One Deficiency Apple’s App Store Must Address

Intua’s BeatMaker iPhone App

I love my iPhone. I stood in line 11 hours last summer to get it, paid three times as much people are paying for the 3G, and I have no regrets. With each iteration of software that Apple releases it makes the phone that much better for me as an owner/user.

The App Store that was released with the iPhone 2.0 software upgrade is no exception. I’ve downloaded my fair share of apps to play with and use (see “My Favorite iPhone Apps (of the Moment)” and “Grade ‘B’ iPhone Apps”). All in all I’m a very happy customer.

There’s one thing that the App Store in all its glory is missing, though, and I think it is a major faux pas by the otherwise brilliant team at Apple. There’s simply no way to try out “pay” apps before purchasing. You can download free apps to your heart’s content, use them for awhile, and then get rid of the ones that don’t prove useful. But if you want to try out that new killer app that is being sold for $10 or $20, you’re out of luck.

I can think of no other software, from minor $5 utilities to $500 design applications, that doesn’t allow you to “try before you buy.” Perhaps this is something that Apple knows and is planning on remedying in the near future. Until then I’m forced to only take a calculated risk on cheaper apps and leave the premium ones in the store until I can see how well they work.

Posted 08.13.2008

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