As a former Android owner, am I missing something in Apple's AppStore?

[TheNinja]

So I've always had an android device. Incredible 2 or something right now I think. Anyway I have a demo iPad 2 that I'm playing with. The thing that gets me is that on my phone I can gets tons and tons of decent FREE apps. On the iPad Appstore it seems like I have to buy everything. For example I can get all the angry birds and bad piggies free on my phone. On the AppStore I have to buy everything and even the free versions have like 9 demo levels or something.

So is this just the appstore vs google play or is it b/c I'm comparing a phone to and ipad?

If this is Apple's game I'm seriously considering steering clear and going for an android based tablet.

 

[smackababy]

I wouldn't blame this on Apple as much as I'd blame it on the developers. They choose to put free and paid versions on the AppStore.

 

[TheNinja]

You know what else I may have missed (since I don't have iPhone). It looks like there are a ton of full free apps for the iPhone but you have to pay for the iPad version. Maybe I'm mistaken though.

 

[Spineshank]

Even the paid iPhone apps are usually more for the iPad version**

 

[TheStu]

At some point along with way, developers found that people weren't paying for apps on Android, and that the ad-supported model worked well enough** There was a time when Android users didn't seem to give a flip about quality, or even functionality, and if App A cost $1**99 and was well made, but App B was free, and kind of a piece of crap, people were willing to deal with a piece of crap**

When the iPad came out, and devs started from scratch on making their apps, they took advantage of the larger screen size, different aspect ratio, and different usage model to revise their applications, not just making them blown up versions of the their iPhone apps** Some devs bundle both together, others will sell them separate, but yes, they will usually charge more for the iPad version if they sell them separately**

I don't mind being charged for apps, it costs the developer time and money to make them, but I do wish that there was a trial mode** Even though they may only cost $2**99, that is $2**99 that I am never getting back if the thing sucks** At least with a cup of coffee, I will be drinking the coffee**

 

[TheNinja]

At some point along with way, developers found that people weren't paying for apps on Android, and that the ad-supported model worked well enough** There was a time when Android users didn't seem to give a flip about quality, or even functionality, and if App A cost $1**99 and was well made, but App B was free, and kind of a piece of crap, people were willing to deal with a piece of crap**

When the iPad came out, and devs started from scratch on making their apps, they took advantage of the larger screen size, different aspect ratio, and different usage model to revise their applications, not just making them blown up versions of the their iPhone apps** Some devs bundle both together, others will sell them separate, but yes, they will usually charge more for the iPad version if they sell them separately**

I don't mind being charged for apps, it costs the developer time and money to make them, but I do wish that there was a trial mode** Even though they may only cost $2**99, that is $2**99 that I am never getting back if the thing sucks** At least with a cup of coffee, I will be drinking the coffee**

Ahh, that makes sense then** When I search the AppStore on the iPad it shows me 2 results "iPad" results and "iPhone" results** Many of the good full iPhone apps are free, whereas the iPad results tend to say "HD" and are entirely different games, often times with few levels**

So from what I can tell for example** I can download the full free version of Angry Birds Space from the "iPhone" section of the app store onto my iPad** However this version is just a blown up version of the iPhone app** I can also download a fee HD version of this game from the iPad section that only contains a few levels and is different than the iPhone version** I can also buy a full HD version from the iPad section that is specifically designed for the iPad** These levels might be totally different than the iPhone version of the app**

Does that seem correct? I appreciate the responses so far btw** I was just a bit underwhelmed at the iPad app store when I fired this thing up the other day** I was also disappointed it didn't include GarageBand and some others that they have all on the demo models in the store** I haven't given up yet though and am seriously considering the iPad Mini**

 

[Aikouka]

You can use iPod/iPhone apps on your iPad, but they will never look right even using the zoom feature because of the different ratios (3:2 vs** 4:3)**

I don't mind paying for apps that much, but I normally keep an eye on IGN's App Store Update as they list plenty of free games** Something to keep in mind is that they typically list the iPhone/iPod version, but usually the iPad one will be on sale as well or the game is universal** Although, I'm not a huge fan of the two different versions** I like the Superbrothers approach where you can just buy an iPhone/iPod version or buy a more expensive universal version** While it might be more expensive for the end-user to pay a dollar or two more for the universal app, it at least gives the developer something more for the extra effort**

 

[ViRGE]

At some point along with way, developers found that people weren't paying for apps on Android, and that the ad-supported model worked well enough** There was a time when Android users didn't seem to give a flip about quality, or even functionality, and if App A cost $1**99 and was well made, but App B was free, and kind of a piece of crap, people were willing to deal with a piece of crap**

When the iPad came out, and devs started from scratch on making their apps, they took advantage of the larger screen size, different aspect ratio, and different usage model to revise their applications, not just making them blown up versions of the their iPhone apps** Some devs bundle both together, others will sell them separate, but yes, they will usually charge more for the iPad version if they sell them separately**

I don't mind being charged for apps, it costs the developer time and money to make them, but I do wish that there was a trial mode** Even though they may only cost $2**99, that is $2**99 that I am never getting back if the thing sucks** At least with a cup of coffee, I will be drinking the coffee**

And just to add to that, Apple software has long been a culture of shareware and paid software, versus the greater amounts of free software in the Windows world. That carried over to iOS development, as many Mac developers expanded into iOS development.

Along with historical reasons, Apple also had payment infrastructure already setup in virtually every country before the iOS app store even opened, thanks to their leveraging the iTunes music store. So in the early days when Android developers couldn't take payments in many countries and had to go with an ad-supported model, iOS developers could charge for their applications knowing that most of their users could pay for them. Since then the Google Play Store has brought its payment infrastructure up to parity with the Apple store, but by that point a precedent had been set, one that makes it hard to charge for applications.

Finally, demographics have also played a part. iOS device owners are on average better off than Android device owners - due in significant part to the higher prices on Apple's products - which makes it easier for developers to charge for apps since they can be reasonably sure their audience has some spending money.

 

[bigrash]

I don't mind paying for apps as long as the quality is good.

 

[slashbinslashbash]

Yeah I don't really mind paying a buck or two for an app. Or even $10 if it's a good one. Hell I am still on the very first Angry Birds, I think it cost $0.99. I think it's got a couple hundred levels and it will take me a very long time to 3-star them all.

 

[TuxDave]

You can try to find a FAAD (Free App of the Day) app for the iPad and start gathering a mountain of good (and sometimes terrible) apps.