Get Better Gear!

Premier Sponsors

Other World Computing

TechRestore

Top 5 Free Apps

Sheep Launcher Free!
Kronos Games
Release Date: August 05, 2009
Genre: Games
Boxed In
Dennis Mengelt
Release Date: May 22, 2009
Genre: Games
Ninjas Live
Storm8
Release Date: August 29, 2009
Genre: Games
Bump
Bump Technologies LLC
Release Date: March 27, 2009
Genre: Social Networking
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Release Date: August 07, 2009
Genre: Entertainment

iTunes New Music Releases

Black Gives Way To Blue
Alice In Chains
Release Date: September 29, 2009
Genre: Rock
Backspacer
Pearl Jam
Release Date: September 20, 2009
Genre: Alternative
The Resistance
Muse
Release Date: September 15, 2009
Genre: Alternative
Awake (Deluxe Version)
Skillet
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Genre: Rock
Ellipse (Deluxe Version)
Imogen Heap
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Genre: Alternative

Top 5 Paid Apps

The Moron Test $0.99
DistinctDev
Release Date: April 22, 2009
Genre: Entertainment
StickWars $0.99
John E. Hartzog
Release Date: March 31, 2009
Genre: Games
Bloons $0.99
Digital Goldfish Ltd
Release Date: April 05, 2009
Genre: Games

Discover New Music

  • Physical Graffiti

    • 10 out of 10
    • Led Zeppelin
    • This album bears every flavor of genius from the five records that came before. It is, I believe, the band's finest. With Physical Graffiti, Zep came raging back to their musical home territory -- har

  • Music Has The Right To Children

    • 10 out of 10
    • Boards of Canada
    • This one will haunt you. From the first notes to the last, their sound surrounds you. BOC has put out a fantastic catalogue, and this album is a great starting point for a new listener. Jump straight

  • Every Day: The Best of the Verve Years

    • 8 out of 10
    • Joe Williams
    • Joe Williams was Figure Two in my three-man education in singing. A brilliant vocalist, scatter, and interpreter of jazz and blues, Williams produces music that's totally unique, yet sounds so effortl

  • Aretha Sings the Blues

    • 6 out of 10
    • Aretha Franklin

    • While she didn't always have the best taste in song selection, Aretha Franklin is a must-study for anyone with interest in the human voice. She has the kind of powerful, recklessly passionate deliv

  • Life's Rich Pageant

    • 8 out of 10
    • R.E.M.
    • In the long series of R.E.M.'s evolution, this album (finally?) showcases their ability to capture on tape what had been happening in the live for years: heartfelt, sweat-filled performances that just

Reader Specials

Visit Deals On The Web for the best deals on all consumer electronics, iPods, and more!

iPhone

Apple Announces In-App Subscription Model for iPhone App

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 1:31 PM - by Bryan Chaffin

Apple announced Tuesday a new subscription model for iPhone apps the company is calling In-App Subscriptions. The model allows developers to charge for additional content, including such things as new levels for a game, additional cities for a city guide, or renewing one's subscription to a magazine, all from within the app without having to return to the App Store.

The company made the announcement at its iPhone 3.0 preview event in Cupertino. According to Engadget, Apple executive Scott Forstall also stressed that the subscription model would only be available in paid applications, thus preventing users from being tricked into downloading "free" apps whose content has to be unlocked.

The subscription system will use iPhone's standard popup windows, and subscription/new content charges will go through your iTunes account. Apple will use the same revenue split as with any other iPhone app where the developer gets 70% of revenue, and Apple keeps the other 30%, out of which the company pays all fees associated with selling the app.

2 comments from the community.

You can post your own below.

webjprgm said:

March 17th, 2009 at 2:06 PM

So it’s probably a good thing that free apps remain free, but there’s still no way to implement shareware.  There ought to be a third category, then, which is clearly differentiated in the iTunes store as shareware, which can use the same in-app purchase model to unlock the full version. 

At present, game developers often have to release a ‘Lite’ version and a full, paid version to get around this issue.  Well, maybe that’s OK. What do you all think? I think I’d check out a lot more apps if there was a trial period or more apps had ‘Lite’ versions.  But if every app had a ‘lite’ version it would make the list of apps longer with all those duplicates.

Also, does anyone else find it scary to think of all the ways developers are going to find to charge us for things?  Did you see the TouchPets demo where they charged a buck (?) for a “shirts pack”?  I don’t like that idea.  It’s fine to do something like Half Life 2’s episodes, but I don’t want to be asked to pay a dollar every 5-10 levels.  I hope this in-app purchasing model is not abused.

   Quote

D9 said:

March 17th, 2009 at 2:06 PM

Gosh, what a brilliant solution Apple has developed for itself. Not only has the App Store proven to be the “killer app” for the iPhone, but now they’ve provided themselves with a means to have a continuous cash stream not only for developers, which entices them, but for Apple itself…all without the need to increase prices or raise selling percentages.

I can see why Microsoft and others could care less that they’re copying the App Store for their phone solutions…it’s perfect for a means to promote and profit off your hardware sales!

/

   Quote

Page 1 of 1 pages

Post Your Comments

  Remember Me  Forgot your password?

Not a member? Register now. You can post comments without logging in, but they'll show up as a "guest" post.

Commenting is not available in this section entry.