A user has brought to my attention the fact that the latest BB10 OS update breaks Drinki. Therefore, I have withdrawn it from BB World.
If you're looking to try one of my apps, I suggest How Puzzling. It's fun, and it's free!
Showing posts with label App World. Show all posts
Showing posts with label App World. Show all posts
Wednesday, 19 March 2014
Monday, 27 May 2013
Drinki is Trending
I don't know what it means or how it works, but Drinki is trending on BlackBerry World. I guess cottage season has begun and a lot of people want to know where to go to buy beer, wine, and liquor in Ontario.
Get it while it's hot!
Get it while it's hot!
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
April Data
It's May, and that means my April sales and download data is now available. It took me a few days to get it, which is why this post is going up so late.
Thanks to a couple new releases, overall downloads were up by 71%. BB10 downloads made up 28% of the total number, increasing their share by nearly 20% of the total.
49% of my BB10 downloads were on the Qualcomm GPU, 47% were on the Imagination GPU, 3% went to Verizon devices, and the remainder was split evenly between developer devices and the mostly unreleased BB Q10. Most of my apps aren't available for the Q10, so I don't expect its share to increase much in the future.
Location-wise, 16% of my BB10 downloads went to Canada, 10% to Indonesia, 10% to the US, 5.5% to Saudi Arabia, 5.4% to the UK and 3.8% to South Africa. US downloads grew as I expected them to, but Canadian and especially Indonesian downloads grew far faster than anticipated. I now expect that either Canada will remain on top, or Indonesia will claim the top spot for the month of May.
Sales were up a meagre 3.4%. Better than nothing, but considering I put out something new, it wasn't an encouraging amount of growth. BB10 accounted for 60% of my sales, which was in line with what I was expecting. Sales on BB10 devices were themselves up by 62%.
The US accounted for 25% of sales, Canada for 20%, Indonesia 12%, Germany 5%, with South Africa and the UK each taking around 4%.
At the current rate, if I don't release anything new and exciting, I expect Playbook sales to continue to drop, and to hit 0 within six months.
Thanks to a couple new releases, overall downloads were up by 71%. BB10 downloads made up 28% of the total number, increasing their share by nearly 20% of the total.
49% of my BB10 downloads were on the Qualcomm GPU, 47% were on the Imagination GPU, 3% went to Verizon devices, and the remainder was split evenly between developer devices and the mostly unreleased BB Q10. Most of my apps aren't available for the Q10, so I don't expect its share to increase much in the future.
Location-wise, 16% of my BB10 downloads went to Canada, 10% to Indonesia, 10% to the US, 5.5% to Saudi Arabia, 5.4% to the UK and 3.8% to South Africa. US downloads grew as I expected them to, but Canadian and especially Indonesian downloads grew far faster than anticipated. I now expect that either Canada will remain on top, or Indonesia will claim the top spot for the month of May.
Sales were up a meagre 3.4%. Better than nothing, but considering I put out something new, it wasn't an encouraging amount of growth. BB10 accounted for 60% of my sales, which was in line with what I was expecting. Sales on BB10 devices were themselves up by 62%.
The US accounted for 25% of sales, Canada for 20%, Indonesia 12%, Germany 5%, with South Africa and the UK each taking around 4%.
At the current rate, if I don't release anything new and exciting, I expect Playbook sales to continue to drop, and to hit 0 within six months.
Monday, 1 April 2013
March Data
It's April, and that means my March download and sales data is ready to go.
Despite March having three more days than February, my overall downloads were down 7.3%. However, BB10 downloads increased from a 1.85% share to a 8.32% share of the overall number. More of my free apps were available for the platform in March and even more are available now, so I expect the share to increase with time.
In March, 72.5% of my BB10 downloads were on the Qualcomm GPU, 2.4% were on the Qualcomm GPU for Verizon, 24.2% were on the Imagination GPU, and the remainder went to Dev 10 devices.
Canada accounted for 43.6% of my BB10 downloads, followed by the US at 12.4%, the UK at 9.8% and India at 4.7%. Considering that the Z10 was only in wide release in the US for nine days, I find its numbers rather encouraging, and expect it to challenge Canada for the number one slot in April.
On the sales front, my overall app sales were down by 1.7%. However, the share of sales that went to BB10 devices increased from 22% to 38%, and BB10 app sales were up by 65%. 75% of sales were on Qualcomm GPU devices, with the rest going to Imagination GPU devices.
Canada accounted for 60% of my sales, followed by South Africa at 9%, the US at 7% and India, the UK, and Jamaica each with about 4%.
It would seem that the Playbook is continuing to die as a platform while BB10 is on the rise. If current trends continue, more than half my sales should go to BB10 devices this month.
Despite March having three more days than February, my overall downloads were down 7.3%. However, BB10 downloads increased from a 1.85% share to a 8.32% share of the overall number. More of my free apps were available for the platform in March and even more are available now, so I expect the share to increase with time.
In March, 72.5% of my BB10 downloads were on the Qualcomm GPU, 2.4% were on the Qualcomm GPU for Verizon, 24.2% were on the Imagination GPU, and the remainder went to Dev 10 devices.
Canada accounted for 43.6% of my BB10 downloads, followed by the US at 12.4%, the UK at 9.8% and India at 4.7%. Considering that the Z10 was only in wide release in the US for nine days, I find its numbers rather encouraging, and expect it to challenge Canada for the number one slot in April.
On the sales front, my overall app sales were down by 1.7%. However, the share of sales that went to BB10 devices increased from 22% to 38%, and BB10 app sales were up by 65%. 75% of sales were on Qualcomm GPU devices, with the rest going to Imagination GPU devices.
Canada accounted for 60% of my sales, followed by South Africa at 9%, the US at 7% and India, the UK, and Jamaica each with about 4%.
It would seem that the Playbook is continuing to die as a platform while BB10 is on the rise. If current trends continue, more than half my sales should go to BB10 devices this month.
Friday, 1 March 2013
BB10 Sales Data
BB10 phones have been out for around a month now, so I thought I'd present my February sales data to give some indication of what developers can expect.
Now, not all of my paid apps are available for both the BB10 and Playbook platforms, but enough of them are that I feel it's close enough to make a comparison.
So, in February about 50% of my app sales were to Canada, 25% to the UK, and 15% to the US, with the remainder distributed across other countries, mainly in Asia and Europe.
Of my total sales, 78% were for the Playbook, and 22% went to BB10 devices.
Of my BB10 sales, 85% were on devices using the Qualcomm GPU, and 15% were on devices using the Imagination GPU. 78% of sales were to Canada, 15% were to the UK, and the rest went to India and South Africa.
On a month-to-month basis, even though February has three fewer days than January, sales were up about 40%.
It's only been a month, but these numbers lead me to be cautiously optimistic about the success of the BB10 platform, and my own success selling apps for it.
Now, not all of my paid apps are available for both the BB10 and Playbook platforms, but enough of them are that I feel it's close enough to make a comparison.
So, in February about 50% of my app sales were to Canada, 25% to the UK, and 15% to the US, with the remainder distributed across other countries, mainly in Asia and Europe.
Of my total sales, 78% were for the Playbook, and 22% went to BB10 devices.
Of my BB10 sales, 85% were on devices using the Qualcomm GPU, and 15% were on devices using the Imagination GPU. 78% of sales were to Canada, 15% were to the UK, and the rest went to India and South Africa.
On a month-to-month basis, even though February has three fewer days than January, sales were up about 40%.
It's only been a month, but these numbers lead me to be cautiously optimistic about the success of the BB10 platform, and my own success selling apps for it.
Thursday, 1 November 2012
October Data
For a long time, I've been looking for a way to monetize my Playbook apps. It has not been going well. Anyway, since it's November, I thought I'd share my download and sales data for the month of October.
In short:
28646 downloads
142 sales
$0 in ad payouts
From October 1 to 31, my Playbook apps received a total of 28648 downloads, or around 924 per day. About 9000 came from Canada, 7000 from the UK, 3000 from the US, with the rest split amongst various other nations all over the world, including a single download in Brunei.
Mid-week days tended to produce about 30% more downloads than the ends of the week, with Thursday being the most popular day, averaging more than 1300.
My most popular app was GPS Data Master, and my least popular was Psychic Test.
On the sales front, I sold 140 apps and 2 in-app purchases. Purchases come in multiple currencies, so it's hard to figure things out exactly, but after fees I should net about $90. I sold at least one copy of 10 different apps. The top-seller this month was Awesome Sudoku, which moved 60 copies.
On the advertising front, the various ad networks I use on my blogs combined for around 10000 impressions, 100 clicks, and earnings of $1.88, which I will not receive because it's nowhere near the payment threshold. The ads on my Playbook apps had around 38000 impressions, 370 clicks, and earnings of $7.60, which I also will not receive. These amounts will roll over, and I should be eligible for some kind of payout in 4-5 months. Maybe.
Admittedly, the fill rates haven't been great, but based on the CTR and EPC I've been getting, to make a living on ad revenues, I would need every single Playbook owner out there to use one of my apps five times per month. And that's a bachelor apartment-style living, not champagne and caviar. Suffice it to say that I'm not second-guessing my decision to abandon development for RIM products.
In short:
28646 downloads
142 sales
$0 in ad payouts
From October 1 to 31, my Playbook apps received a total of 28648 downloads, or around 924 per day. About 9000 came from Canada, 7000 from the UK, 3000 from the US, with the rest split amongst various other nations all over the world, including a single download in Brunei.
Mid-week days tended to produce about 30% more downloads than the ends of the week, with Thursday being the most popular day, averaging more than 1300.
My most popular app was GPS Data Master, and my least popular was Psychic Test.
On the sales front, I sold 140 apps and 2 in-app purchases. Purchases come in multiple currencies, so it's hard to figure things out exactly, but after fees I should net about $90. I sold at least one copy of 10 different apps. The top-seller this month was Awesome Sudoku, which moved 60 copies.
On the advertising front, the various ad networks I use on my blogs combined for around 10000 impressions, 100 clicks, and earnings of $1.88, which I will not receive because it's nowhere near the payment threshold. The ads on my Playbook apps had around 38000 impressions, 370 clicks, and earnings of $7.60, which I also will not receive. These amounts will roll over, and I should be eligible for some kind of payout in 4-5 months. Maybe.
Admittedly, the fill rates haven't been great, but based on the CTR and EPC I've been getting, to make a living on ad revenues, I would need every single Playbook owner out there to use one of my apps five times per month. And that's a bachelor apartment-style living, not champagne and caviar. Suffice it to say that I'm not second-guessing my decision to abandon development for RIM products.
Friday, 28 September 2012
Scramble Master
The best anagram game out there! Unscramble the letters as fast as you can! Earn stars! Win medals! Have fun!
Unlike some other anagram games, Scramble Master only uses words you might have heard of. No periblem, no ekpueles, and no murrhine. It's not about adding esoteric words to your vocabulary, it's about having fun!
With thousands of words to choose from, word lengths from three to eight letters, and four difficulty levels, you'll probably never see everything it has to offer.
Available for Android devices and on the BlackBerry PlayBook
Wednesday, 19 September 2012
Review: Shaw Exo WiFi
Shaw Exo Wifi is a simple tool from Shaw Communications that will show you the locations of any Shaw Exo Wifi hotspots in your area, or anywhere else you might like to look for them. It has an online mode that will show you exact locations and give you directions courtesy of Google Maps, as well as an offline mode that will give you a city-by-city list of locations. You can search by city or by an exact address, and you can refine your search based on what type of building the hotspot is in, such as hotels, coffee shops, and Shaw stores.
UI
The UI is clean, and suitably coloured, but scrolling the list of locations can be a bit janky.
Usefulness:
If you're heading someplace new, or out on the town and carrying your tablet for some reason, and what to know where you can get online with Shaw, then this is the app for you. It's not quite as useful for people such as myself who aren't Shaw customers.
Reusability:
It's always good to know where a wifi hotspot is, so you could find yourself using this over and over again.
What I Liked
-The app notices when you lose your wifi connection and automatically switches to offline mode.
What I Hated
-Some Shaw Exo WiFi zones are accessible to the general public under certain conditions according to the help file, but it doesn't give any way of differentiating them.
-It takes a while to start. The first time I launched it, I thought it had locked up.
-Doesn't recognize that it has access to GPS if it can't get a signal right away.
Final Verdict:
Not particularly useful if you're not a Shaw customer, but if you are, and you're on the go a lot, you might find it helpful.
Shaw Exo WiFi is available for free from Shaw Communications on BlackBerry App World
Reviewed version 1.0
Review: NBA Fantasy News
NBA Fantasy News is a news aggregator app. The news comes in four types RoloWorld Fantasy News, ESPN.com NBA News, NBA Highlights on Youtube and news from NBA.com. Each category gives you three pages of stories, and each page consists of five to seven stories, made up of a headline, a couple lines from the article, and, in the case of the Youtube section, the preview image from the video. Tapping a story brings up a screen that allows you to visit the originating website and read the full article, and lets you tweet the story or share it on Facebook if you so desire. That's the extent of what it does as far as I can tell.
UI
The user interface is clean, responsive, and highly intuitive.
Usefulness:
This is not a particularly useful app. It basically just gives you headlines, and you can more or less get those just by visiting the respective websites it culls information from.
Reusability:
It looks like the information will update throughout the day, so if you like getting your NBA news this way, you'll probably use it a lot.
What I Liked
-The UI design is well done.
What I Hated
-Some of the articles it lists require access to ESPN Insider. I assume that's probably free, but I don't have an account there.
Final Verdict:
A decent news aggregator, but a news aggregator nonetheless, so it's probably not worth the time to download it.
NBA Fantasy News is available for free from Bobby J. Saini on BlackBerry App World.
Reviewed version 1.0
Review: Chicky and the Cats: Dorobou Neko
Chicky and the Cats: Dorobou Neko is a puzzle game in the vein of ChuChu Rocket. The object of the game is to guide Chicky the chick around the game board to pick up packages while avoiding obstacles and dodging angry kittens. Chicky will walk in a single direction until he's incapacitated in some way, so it's up to you to place arrows to guide him around the level's obstacles. You place the arrows in advance, then tap the "Start" button and watch Chicky go. And watch you shall, since he's not exactly a fast walker, and you're probably not going to get the arrows right the first time.
Graphics:
Cartoony and reminiscent of old 16-bit era games. They're not flashy, but I found them well-done and suitable to the game's content. The isometric view when Chicky is walking around is a bit glitchy, but looks really nice.
Sound:
The one song is a bit slow, which made the game seem even slower than it already was. There's no option to turn it off, but I have volume controls, so it's not too bad. Sound effects are limited, but appropriate to the game style.
Gameplay:
You begin in an overhead puzzle view with the tile-based game board in the middle, and your various pieces off to the side. Arrows (and Chicky's airplane which allows him to fly over obstacles) are placed by tapping and dragging them onto the board. The pieces are a bit small for my fat fingers, but I managed okay. After you're happy with your placement, you hit the Start button, and the game switches to an isometric view where you watch Chicky walk around the board. It's head-poundingly slow. If Chicky makes it to the goal with all the packages, you win. If not, you lose and have to start over. Seeing Chicky devoured by a cat just as he's about to make it to the end, and realizing that you'll have to start all over again is heartbreaking.
What I Liked:
-The puzzles are reasonably well-designed, and the difficulty seems to scale relatively well as you progress.
What I Hated
-Tapping Chicky will make him change direction, but this change doesn't persist between run-throughs, meaning you have to redo it every time.
-It's slow. Incredibly slow. Watching Chicky walk around the level without having any input is really, really dull.
-Each time you launch, you're met with an unskippable intro scene.
Final Verdict:
A fine start, but needs a few tweaks to be really good.
Chicky and The Cats: Dorobou Neko is available for free from TriHam on BlackBerry App World.
Reviewed version 0.3.1.
Review: Princess dress up
After discovering that nearly every app review site wants you to pay them for the honour of having your app reviewed, I decided that I would choose two apps and two games to review here. Choosing the two most recent arrivals on BlackBerry App World has produced some strange results.
Princess dress up is the latest in a long line of dress up games. Well, latest in the sense that it's new to the Playbook. It's an Android app that runs in the emulator. And I use the word "runs" fairly liberally since I was only able to get it to start once without having to reboot the device; after that it seemed to work fine. But, when it does actually work, it's a pretty generic "dress up" app.
I should also note that the listing on App World is "Dress up Princess" but the app description and icon refer to it as "Princess dress up", so that's what I'm going with.
Graphics:
Fairly simplistic, but good enough for what it's trying to accomplish. You're given a choice of seven girls to dress up, and each one comes with a variety of different clothing pieces. Some bits are generic across all the girls, but most are tailored individually, and fit with the style of the game.
Sound:
One short, annoying song playing on a loop. There's a control to turn it off, which is good. Very good.
Gameplay:
Practically non-existent. You drag and drop bits of clothing onto the girls, and that's it.
What I liked:
-The girls were a little ethnically diverse and of various ages, so there's something for all the girls out there.
-If you want fine movement, there are controls on the side that will allow you to move things on a pixel-by-pixel basis.
What I hated:
-The music was terrible and grating.
-The clothes only really seem to fit in one particular spot most of the time, and there's no option to get them to snap to it.
-Using it made me feel like a creepy pervert.
Final Verdict:
It's not really my bag, but if you're a young girl, this might be your thing.
Princess dress Up is ad-supported and available for free from kidgames on BlackBerry App World.
Reviewed version 1.0.1.5
Princess dress up is the latest in a long line of dress up games. Well, latest in the sense that it's new to the Playbook. It's an Android app that runs in the emulator. And I use the word "runs" fairly liberally since I was only able to get it to start once without having to reboot the device; after that it seemed to work fine. But, when it does actually work, it's a pretty generic "dress up" app.
I should also note that the listing on App World is "Dress up Princess" but the app description and icon refer to it as "Princess dress up", so that's what I'm going with.
Graphics:
Fairly simplistic, but good enough for what it's trying to accomplish. You're given a choice of seven girls to dress up, and each one comes with a variety of different clothing pieces. Some bits are generic across all the girls, but most are tailored individually, and fit with the style of the game.
Sound:
One short, annoying song playing on a loop. There's a control to turn it off, which is good. Very good.
Gameplay:
Practically non-existent. You drag and drop bits of clothing onto the girls, and that's it.
What I liked:
-The girls were a little ethnically diverse and of various ages, so there's something for all the girls out there.
-If you want fine movement, there are controls on the side that will allow you to move things on a pixel-by-pixel basis.
What I hated:
-The music was terrible and grating.
-The clothes only really seem to fit in one particular spot most of the time, and there's no option to get them to snap to it.
-Using it made me feel like a creepy pervert.
Final Verdict:
It's not really my bag, but if you're a young girl, this might be your thing.
Princess dress Up is ad-supported and available for free from kidgames on BlackBerry App World.
Reviewed version 1.0.1.5
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
No More Try & Buy
As of a few weeks ago, RIM has deprecated the Try&Buy licence for the Playbook. Which means I can no longer make any updates to any of the apps I've listed in that fashion. I say good riddance. The whole thing never worked properly, and it was a total pain. From now on, it's in-app purchases for me.
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Visibility is Key
Looks like all my hard work has finally sort of paid off:
As you can see, the free version of Awesome Word Search has finally broken into the Top Free Games section. I'd be happier if it were the paid version, but it's still pretty nice.
As you can see, the free version of Awesome Word Search has finally broken into the Top Free Games section. I'd be happier if it were the paid version, but it's still pretty nice.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Semi-Featured
I've been semi-featured on App World. In the games section there's a banner for Brainteasers. Clicking it will bring up this screen:
Down in the bottom left is my very first app: Awesome Word Search. Being in this section has caused a slight increase in sales, but not a massive one. It's nice to be recognized, though.
Down in the bottom left is my very first app: Awesome Word Search. Being in this section has caused a slight increase in sales, but not a massive one. It's nice to be recognized, though.
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Trying and Buying
Not every app I make is popular. That may be hard to believe, but it's true. Some things I think people will like just don't gain any traction, and languish in obscurity.
When that happens, there are two things I've done to try to boost sales (or get any sales at all): 1)I put out a stripped-down, free version with annoying popups that ask users to buy the full version. 2)I set the app to Try & Buy. They seem to have approximately the same efficacy. The free version will get downloaded many more times than the Try & Buy version, but the total adoption numbers for the full versions of the apps seem to end up about the same.
Putting out a free version is simple, but (in the past, and possibly still today) the Try & Buy system on BlackBerry App World is a bit broken. So, here are some tips to get people Trying & Buying:
1)Start your app as Try & Buy app rather than switching an existing app.
This isn't strictly necessary, but if you know you're going to go the Try & Buy route, it can make things a bit easier.
2)Be wary of your version numbers
There have been problems with users being able to upgrade to the full version without paying, or downloading the paid version and getting the trial. Make sure your full version has a higher version number than your trial all the way down to the packaging level.
3)Mind the check boxes
You need a trial version and a full version, and you need to make sure App World knows which is which. When I uploaded my first Try & Buy app, I didn't notice that there was a box labelled "Is this a trial version?" or something to that effect, and I screwed things up and had to do some repackaging and reuploading.
4)Have a link inside your app
Make sure your trial version has an obvious link to your full version in it. I use a big red button that says "Upgrade" You can link directly to your app in App World by using an URL that looks something like this: appworld://content/67275 Linking to the app's page on the web will also work, but brings up the browser first and is not quite as elegant.
5)Test if for yourself
After your app goes live, be sure to download the trial version and test uploading to the full version. If it doesn't work, take the app down immediately and try to figure out why. Nothing's worse than people who want to give you money being unable to do so.
When that happens, there are two things I've done to try to boost sales (or get any sales at all): 1)I put out a stripped-down, free version with annoying popups that ask users to buy the full version. 2)I set the app to Try & Buy. They seem to have approximately the same efficacy. The free version will get downloaded many more times than the Try & Buy version, but the total adoption numbers for the full versions of the apps seem to end up about the same.
Putting out a free version is simple, but (in the past, and possibly still today) the Try & Buy system on BlackBerry App World is a bit broken. So, here are some tips to get people Trying & Buying:
1)Start your app as Try & Buy app rather than switching an existing app.
This isn't strictly necessary, but if you know you're going to go the Try & Buy route, it can make things a bit easier.
2)Be wary of your version numbers
There have been problems with users being able to upgrade to the full version without paying, or downloading the paid version and getting the trial. Make sure your full version has a higher version number than your trial all the way down to the packaging level.
3)Mind the check boxes
You need a trial version and a full version, and you need to make sure App World knows which is which. When I uploaded my first Try & Buy app, I didn't notice that there was a box labelled "Is this a trial version?" or something to that effect, and I screwed things up and had to do some repackaging and reuploading.
4)Have a link inside your app
Make sure your trial version has an obvious link to your full version in it. I use a big red button that says "Upgrade" You can link directly to your app in App World by using an URL that looks something like this: appworld://content/67275 Linking to the app's page on the web will also work, but brings up the browser first and is not quite as elegant.
5)Test if for yourself
After your app goes live, be sure to download the trial version and test uploading to the full version. If it doesn't work, take the app down immediately and try to figure out why. Nothing's worse than people who want to give you money being unable to do so.
Friday, 9 December 2011
Reviews
I'm going to share with you a review I recently got on BlackBerry App World. It was a 1/2 star review, and it looked a little like this:
how does this work?
there are no instructions. i am at a loss
Now, not having instructions is usually a valid criticism. However, this review was for an app called "Awesome Sudoku" which, as you can imagine, is a sudoku app. I figured that anyone who had any interest in purchasing a sudoku app would already know how sudoku works. Apparently, I was wrong.
The low rating wouldn't bother me if not for the fact that it appears directly on the app's purchase page, and there's no way for me to respond. App developers kinda get hosed when it comes to reviews. With movies, TV, music, and video games, you generally need to have some sort of cachet before people will take your opinion seriously. With apps, pretty much everyone's opinions carry equal weight, regardless of how ill-formed those opinions might be.
There certainly needs to be a way to rate apps so unsuspecting people don't get conned into buying poorly-made crap, but there must be a better way of doing it than what's out there right now. Maybe removing the ability to rate something anonymously, or giving the creators a way to respond would help because, as it is, ten people (or even one person with 10 accounts) can pretty much torpedo an app by giving it low scores the moment it comes out. Competition's not a problem if spending $10 can ensure that no one will ever buy competing apps.
I don't want to seem like I'm whining just because I got a bad review. I've gotten others in the past, and I've learned to live with them. This one just seems completely unjustified to me, and really sticks out as evidence that the current system is broken.
You can check out Awesome Sudoku by clicking below.
how does this work?
there are no instructions. i am at a loss
Now, not having instructions is usually a valid criticism. However, this review was for an app called "Awesome Sudoku" which, as you can imagine, is a sudoku app. I figured that anyone who had any interest in purchasing a sudoku app would already know how sudoku works. Apparently, I was wrong.
The low rating wouldn't bother me if not for the fact that it appears directly on the app's purchase page, and there's no way for me to respond. App developers kinda get hosed when it comes to reviews. With movies, TV, music, and video games, you generally need to have some sort of cachet before people will take your opinion seriously. With apps, pretty much everyone's opinions carry equal weight, regardless of how ill-formed those opinions might be.
There certainly needs to be a way to rate apps so unsuspecting people don't get conned into buying poorly-made crap, but there must be a better way of doing it than what's out there right now. Maybe removing the ability to rate something anonymously, or giving the creators a way to respond would help because, as it is, ten people (or even one person with 10 accounts) can pretty much torpedo an app by giving it low scores the moment it comes out. Competition's not a problem if spending $10 can ensure that no one will ever buy competing apps.
I don't want to seem like I'm whining just because I got a bad review. I've gotten others in the past, and I've learned to live with them. This one just seems completely unjustified to me, and really sticks out as evidence that the current system is broken.
You can check out Awesome Sudoku by clicking below.
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