Mobile Evolution - Thoughts, insight, and experiences related to the mobile software industry

A few days ago I had a discussion on twitter with a few developer friends about links to the review section on the AppStores from within apps. Since people are prompted to "review on delete," the number of reviews can be slanted towards one-star, especially for 99c "throwaway" apps. No mechanism currently exists to prompt users who use and find value with their apps to rate and write reviews. So, many developers have added "Review this app" links inside their apps.

Here's another tip for newbie iPhone developers, concerning how promo codes work.

You get 50 promo codes per update, i.e. each time you submit a new binary. When you request promo codes, they expire in 4 weeks. So, don't request promo codes until you need them; you are allowed to request them one at a time, if necessary. Unrequested promo codes do not expire.

When you are new to a platform, sometimes things take some time to learn. I find out a lot of things via Twitter (I follow a lot of iPhone and other mobile devs), plus by reading developer blogs and following recommended links. Today I learned something very valuable and rather than "tweet" about it, I decided to start adding short "tips" to our blog, so there's an easier way to find and record them for future reference.

So without further ado, today's tip covers reviews:

Yes, the AppStore review system is archaic and out of our control. Yes, the discoverability is frustrating and when the store breaks, we're out of luck. But would you really want to go back to the 'old way' of distributing mobile software? Let's look at what the AppStore fixed in terms of mobile software distribution.

Getting one new app noticed in a sea of 100,000 apps is impossible. However, each app gets one (guaranteed?) opportunity to gain a certain sales momentum through exposure on the by Release Date (aka new releases) list. If you're in a competitive category, your app may get a few days on the front page, or perhaps your app gets nearly a week. Either way, without this jumpstart, your app is destined to only garner a few sales. However, the Release Date lists are now broken--many apps appearing on the list have 2008 release dates (some are outdated releases for 2.0 only--not even updated for 3.0 software update for the iPhone and iPod Touch). If this problem is not fixed soon, ALL apps released in this current timeframe will be DOA. Our Serving Sizer Recipe Converter app falls under this predicament! Our first day of sales can be counted on one hand, instead of 10x that amount for a partial first day of sales.

UPDATE: Date Wheel is now showing up for sale on the AppStore. Here's the iTunes link.

We just received the email for which we've been waiting--Date Wheel has been officially approved for sale on the AppStore! Should be a few hours before you can access it for purchase. We're very excited to finally release for iPhone. We'll keep you posted and provide links as soon as we know. In the meantime, feel free to follow DateWheel on Twitter for up-to-the-moment updates. We also ask you to please submit a review if you would. Thanks!!

We finally submitted Date Wheel late last night to the AppStore. Now we wait. Apple has a new feature when you log in that tells you how long a typical AppStore submission will take. According to Apple, right now "96% of applications are being approved within 14 days." So, to show you what Date Wheel can do, I took a little screenshot showing the estimated timing if we are among the lucky 96%.

If you want to be notified of when Date Wheel for iPhone is ready for sale,

If you are not signed up as an iTunes affiliate for links to your software from your website, then you are throwing an additional 5% in revenue out the door. The iTunes Affiliate program rewards you 5% for each sale through your link. The program is also makes sense for any news site who commonly links to iPhone apps. Affiliate programs should not be new to these sites, but it might be something a developer has not considered.

I'm on a quest for new Personal Information Management (PIM) apps! Recently I moved to an iPhone from a decade-long stint with the Palm OS. My husband's Treo 650 went into an infinite reset loop and we were ready to renew our AT&T contract. It was time for a new phone, we had to stay with AT&T (only wireless service that will work in our house), and neither of us wanted a Centro (only PalmOS choice), so it was time to move onto another platform.

A few blogs around the 'net have been discussing pricing of apps in the iPhone AppStore. I just wanted to note a few as a follow-up, since I had covered similar ideas in my previous blog post, Finding the Right Price - Marketing Mobile Software – Part II, Price.