

In-App Purchases now available for free iPhone apps - pistoriusp
https://developer.apple.com/iphone/appstore/inapppurchase.html

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pistoriusp
I think the link might require an ADC account, here's the text from the mail:

In App Purchase is being rapidly adopted by developers in their paid apps. Now
you can use In App Purchase in your free apps to sell content, subscriptions,
and digital services.

You can also simplify your development by creating a single version of your
app that uses In App Purchase to unlock additional functionality, eliminating
the need to create Lite versions of your app. Using In App Purchase in your
app can also help combat some of the problems of software piracy by allowing
you to verify In App Purchases.

Visit the App Store Resource Center for more details about how you can add In
App Purchases to your free apps.

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mrshoe
I will be happy to see the clutter of all the "Lite" apps disappear from the
App Store.

With the race-to-the-bottom economy of the App Store, though, I have to wonder
if Free will be the new $.99 and every app will have a screen that says, "Oh,
you want wheels with this car?"

Edit: This also makes the Top Sellers list much less relevant. Maybe that will
_increase_ what people can actually charge for their apps? I hope so.

~~~
mediaman
I think the "race to the bottom" was due to the initial confusion of the
marketplace and lack of discipline. I am noticing many more apps charging
greater than one dollar (usually 2-5) now than before and I expect the trend
to continue.

I also think that apps that pull the trick you're referencing will probably
get hit hard in the reviews section -- people get annoyed at that, and it
tends to spark negative comments.

~~~
bkudria
Yep - consider the flow. Sally installs Cool App, only to find out it asks her
to pay to get the feature she wanted/was advertised/etc . She quits and goes
to delete it, and the rating popup comes up - easy 1-star rating.

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z8000
Interesting. I am getting slammed in reviews for having ads in my game but I
have 900K unique users since June and make $150/day net (for doing nothing).

Perhaps I could integrate in-app purchases and disable the annoying ads per
user once they purchase anything. That could get users invested in the
possible stream of purchases, would remove complaints about ads, and could be
lucrative.

~~~
patio11
Yet again I wonder who pays all these money for iPhone ads. That is something
on the order of a $15 CPM for showing ads to whining anti-commercial (if
fairly affluent) users.

Anyhow, I think you'll find that pathological users (i.e. ones who complain
about ads) will not be improved by being told they have to pay money to play.
They hate that notion, too, almost more than they hate your ads. If you switch
to a free trial model, they'll hate that, too. They're unwilling to pay any
price for your application.

This is one reason why I don't write software for these people.

~~~
elai
iphone eCPM is around 0.50-0.70, and the typical demographic of an iphone user
is an early 20 something.

~~~
z8000
I get a net ecpm of around $1.80 with Quattro.

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phil
I have a hypothesis about this change: that in-app purchases were not, in
fact, being adopted as rapidly as Apple hoped, and this is their response.

Adding free apps opens up a lot of new uses for in-app purchases, and should
drive more usage.

~~~
aditya
+1 with some proof: [http://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/21/in-app-purchases-not-so-
hot-f...](http://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/21/in-app-purchases-not-so-hot-for-some-
developers)

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jcromartie
Hopefully it will lead to all of the obnoxious "Mafia Wars 10 Respect Points"
apps getting out of the top listings for every games category.

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credo
Good move in some respects. It will help users try out the app before paying
any money and it may help developers drive more sales.

OTH we need to see whether (as mrshoe said) whether "Free" becomes the new
$0.99 and if this has adverse consequences (for developers in terms of sales
and for users in terms of app quality). If the app is free, it will be easier
for people to write fake reviews critical of the app. I don't see any risk of
"bait and switch" apps because no one is going to take the upsell if they are
unhappy with the app.

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cubicle67
I paid AUS$9 this morning for a game, and I'm much happier to do that (pay
upfront) than to keep being asked for $1 every few levels

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pieter
I wonder how this will play out marketing-wise. It's already hard to find good
applications, and this will make it harder. I never look at the 'free'
section, as there's mostly just crap in there, and only look at the 'top 25'.
If everybody starts using in-app purchases to sell the full versions, you
can't separate the free crap from the useful stuff.

~~~
mkinsella
I'm curious, too. Will free apps that allow you to upgrade to the "Pro"
version only be listed as a "Free" app? I see that as a definite disadvantage.

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cubicle67
Quick question

Currently, if I buy an app it's available for use on both my iPod and my
wife's iPhone. With in-app purchasing, will purchases be reflected across both
devices? If I upgrade from demo to full on one device, do I need to pay again
on the other device?

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surtyaar
This was very interesting news for us. Especially since we have had a 'lite'
version of our app (comicstrips) in review for a month. Now only if we could
change our paid app to free!

~~~
gfodor
You can. Once you agree to the developer agreement, the "Free" option opens up
on iTunes Connect. I spent a few hours tonight retrofitting my server to
basically rejigger my app into a "trial mode" -- complete with no code changes
in the app :)

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fjabre
Can you actually charge customers in-app if the app is free?

I thought Jobs said that free apps would "stay free" and would only be
relevant for paid apps.

~~~
ugh
Now you can. And Steve Jobs talks a lot. Most of what he says is true, but
only for the moment. Nothing wrong with that, just good to know.

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rocketman
Interesting. This will make it possible to have servicing revenue models, with
apps that are distributed for free.

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petsos
So anyone has looked into how exactly In App purchases work and how they could
help combat piracy?

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gustaf
has it been determined if purchase virtual currencies are allowed? the terms
where a little confusing? have zynga, sgn etc reacted?

~~~
phil
Virtual currencies are explicitly not allowed.

~~~
gustaf
It's not that explicit. The terms talks about different kind of virtual
currencies, my understanding is that "consumables" are allowed, as long as
your currency isn't trad-able back to real money

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eridius
No, it's not consumables. Virtual currency is anything which you can then
trade for something else in-game. And that's not allowed.

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nym
The fact that you have to have a login to see this information further
highlights Apple's lack of transparency.

