5 replies to this topic

[100janovski]

Apple's (AAPL) iPhone App Store is most popular for its free and cheap apps. As a result, most apps and casual games are available for 99 cents or less. But there are plenty of expensive apps in the App Store, too, and people do buy them.

Click here to see the 10 most expensive iPhone apps →

The most expensive app in the U.S. App Store today is called iRa Pro: It's a dashboard to access and control live feeds of video surveillance cameras, and it costs $900.

The company that makes it -- Lextech Labs, outside of Chicago -- won't say how many copies it has sold. But Lextech president and CEO Alex Bratton says it's more than the five people who have reviewed the latest edition on iTunes. He's "pretty happy with the number."

Why charge so much? Because for the people who are buying the app, it's actually a relatively small cost.

Bratton says his target customers are monitoring security systems for corporations, government organizations, universities, etc., that can run more than half a million dollars. For them, a $900 app is just part of the cost of doing business. Especially when the alternative -- getting a custom piece of hardware developed, instead of using off-the-shelf iPhones and iPod touches -- costs thousands per gadget.

iRa Pro wasn't always the most expensive iPhone app. About a year ago, a German developer had an app briefly approved by Apple called "I Am Rich." For $999.99, it did absolutely nothing, and was controversial. After a day or so, Apple pulled it from the App Store -- but not before the developer reportedly sold eight copies.

That developer, Armin Heinrich, currently has 12 apps in the App Store, including the similarly utility-free -- but just $0.99 -- "iShaver."

Today, no $1,000 apps, but plenty that cost more than $100, ranging from medical references to audio tools.

[willielwgg]

I don't see the point in these expensive apps. They are low power, so they won't have all the nice features that computer software has. You can get some nice freeware (or not so expensive shareware) for security cameras and a laptop for less than $900. Some of the pro audio tools for the iPod Touch and iPhone are memory hogs, and Audacity is much better than them anyway, not to mention it is freeware. I haven't bought any iPhone apps, I just mainly stick to lite versions and free apps.

[Atomic0]

I personally feel that such high priced applications are unnecessary, because in the end you are economically better off if you sell an iPhone application at a lower price but sell more units of it. In the end, you will get a better profit then selling less units at the high prices.

Apart from the more expensive applications, some of the applications listed in the Top 10 list reasonably priced, like the business applications iDcrm and MATG - SAP BusinessOne, considering the corresponding computer software prices for those product platforms.

[Бојан]

If someone pay's for this stupid iPhone applications, then he must be a fool... I like all Apple's product's but this is too much :S... Also i have an iPod Nano 5G 8GB and it's beautyful! Most of all i like the design of all their products.
On my iPod i love that is thin as a coin and it's very nice designed...

[Xarex]

Crazy prices. I've been an iPhone user for the past 3 or 4 years. I hate the way Apple does business.. releasing a new iPhone. I am just waiting for my 2g to die! At least, by the time it does and I get a new iPhone -- or not -- I'll at least hopefully have something that's worth it without bugs.

Anyways, I don't think I've ever paid for a single application. Don't get me wrong, I would if the right one came along. But spending over $100 on an app is ridiculous. But I guess you have to figure the power of the app, how much work went into it, and what it can actually do.

Using the iPhone as surveillance is quite amazing but if there wasn't lag on this, I'd be very impressed. It must rely on some sort of wifi connection.



The iPhone is dominating one area though which is eliminating competition for other companies to continue making them, or figuring out ways to become advanced: The GPS system is becoming obsolete as most smartphones are now taking over and dominating the realm of where the GPS used to lie.

I can't say this is a bad thing. When I was living in the city of Chicago, the fact that I could push a button to locate me, where I was, and where I had to go, was quite amazing -- instead of having to carry around an extra tiny portable device to figure out where I'm going. So no complaints about that. But even an expensive app that boasts of it's GPS capabilities are only as strong as the actual phone's GPS system. And I've seen apps GPS apps go for quite a bit of money on here, which is insane, considering the GPS system that is built right into Google Maps.