jacquesm »

CamperBob wrote: post #53
jacquesm wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

people buy an iphone because it is a sexy gizmo, because they want to be part of the hip crowd. If they could they would wear it on a chain on their chest instead of in their pocket. It's a status symbol first, phone second.

Translation: "I've never used an iPhone."

Actually, I have. But I figured if I'm going to have a computer in my pocket then I want to be able to program the thing the way I see fit.

Also, I have noticed that the people that do have Iphones use every opportunity to 'flash' them.

Probably a big part of the appeal of the Ipod touch is that it looks like an Iphone...

Re: Apple Expects Google Voice App Developers To Pay Refunds Out Of Pocket

#60

Post by CamperBob »

jacquesm wrote: post #59
CamperBob wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Translation: "I've never used an iPhone."

Actually, I have. But I figured if I'm going to have a computer in my pocket then I want to be able to program the thing the way I see fit. Also, I have noticed that the people that do have Iphones use every opportunity to 'flash' them. Probably a big part of the appeal of the Ipod touch is that it looks like an Iphone...

Admittedly it costs $100/year to get the signing key, but with that, I can program my own iPhone any way I see fit. I just can't count on Apple agreeing to distribute what I write.

That does suck, but it has little overall effect on the usefulness of the phone to me as a portable computer. When I bought my first iPhone, there was no App Store at all, and Apple was actively stating that there was not going to be any such thing. The value proposition was OK then, and it's OK now.

As far as people flashing their iPhones around conspicuously, I really wouldn't know anything about that. I use mine in public all the time, and one of the things I don't like about the experience is the way I completely lose awareness of my surroundings and people nearby.

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