Apple remodels the App Store

Apple is instituting a series of changes improving how iPhone and iPod touch applications are featured in its App Store following growing criticism from developers over how the digital storefront showcases their products. AppleInsider reports that Apple quietly made the tweaks late Thursday night--first and foremost, the App Store now spotlights the most popular applications on each category page, at the same time separating the most popular free applications (which previously dominated download rankings) from the most popular premium apps. In addition, the layout of the App Store in iTunes is now more closely aligned with the design of the App Store application on the iPhone.

Concerns over App Store placement and discoverability reached a crescendo last week after Craig Hockenberry, principal and engineer with The Iconfactory, the software firm behind top-selling App Store downloads Frenzic and Twitterific, posted a much-discussed blog entry contending the growing proliferation of bargain-priced iPhone applications is inhibiting product development. In an open letter to Apple CEO Steve Jobs posted on his blog furbo.org, Hockenberry writes "As an iPhone developer who's been in the App Store since its launch, I'm starting to see a trend that concerns me: developers are lowering prices to the lowest possible level in order to get favorable placement in iTunes. This proliferation of 99¢ ringtone apps is affecting our product development... We have a lot of great ideas for iPhone applications. Unfortunately, we're not working on the cooler (and more complex) ideas. Instead, we're working on 99¢ titles that have a limited lifespan and broad appeal. Market conditions make ringtone apps most appealing."

A chart published in late November by news site EdibleApple.com notes that of the 9,700 or so apps available in the App Store at that time (the total topped the 10,000 mark a week later), about a third are priced at 99 cents. More than 2,000 App Store downloads are free, and close to 1,500 are priced at $1.99 each. As Hockenberry points out, the fight for prime App Store real estate will only grow tougher as more applications enter the virtual storefront: "What's it going to be like when there are 20,000 apps? Or 100,000 apps? Volume is going to get split amongst a lot of players, hopefully the number of devices/customers will increase at the same rate."

For more on the App Store changes:
-read this AppleInsider article