Craig Hockenberry, of furbo.org has written a very interesting letter to Steve Jobs about the current state of the iPhone App Store. It’s mostly a letter of him whining about trying to be successful on the App Store. I might not agree with much he has to say, but it’s still none the less worthy of mentioning.

The main statement of Hockenberry’s letter is how the ‘$0.99 ringtone apps’ are starting to litter the App store market. He goes on further to say how this makes it hard to release more quality apps, like the ones his company provides…

“Before commencing any new iPhone development, we look at the numbers and evaluate the risk of recouping our investment on a new project. Both developers and designers cost somewhere between $150-200 per hour. For a three man month project, let’s say that’s about $80K in development costs. To break even, we have to sell over 115K units. Not impossible with a good concept and few of weeks of prominent placement in iTunes.

But what happens when we start talking about bigger projects: something that takes 6 or even 9 man months? That’s either $150K or $225K in development costs with a break even at 215K or 322K units. Unless you have a white hot title, selling 10-15K units a day for a few weeks isn’t going to happen. There’s too much risk.”

The problem I have with Hockenberry’s letter is how he thinks this line of reasoning is somewhat new in a capitalist market. Especially when said market is in the middle of a recession. Of course people are going to favor cheaper options in terms of electronic media. When the people look to favor that certain product, then developers will try and comply with the demand.

I’m not saying that particular line of reasoning is right or wrong. It’s just the way that markets work. The App Store market isn’t immune either, and we shouldn’t expect it to be. My personal feeling is why would I want to waste a $1 on an app that I’ll never use? When I can pay upwards to $5 for an app that I’ll get continual use out of. That’s my own personal feeling though, not a direction that I think everyone should follow.

Another problem that Hockenberry mentions is the vast amount of apps that are available to download. He believes it’s going to be harder, and harder for developers to compete as more apps are added daily. I whole-heartedly disagree with the point he’s making here. The prospect of continually trying new apps is my favorite thing about the App Store. Sure, there are a ton of crap apps out there but that’s what user reviews are for. The App Store market will always correct itself, because no matter the price (to a certain extent) quality will always trump cost in the App Store. I mean people have invested a large amount of money into their iPhones, and iPod Touches for a reason.

The thing that annoys me most about Hockenberry’s letter is that he gives no ideas on how to fix the problem. The entire tone of the letter comes off as desperate and a bit whiny. Developing software for mass production is always a costly venture. You should know the risks before getting into development like that. Don’t expect Apple to change anything to help your business. Apple is going to do what is best for the consumer, and themselves. Developers like Hockenberry should follow suit.

Why not try advertising your App through a blog or site? Heck, I feature apps all the time on here and I’d love to feature developer’s work, especially if the app is solid.

I hope you’re reading this Hockenberry, and other developers. Quit trying to write Apple about your unsuccessful app creations. It’s up to the consumers to decide what they want. Not for you to try and get Apple to decide for them.

Posted in Opinion, iPhone, iPhone Apps |