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AppGratis pulled from the App Store. Here’s the full story

appgratis.com

191–200 of 216 posts

Re: AppGratis pulled from the App Store. Here’s the full story

#191

Is it really that simple to raise 12 million dollars of funding - for a company which can be destroyed pretty much overnight by Apple. Do the investors not think about this? The world really has gone mad.

It's a risk-benefit analysis. For investors it's a lot more reasonable than for founders and early employees, as investors usually can diversify. That is, if you invest in ten startups, nine goes bust, and one gives you 30x returns, you're net ahead.

Re: AppGratis pulled from the App Store. Here’s the full story

#192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook just recently started doing this as well. You can now pay to get your app promoted in people's news feed.

Completely different to AppGratis. Facebook allows you to target (based on gender, location, likes, workplace) and advertise your app. Users have no incentive to DL your app and actually have a need for your product. I've had a lot of success on FB mobile install ads.

Mind if I drop you an email regarding FB mobile install ads? Have been experimenting with it, but not much success. Want to pick up a few tips.

Re: AppGratis pulled from the App Store. Here’s the full story

#193
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi, I'm one of the developer of Meon https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/meon/id400274934?mt=8 . We have been promoted twice by App Gratis, each time we've never paid anything. The App Gratis campaign generated more than 400K downloads and push us in the first place in the French App Store (for a few days). Of course App Gratis use iTunes affiliation to get revenues, but they didn't charge us for anything.

Re >> Of course App Gratis use iTunes affiliation to get revenues, but they didn't charge us for anything. Can you please elaborate on this? Do you mean that Apply is paying some kind of affiliate fee? And what happens if the app is free of charge (FOC)?

See http://www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates/ as well as http://www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates/resources/documentati...

iTunes affiliates get a cut of 5% of all purchases within 72 hours, not just for the originating app (or media).

Re: AppGratis pulled from the App Store. Here’s the full story

#194
post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never? There are many cases of highly successful businesses being based upon a 3rd party API. E.g.: every successful software company that sold CP/M, DOS, Windows or UNIX software. Perhaps a better statement would be: understand that there are risks inherent to building for any given API, study those risks, and mitigate them. CP/M seems to be dying off? Hope you've started your DOS port already :)

The key difference is that there is no way for Microsoft to revoke an application from a users pc (pre app store I mean)

The existing apps were not revoked and still work.

Re: AppGratis pulled from the App Store. Here’s the full story

#195
post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i wouldn't need to trust google; there would always be a way to get my app to users who want it whether or not google wants it in their official play store. that is the huge difference between apple and google - google says "if we think your app is good quality we'll carry it in our store, otherwise find some other way to promote and sell it"; apple says "if we think your app is good quality we'll allow it on the iph…

bold prediction on my part: nexus phones and tablets soon will only be able to access the official play store. and launcher replacements will get kicked out.

this is an infantile prediction. there is no support for it, nor basis for the behavior from Google.

Re: AppGratis pulled from the App Store. Here’s the full story

#196
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been recommending Android for a while, and here is another concrete reason why. Every time one of these stories appears I write the following: I develop for iPhone and I used to love OS X. The iPhone in entirety and OS X lately are aimed directly at people who don't know how to use computers even if it comes at the expense of those who do. Everyone do yourself a favor and switch to Linux on your computing platfo…

i am sorry, but this is the largest density of drivel in a while posted here. android, linux, suing samsung, lack of innovation - it's like reading an Engadget comment. apple's business model around the app store is to protect users from CRAP. malware, viruses, etc. it acts like a spam filter of sorts. just like any spam filter there are false positives, some things get through, etc. but this concrete case? good ridd…

Well, yes and no. We don't get any viruses that run themselves and have access to our data, but we also have no way to share data between apps intelligently, nor can we prevent an app from sending our every interaction to Flurry, and we had to wait for an OS upgrade before accessing contacts asked permission first.

I haven't seen any significant innovation on their end since Notification Center. Android already has alternate lock screens, alternate keyboards, widgets.

My opinion is this; Android is both more innovative and more free. Since I know how to protect myself from malware reasonably well there's no benefit for me using the iPhone. My next phone will be an Android. It [Edit: the iPhone] would be good for, say, my wife, because she could care less about using it as a computing device and just wants to have something that works and takes photos.

PS Google can tighten the screws as much as they like; Android users can just sideload APKs without using the store AFAIK. I think that's far more appropriate. Lock down the store but allow alternatives.

Re: AppGratis pulled from the App Store. Here’s the full story

#197
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been recommending Android for a while, and here is another concrete reason why. Every time one of these stories appears I write the following: I develop for iPhone and I used to love OS X. The iPhone in entirety and OS X lately are aimed directly at people who don't know how to use computers even if it comes at the expense of those who do. Everyone do yourself a favor and switch to Linux on your computing platfo…

You should be aware that a hefty percentage of software developers use OSX, I'd say 70% around here. They are easier to use for everyone, not just "people who don't know computers", and one of the best unix environments for development. They are certainly (specially iOS) not aimed at people who like to spend hours messing with a thousand settings screens, buttons and checkboxes - self-proclaimed "power users".

I know. I use OS X. I started using it for the exact reasons you list. I don't like where it is heading.

Re: AppGratis pulled from the App Store. Here’s the full story

#198
post #41
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been recommending Android for a while, and here is another concrete reason why. Every time one of these stories appears I write the following: I develop for iPhone and I used to love OS X. The iPhone in entirety and OS X lately are aimed directly at people who don't know how to use computers even if it comes at the expense of those who do. Everyone do yourself a favor and switch to Linux on your computing platfo…

Assuming you still develop for iOS, what is your setup for developing while using linux?

I have an OS X machine. Otherwise I would jailbreak the device for developing and buy a Mac Mini or something if it turns out I need OS X to do codesigning when I submit it.

If anyone develops for iPhone without Xcode I'd love to hear it. I'd switch in a second if something could provide even half the functionality as long as it had half the usability issues.

Re: AppGratis pulled from the App Store. Here’s the full story

#199
post #55
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can get OSX up and running in VirtualBox/Vagrant. Not that I'd want to do actual development that way, but we do it for iOS CI.

Which is a violation of the OS X EULA. install, use and run up to two (2) additional copies or instances of the Apple Software within virtual operating system environments on each Mac Computer you own or control that is already running the Apple Software, for purposes of: (a) software development; (b) testing during software development; (c) using OS X Server; or (d) personal, non-commercial use. http://www.apple.com…

If I didn't have an Apple computer and sorely needed one I would probably use http://www.macincloud.com/ or get a Mac Mini.

Re: AppGratis pulled from the App Store. Here’s the full story

#200
post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Re >> Of course App Gratis use iTunes affiliation to get revenues, but they didn't charge us for anything. Can you please elaborate on this? Do you mean that Apply is paying some kind of affiliate fee? And what happens if the app is free of charge (FOC)?

See http://www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates/ as well as http://www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates/resources/documentati... iTunes affiliates get a cut of 5% of all purchases within 72 hours, not just for the originating app (or media).

> For zero dollar sales of apps, you will not see any transactions reported.

Aren't most of the apps that AppGratis links to discounted to free for the day. Apple doesn't pay commission on free downloads, right?

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