Comments on: Losing iReligion

By: Apple doesn't care about your app. Probably. | Hacker Boss

Apple doesn't care about your app. Probably. | Hacker Boss — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:33:00 +0000

[...] you make an iPhone app, and it doesn’t enjoy the success you think it deserves. Or you make an app, and you create a technology framework on the side, and [...]

By: my mind & I - App Store utilitarianism

my mind & I - App Store utilitarianism — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 22:57:51 +0000

[...] was written, here, by Gedeon Maheux – iPhone app superstar behind Twitterific and RampChamp in a very [...]

By: John

John — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:59:46 +0000

Just a few thoughts…

I’ve seen so many posts like these that say “we had a great app, only a bug caused it to crash 20 times a day, and Apple took a long time to approve the update”. Maybe a little more testing up front?

Re: race to the bottom. If you can sell the same app for a higher price on some other mobile platform, good for you! As a purchaser, I selfishly enjoy the price competition between app developers. If someone sticks to their guns and a reasonable price point, and their competition undercuts them too much, well, won’t the competition eventually go out of business or post one of those “I’m switching to Android” rants?

I haven’t tried Ramp Champ, but there could be a zillion reasons affecting sales. Maybe people are put off by the rhyming name. Maybe the description sounds too much like some other game that was disappointing.

I used to use Twitterific, but there was the Twitpocalypse, and then I realized the “Favorites” selections didn’t get sent back to the web site, then sometimes the “Favorites” icon wouldn’t even work on the iTouch itself, and I got a lot of “invalid argument” errors when I knew there was a strong connection, and it was off to a free competitor for me. (Actually I alternate between 2-3 different Twitter apps, but Twitterific has gotten pushed to page #3 on my screen so I rarely notice it anymore.) Now that I’ve read this post, I notice the IconFactory blurb on the startup screen, but I was not aware before this of who the publisher was.

By: Ged

Ged — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:46:04 +0000

QC, thanks for the feedback, but the videos for Ramp Champ are hosted on Amazon S2 hosting so if it’s loading slow for you, I humbly suggest it’s your internet connection or Amazon that’s at fault, not the Iconfactory. Also, the game is targeted for iPhone owners so it’s important that the video plays on the iphone itself. That means flash players are out. Lastly, a quick search of YouTube for “Ramp Champ” reveals over 600 results with the first 5 clearly showing the game play.

I’m not trying to be a pain, I’m just saying that just because you couldn’t watch the video doesn’t mean we didn’t do our job. Thanks for listening.

By: QC Guru

QC Guru — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:14:03 +0000

I went to the rampchamp website and tried to view the video of your game in ie7 & ff353 on XP. IE7 gave a JS error & FF353 did nothing, probably a lack of quicktime on my pc – however it should prompt to install the plugin or better yet use one of the thousands of flash video players out there. Test Test Test (not all people with an iPhone use a mac).

Tried the same on Safari 403 on a Mac and the video loaded but VERY slowly (I have a 10Mb link). Maybe use youtube or vimeo.

Either way not the best way to present your app.

Best of luck.

By: Parystec

Parystec — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:59:28 +0000

All,

Maybe if everything falls to the lowest price point then maybe the software development will fall to the lowest level too. As what would be the point in putting 3500+ hours in when you are not sure what you get out. You can not even be sure you can get the name for your project registered !!!!#’}

Yours Parystec

By: The App Store unofficially breaks 100,000 approved apps | iPhone Firmware

The App Store unofficially breaks 100,000 approved apps | iPhone Firmware — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:22:19 +0000

[...] the (often significant) bumps in the road, the App Store continues to grow at an incredible pace.The App Store unofficially breaks 100,000 [...]

By: The App Store Effect: Are iPhone Apps Headed for Oblivion? » Human Interface Systems

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:52:53 +0000

[...] is echoed and amplified by the makers of Twitterific, an app that, in a bid to stay competitive, saw its price fall from [...]

By: Ron

Ron — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:00:35 +0000

Ged,

You need to try 2 things immediately to capitalize on this Skee-Ball popularity right now.

1. Change your icon – you current has no meaning to most. Use one of your cute stuffed animals in place.

2. Drop to 99 cents for a bit.

Just suggestions…
R

By: The App Store unofficially breaks 100,000 approved apps «

The App Store unofficially breaks 100,000 approved apps « — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:22:12 +0000

[...] the (often significant) bumps in the road, the App Store continues to grow at an incredible [...]