A Free Version of AppStore is Available for Unlocked iPhonesSponsored by the "samaritans" of Hackulo.usDownload Cracked/Hacked AppStore Apps directly to your iPhone.
The Hackulous Team has developed a service that the much beleaguered Apple AppStore has yet to accomplish; and that is to enforce their own quality control standards through AppShare and Installous.
Downloading an App based on misleading descriptions and unintelligible reviews has become a method of the past for unlocked iPhone owners. The opportunity to download an app without purchasing, taking it on a trial run and choosing whether or not to support the developer after evaluating their work seems to be perceived more as a luxury than a requisite through Apple's policies.
If this service was available, when the "I am Rich"* App was released, it wouldn't have been such a large blow to the credibility of the programs Apple allows released on their platform.
AppShare also supports apps that were removed from the AppStore. These removed apps are ones that mostly benefited users and not AT&T (such as NetShare, where you could have tethered your iPhone 3G's internet to your laptop).
The rational behind these programs are found in their faq pages:
The solution to what?
As many iPhone and iPod touch owners have discovered, Apple's iTunes App Store has many flaws which render it useless to the common user. Apple has chosen to allow a multitude of ridiculous, worthless, poorly-represented applications through its "strict" screening process, nearly all written by mediocre programmers with a dream of getting rich quick. Many of these programmers game the reviews system, misrepresent their application in the description, and generally try to swindle the honest buyer. Applications generally do not cost much, but small fees add up. The iPhone/iPod community has wasted so much money on these programs, an epidemic has taken hold where people have simply stopped buying apps they aren't certain of so they don't find themselves purchasing yet another waste of a program.
How does Appulo.us help that?
Apple could quite easily solve this problem by implementing a sort of trial period for each application, but they do not. The user is forced to buy blindly without ever getting to try the application first. Appulo.us is a collection of links to allow iPhone and iPod touch users the ability to try out full, unlimited versions of device software before making the decision to buy it.
Doesn't this hurt developers?
Many people have stopped buying applications by independent developers solely out of fear of wasting their money yet again. Even programs that are great are being undersold and pointedly hindered by Apple's allowance of programs like "I Am Rich" and the seventh Sudoku game submitted by a 14-year-old writing his first program. Developers are being hurt by the company they provide their content to.
Unlimited trials are easy to abuse, and there is no denying this fact. However, there is an impressive number of people in the community who do honestly pay developers for software they enjoy after trying it. Having the opportunity to review the sales statistics of a well-reviewed, independently-developed game, the developer experienced a great number of installations by people using the unlimited trial -- but over 99% of these installs were by people who statistically would not have purchased it regardless. A single digit of sales were lost to others who may have purchased the game, and with the trial resulting in purchases that would have otherwise not been made, the end result is strikingly positive.
I came across an article in TouchPodium** that related AppShare and Installous to theft. This was my response to a highly debatable topic, that has no concise answer:
In all fairness, I do believe the creators of the AppShare App released it with a “Try Before You Buy” mentality.
There are numerous instances of complaints regarding Apple’s quality control in regard to what makes it to the AppStore. Those who would pay for an App, only to find it bugged or broken or not what it seemed have no recourse whatsoever.
I am currently working on developing an iPhone App so I can see how this can be a complete disservice to the developers, then again maybe it levels the playing field so that consumers don’t feel shafted.
Regardless, all forms of media will find themselves on the net, freely distributed. Their only support will derive from those who are truly committed to donate or purchase an app they enjoyed and in turn help further development and put a warm meal in the developer’s stomach.*I Am Rich sold for $999.99, the highest price you can list an app for in the AppStore. It's only function was to execute an easily programmable script that did nothing more than display a red gem on your screen. More than 7 people made this purchase, before one complained.
**A wonderful and informative blog
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