Very useful post over at Bjango’s team blog, analyzing the various types of iTunes links.
Posts in stories
Dissecting iTunes Links
The iPad Paradox
“Technical people always complain about being buttonholed at every family get-together by relatives who want “free tech support.” But why do they want this? Why do they need it? The answer is that consumer technology is overly complex.
And whose fault is it?
Unfortunately, it’s my fault. And possibly your fault. It’s the fault of everyone, including marketers, who relentlessly call for more, more and ever more features. Combine this with our calls for backward compatibility, and the result is systems that do everything. They’re so feature-rich, so complex, that some people can’t get them to do anything.”
Developing Behind the Great Firewall of China - An Interview with NibiruTech
Everyone always says, “There’s an app for that”, but what you don’t often hear is, “There’s a story for that app”. I chatted with NibiruTech, the team behind the recently reviewed MobileRSS to learn more about what it’s like having to deal with a government that doesn’t let you browse the web the way it should be.
Matt Gemmell On Selling Source Code
“For whatever reason, there are only a handful of people selling code components on the Apple platforms. I suspect that’s less about the market and much more about perceived worthiness; we do all tend to collectively reinforce the perception that only the very best stuff will do, and it’s incredibly difficult to convince yourself your code is even worthy of being open source, much less paid for in its raw form. I’ve had to twist the arms of so many Mac developers to convince them that they have a component worth sharing with others.”
Specific iPad Apps Get a “Special Section” in the App Store
From the iPad’s official webpage:
“The App Store will feature new apps designed specifically for iPad. You’ll find hundreds that make the most of its large display, responsive performance, and Multi-Touch interface. iPad apps appear in a special section of the store, so you can find and download them easily.”
A special section in the Store, which sounds like a category filled with other sub categories for different apps. Put in this way, it doesn’t sound like they’re pushing the thing too much.
Neven Morgan on Apple’s Design Imitating Real-Life Objects
“After you’ve read your twelfth ebook, you don’t need the candy anymore. Ideally, the candy isn’t so distracting that you hate it, and what was once cute (swiping to flip the page!) turns into sheer utility (tapping to turn the page, which I have to believe will also be possible in iBooks.)
But that flip matters because it gets you going. And it gets going everyone who sees you reading your twelfth book in iBooks. How will you demo it to them? Will you tap or will you slowly turn the page? If your booklist was also available as a boring (and useful) black-and-white table, would that be the screen you’d show your friends?”
No, definitely. And just as they did with the iPhone, they need to push the simplicity effect, make it clear that there’s one and only one way to browse and view books - and that way is beautiful. They could have used awkward thumbnails for Contacts.app on the iPhone, but they didn’t. And like it or not, consistency and simplicity are what made the iPhone stand out.
App Store SEO: The Impact of iTunes Web Preview
“iTunes preview pages rank well in Google search results because they are very search engine friendly for app names. The URL, page title, meta description, meta keywords, and the H1 tag are all loaded with the app name. These pages also have lots of incoming links from every blog entry, review, and so on that uses the iTunes link. I suspect that the Playboy app comes in at #7 because of all the recent news and opinion articles that link to the app as an example of a big publisher that escaped the iTunes sexy app purge.
It is interesting to note that the iTunes preview page uses the “nofollow” attribute for links to the app’s homepage, so the PageRank of the preview page does not convey any benefit to the developer’s site .”
Developers, take note.
Apple Needs to Move the iPad and App Store Out of iTunes
With the iPad coming out in a few weeks, I guess many of you guys are doing some huge spring cleaning at your iTunes installation to cut down the garbage and assure that when the new kid will be in town, everything will be settled for a warm and polished welcome. You’d better do so, but I think this is all wrong.
Dan Moren on the iTunes LP
“For most people, listening to music is something you do while you’re doing something else, not an activity that occupies your entire mind. By contrast, the iTunes LP requires the same kind of attention that you might give to a movie or a book. While that might appeal to the serious music fan, it’s overkill for most consumers.”