February 5, 2009
David Pogue. So Many iPhone Apps, So Little Time
David Pogue for The New York Times on iPhone apps and the truth in his prophecy last March when he wrote: "You're witnessing the birth of a third major computer platform: Windows, Mac OS X and iPhone".
... It's a crazy new software model that I don't remember seeing anywhere else. It's not a boxed software program for $600, or even a shareware program you download for $25. It's a buck a copy.
The beauty here is that at these prices, there's very little risk in trying something out. How many software programs have you bought for your Mac or PC? Two? Four? Well, the average iPhone owner may wind up installing 10, 20 or 30 programs. In all, according to Apple, iPhone owners have downloaded 500 million copies of these programs. Half a billion--since last July.
There's a lot of gloom in the tech industry (and every industry, for that matter). But even when the economy is crashing down around us, there's still amazing power in a single good idea. And the one on display here--pricing software so low that millions of people buy it without batting an eye--is turning a few clever programmers into millionaires.
Read full article.
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