The iPhone App Economy: What Price Quality?

Gizmodo’s John Herrman has a long, smart post up about the economics of the iPhone App Store, the seemingly endless price pressure that makes most apps really cheap, and what it all means for iPhone developers and iPhone owners. (The section on GPS navigation apps is especially interesting–one of the reasons that many of them don’t read street names out loud is because it’s tough to charge enough to implement that feature.)

We’re still early enough in the history of iPhone apps (and apps for other mobile platforms, all of which will be heavily influenced by iPhone developments) that it’s impossible to know for sure how this will all play out. The happiest outcome, of course, is if iPhone owners buy apps in such massive quantities that developers can build outstanding applications and make tons of money on apps that don’t cost much. I’m optimistic about that happening. But I’ll feel better when it’s clear that prices have stabilized at a level that justifies the development of ambitious apps–and that an exceptional program such as Tweetie 2 can go for a thoroughly reasonable $2.99 without causing controversy…

An Advance Look at Android 2.0

Google CEO Eric Schmidt is predicting that use of the company’s Android phone OS is about to explode. That’s exactly the sort of thing you’d expect the CEO of Google to predict, but in this case the self-serving prediction looks like it might be the accurate one, too. We’re only just now starting to see Android-based phones arrive in significant quantities, and while none of the ones we know about so far seems to be a landmark device, they add up to a platform that’s likely to be the iPhone’s most formidable rival for the time being.

So far, I respect Android but don’t love it–as an OS, it gets the job done, but it doesn’t match the innovation, efficiency, elegance, or ingenuity of Apple’s iPhone OS or, as seen in the Pre, Palm’s WebOS. So I’m looking forward to Android 2.0–aka “Eclair”–and am intrigued by The Boy Genius Report’s gallery of screenshots. They don’t reveal anything awe-inspiring, but there look to be lots of little refinements, plus a faster browser, Exchange support, a unified inbox (although one which, oddly enough, supposedly doesn’t support Gmail), and built-in Facebook integration.

It’s impossible to judge an operating system from screen images alone, and many Android phones will sport customized interfaces and functionality. But if Android’s going to be everywhere–and I bet it is–it’ll be nice if it’s fully competitive with the most polished and functional mobile OSes in existence. Eclair looks like a step in the right direction, at least…

5Words: Balloon Boy, Internet Supermeme

Balloon Boy rules the Web.

Chrome OS? I think not!

Windows 7, Snow Leopard performance.

Twitter tests Lists feature.

European browser ballot favors Apple?

More on Microsoft’s store plans.

Fake antivirus apps on Facebook.

Google Street View on…trikes!

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How Much Should iPhone Microtransactions Cost? (Answer: A Little)

Good news for game developers and people who hate “Lite” iPhone apps: Apple is now allowing purchases directly from within free apps. This feature was previously allowed only for paid apps.

Certainly the decision will affect anyone who develops a “Lite” app that has less features than the paid version, as it’ll let them combine both into a single download. But my mind jumps straight to gaming, which could see a rush of apps with paid microtransactions to unlock extra content or features.

Consider, for example, an MMORPG. Apple’s decision will allow developers to adopt a free-to-play model, charging players for extra items or abilities. Some games, such as Mafia Wars, were already doing this by having players purchase entirely new app for their upgrades, with their stats preserved. But the new solution is much more elegant, as it allows people to keep playing with minimal interruption, and without scrapping the app they already have.

That makes me wonder, what will the economy of iPhone microtransactions look like? If buying small bits of content is going to be a lot easier, I’d expect there to be a lot more of it, except for one snag: The iPhone economy is already dirt-cheap. The majority of iPhone apps are free, and the average price of a paid game, according to a recent study, is $2.50. People aren’t exactly throwing around fistfulls of money on the App Store, so even a handful of $1 microtransactions in a single game could be a tough sell.

I doubt that transactions for less than $1 would be allowed, but I think the cleverest free-to-play game developers will find a way to break it down. Perhaps they could sell credits, $1 at a time, that let you download a handful of in-game items. However they work it out, microtransactions will have to get extremely micro to thrive in the App Store.

Will Windows 7 Hurt Mac Sales?

Among the many questions that Windows 7′s imminent release is prompting is this: Will it result in fewer Windows users deciding to switch to Macs, thereby halting the slow erosion in Windows’ market share that we’ve seen during the Vista era? So far, there’s no consensus on wht’s likely to happen:a

• At Computerworld, Gregg Keizer reported on an analyst’s prediction that Windows 7′s release wouldn’t hurt Mac sales, and might even help them;
• BetaNews’s Joe Wilcox says the analyst’s analysis is wrongheaded, and that he thinks Windows 7 will put a dent in Apple’s growing market share;
• Daring Fireball’s John Gruber concurs with some of Wilcox’s take but says that the competition between Windows and Macs is pretty indirect;
• Peter Burrows of BusinessWeek interviewed Apple’s Phil Schiller, who contends that Windows 7 presents a good opportunity to sell more Macs, since buying a new Mac is easier than upgrading a Windows XP machine to Windows 7. (Um, wouldn’t you need to back up and restore data and reinstall apps if you were moving to the Mac, too?)

I’m not going to predict how Windows 7′ release will impact Mac sales–hey, making no predictions is the best way to avoid making boneheaded ones–but a few thoughts on the dynamics of the competition:

• Unless Windows 7′s driver situation is worse than it seems and/or PC manufacturers manage to screw the OS up with unwantedware, it’s going to make for better PCs than Windows Vista ever did;
• I’d still rate Snow Leopard as the better OS, but the gap between the two platforms is smaller than it’s been in a long time;
• Windows 7 doesn’t do much to reduce the need of Windows users to worry about security in a way that Mac owners don’t;
• It also doesn’t eliminate such Mac virtues as the bundling of iLife;
• As John Gruber says, the competition between Windows and Macs only happens at the high end of the market–most people who buy Windows buy it on cheaper, lower-end computers for which there is no Mac counterpart.

Ultimately, I keep coming back to the notion that most people really don’t have any particular desire to switch operating systems. If Windows 7 lives up to its promise and expectations, it’ll leave fewer Windows users tempted to dump the OS. But I suspect that most folks who have made the jump to the Mac aren’t coming back.

Your take?

Our Quest for the Worst PC in America Ends Today

Over the past couple of weeks, members of the Technology community have been gracing this site with words, pictures, and videos about some truly terrible personal computers. But it’ll all end tonight at 5pm PDT, when we stop accepting entries in our Worst PC in America contest.

We’ll then pick an, um, winner based on both the badness of the PC and the creativity of the entry–and its owner will receive HP’s slick new Envy 13 notebook, courtesy of HP.

If you’ve been too shy to share your clunker with us, now’s the perfect time to fess up. Go here to read the rules. To enter, reply to this forum thread–which contains all the entries so far–and tell us about your machine.

Report: Open Broadband Access is Good for Competition

A report commissioned by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) found that open access to broadband infrastructure is a catalyst for competition. I hope that the research will be allowed to stand on its own, and that its effect will not be diluted by telecommunications lobbyists.

In the report, the FCC examined global broadband plans and practices in an effort to devise a better strategy for increasing high speed Internet access in the United States. It found that government regulation that obligates open access led to more options and better prices for consumers.

“The lowest prices and highest speeds are almost always offered by firms in markets where, in addition to an incumbent telephone company and a cable company, there are also competitors who entered the market, and built their presence, through use of open access facilities,” the study said.

I am not at all surprised by its findings. Most metropolitan areas within the U.S either have a monopoly carrier or regional duopolies. Whereas, European established public/private partnerships to roll out broadband infrastructure, and guaranteed open access.

As a resident of Manhattan, I have no other option but to buy my Internet access from Time Warner Cable. Time Warner has had little incentive to upgrade its systems.

Consequently, it is not a very good service, and customer support is a nightmare. Verizon has begun to install FIOS in some parts of the city, but the service is not available for me yet. I want more competition.

Fortunately, that competition could be on its way. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 included a long overdue investment to deliver broadband access throughout the U.S. Companies such as IBM are working with the government to create new technologies as part of that effort. Open access should be made a requirement.

ZenNews: Global News for the iPhone

Zensify, makers of a social-network aggregator app for the iPhone, released a free new app today called ZenNews. It uses a similar interface for a whole new purpose: to help you learn what’s going on in the world as reported by a bunch of high-profile news sources.

The app pulls together stories from the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, USA Today, TweetMeme, BBC News, CNN, and Al Jazeera, and displays them in tag clouds that attempt to indicate the relative importance of the news items they link to, both in a general view and individual ones for each news source:

Continue reading this story…

5Words: Sidekick Legal Tussle Begins

Sidekick suits underway? You think?

Apple’s excited about Windows 7.

Google readies an e-book store.

Amazon.com does same-day delivery.

Latest iMac rumors (no Blu-Ray).

Firefox 3.6 is in beta.

Google plans Chrome OS event.

Twitter enters the wine business.

Ringtones are legal after all!

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TheFind’s New Take on Shopping Search

Shopping search engine TheFind has relaunched with a bunch of new features. It claims to cover 350 million products, and I believe it–I got tons of results when I searched for everything from cameras to camera accessories to specific books to baby products to condiments.

TheFind isn’t like a comparative pricing engine such as PriceGrabber, which returns results in a grid with lots of comparative info; nor is it like the review-centric Retrevo or Wize. Instead, it feels a little like a Google-style general-purpose search engine, except with extra features tailored to shopping–and all the results point to pages at e-commerce sites where you can buy stuff.

Continue reading this story…

Your Chance at Free Tech Support From Florence Henderson!

On Monday, I blogged about the FloH Club, a new service providing phone-based tech support to non-geeky senior citizens on topics ranging from figuring out Facebook to troubleshooting sick PCs. Its biggest distinguishing characteristic: Its spokesperson is beloved Brady matriarch Florence Henderson.

If you’re reading this, you’re almost definitely not part of the FloH Club’s target market–but you might know somebody who is. And the club has offered to give a certificate good for three months of complimentary service to a member of the Technologizer community. (If you win, you can give it to anyone you like.)

Entering’s easy: Just send an e-mail to contest@technologizer.com with “FloH Club” in the subject line, and do it by 12pm noon PDT on Monday, October 19th. We’ll randomly draw a name from everyone who enters and alert the winner by Tuesday, October 20th.

Microsoft: Sidekick Data Disaster Less Disastrous!

Latest update on the Sidekick data disaster: Microsoft has published a letter from Sidekick honcho Roz Ho saying that the company now thinks it has “recovered most, if not all” of the user data that’s been missing. The mess started October 2nd when a system outage began, and will apparently continue at least a bit longer while Microsoft finishes prepping the data for restoration.

A few notes:

1) By way of explanation for the meltdown, Ho’s letter says that Microsoft has “determined that the outage was caused by a system failure that created data loss in the core database and the back-up.” That’s pretty much a tautology given that the company had already warned customers that the data might be lost forever.

2) Ho’s title is kinda unfortunate at the moment: Corporate Vice President, Premium Mobile Experiences.

3) A service outage/data disruption that lasts half a month isn’t as bad as losing user data forever, but it still ranks among the worst service breakdowns in the history of personal technology. (In fact, if you can think of any involving major companies that lasted anywhere near as long, remind me.)

Opera: Re-Unite(d)

Norwegian browser stalwart Opera released the first beta today of Unite, its technology which puts a Web server inside the browser, letting Opera run apps that serve content up to the Web as well as download it. (You need to run Opera to use Unite, but the information the apps deliver–such as access to your music and photos–can be gotten to with any desktop browser.)

Unite first showed up last June as an alpha that was accompanied by some of the most excessive hype ever attached to a product that didn’t hail from Cupertino–the company said it “would forever change the fundamental fabric of the Web.”  I understand that changing the fundamental fabric of anything takes more than a few months, but Unite got off to a rocky start, suffering issues related to both reliability and privacy.

The new version of Unite has tighter security (including features to prevent  Unite apps from getting indexed by search engines unless that’s what you want, and more rigorous password features). The initial group of apps–such as a music server, a photo-sharing tool, and a virtual refrigerator that friends can tack notes onto–have been joined by some additional ones from Opera and other companies, including an instant messenger and a Twitter client:

Opera has also ratcheted down the hoopla, at least a little: The new release is accompanied by a quote from CEO Jon von Tetzchner talking about “moving closer to our goal of reinventing the Web.”

I still think Unite is an interesting idea, but it’s not a fully-realized one, nor one whose advantages are immediately obvious. (Some of its downsides, on other hand, are easy to grasp–such as the fact that Unite apps only work as long as your PC is turned on and connected to the Internet).

There are only a few Unite apps so far, and none of them feels anything like a killer app. Most of them, in fact, might leave you saying “Explain to me again why this is better than using a traditional Web service that doesn’t run on my computer?” (For instance, the Twitter client is extremely rudimentary, as you can see from the image above.)

Anyhow, if nothing else, Unite serves as a good excuse to give Opera a try. It’s a really good browser overall, and at the moment, it’s my primary one–I’ve been having trouble with both Firefox and Opera under Snow Leopard, and so I’m living with Opera and seeing if it suits me better…

Look Out Ma Bell Here’s…Wal-Mart

Today, Wal-Mart announced that it is becoming a wireless provider. The retail giant is offering an “unlimited” no-contact cell phone service for $45, and a metered plan for $30.

While there is no contract, customers must purchase an eligible phone. Wal-Mart is offering an entry-level LG 220 flip phone at $39.98, an LG Slider 290 at $79.98, and the Samsung 451 QWERTY keyboard phone at $99.88. Minutes may be added to phones at its stores or via the Web.

As a technophile, it’s tempting for me to point out the short comings of those devices. There are only a few stock applications available, and unlimited data on a flip phone does not translate to the same experience that I have surfing the Web on my iPhone. But that does not matter, because the people who would buy these phones wouldn’t care.

Last year, my family bought my 90-year-old grandfather a pre-paid cell phone from Best Buy. I’m not sure what brand it is, but it was one of a few options that I usually see at mall kiosks. The Wal-Mart brand is much stronger than any of those, and we probably would have bought a phone from it if we had the option.

It’s also an economical choice for families with shoestring budgets. Leading wireless companies provide family plans, but they aren’t cheap, and usually require a commitment. AT&T even charges parents that want to place restrictions on their kids’ usage. A pre-paid plan doesn’t require families to purchase much more than what they want to pay for.

Whether Wal-Mart becomes a viable wireless company or not is up to the market, but its track record is pretty solid. Wal-Mart rapidly became the largest grocery store in the United States after all, and it has more locations than other pre-paid wireless companies. Im guessing it’ll do well.

The New Flip (Bonus Question: Does the Flip Have a Future?)

A new high-end $229.99 version of the Flip MinoHD pocket camcorder is out–it’s got 8GB of memory (up from 4GB), a bigger screen and an HDMI port. It’s also got a new aluminum case which the Flip folks say makes this “the world’s sleekest HD camcorder” and which Gizmodo raves over–although oddly enough, the official specs seem to say that the new version is a tad chunkier than the old one. (The marketing materials refer to “soft, rounded edges”–maybe they give the new Mino, which I haven’t seen in person, a svelter feel than its predecessor.)

The new Mino sounds cool, and  the whole Flip line’s image quality for the price, industrial design, clever features (like the pop-out USB connector), and general commitment to usability are commendable. You gotta think that the clock is ticking on the whole product category, though–between phones with video camera capability and ever-better video from still cameras and video built into still other devices, the world isn’t going to need dedicated low-end video cameras forever. I don’t expect Flips to go away immediately–for one thing, even the standard definition ones have much better image quality than my iPhone 3GS–but I’d love to know what Cisco has in the works that might make the $590 million it spent to buy the Flip into a smart investment rather than the technological equivalent of buying a gallon of milk even though its expiration date is about to come.

Windows 7: That’s Infomercialtainment!

Part of the upcoming extravaganza of Windows 7 marketing which will presumably soon be upon us involves a November 8th Fox TV special starring Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane. It’s sponsored by Microsoft and has Windows 7 references woven in. (I refuse to call it “commercial-free,” but it’ll have no traditional breaks for standard commercials.)

Ars Technica found a teaser clip:

I’ll wait to judge the whole thing until I watch the show (or don’t watch it!) but there seems to be a basic cognitive dissonance at work when a supposedly take-no-prisoners, slay-all-sacred-cows kinda sensibility is applied to a paid advertising message. (There’s a reason why MAD magazine–from which all modern humor springs–refused to accept even traditional advertising back in the day.)

But if nothing else, the show will ensure that lots and lots of people are exposed to Windows 7…