Should iPhone apps have a try before you buy feature?
Louis Gray opines that while the Apple’s iPhone apps store is an overwhelming success, Apple needs to let users try out software before they buy it. Right now, iPhone users can either buy an app or download it for free, but you can’t try out something for a limited time only.
I agree with Louis in principal, but I think he needs to take into consideration the extra bloat this might add to iPhone programming - it would’ve been a great feature in the beginning but now I don’t think they need to add it.
A good middle ground solution might be some sort of refund option, which the store doesn’t currently support.
May 9th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
Of course it is a great idea. There are very few instances were people would rather buy something without trying it out first. Who wouldn’t like to know if it works or not they way they hope/think it will? I’m surprised they don’t offer some sort of Java app in your web browser so you can try something for a few minutes right in the store. That would be slick and would make a lot of sense and be end user friendly (something Apple has lost sight of in many ways) This is one of the biggest reasons I don’t have an iPhone. I’m not going to buy a bunch of apps, just to find out I don’t like them later.
Shareware/trialware is a great idea that needs to be used a lot more.