That’s a tough one.

On Windows Mobile I know that $10 was relatively cheap for an application, and looking back I’m sure I paid that few times and likely some higher prices as well While I thought of them as expensive at the time, there really weren’t many other cheaper options to replace the high priced apps. Again, looking back on which apps I did pay for, I can’t really say that any of them (aside from Mobile Shell, Pocket Informant, NewsBreak and a few others) really ended up being worth the cost.

Fast forward to today and I live on my iPhone. I have easily spent just as much on iPhone apps in the past couple years as I did in all my years on WinMo, and I can honestly say that because the prices are much lower I have rarely felt any buyers remorse. Look at how many applications you have on your device, and look at how many you really use on a regular basis. Many of the applications I have rarely got used on WinMo – and therefore just didn’t hold a high value. The lower price point of applications on the iPhone really helps the platform in my opinion. Granted you have a lot of options for good quality applications on WinMo, but I have the same quantity and can actually buy more of them.

Anyway, back to where you were going… I think the highest I ever paid was in the $30 range on WinMo (PI and Mobile Shell) and honestly I think that’s my personal limit on my mobile device. On the iPhone, I can’t see going much over $10-15 simply because there’s so many good applications available that I’m likely to find a cheaper alternative that is just as good.

I think we can all agree that the iPhone has turned the mobile ecosystem upside down, even if they are not the technical leader in sales, I really think they are the leader in mindshare, especially in the US. Between the $99 iPhone 3G and $0.99 apps, it has lowered the bar as far as what people are willing to pay for certain things.

I have tried to get the most out of my mobile devices for over 10 years now, so I have paid way too much money on mobile software over that time. When I was thinking about buying a Windows Mobile app, I would always shop around and compare alternatives. I would look through forums to see if any of the mobile stores had any discount codes going on. Fast forward to the App Store and I will buy a $1-2 app without a second thought just to see how it works.

My main question is how does this hurt the developers of quality apps? How many people actually find out about an app that is priced at $5 because it is a great app, if there are similar apps priced at $1-2 that do not work nearly as well?

The other thing to keep in mind is that Apple is only taking 30% of the profit from the apps. Compare this to ripoff stores like Handango that took 50% or more and you can see that some developers can actually afford to sell their software cheaper.

Add to this the fact that on an iPhone, everyone knows you can load apps, so most of the time developers do not even really need to advertise. On Windows Mobile, Microsoft, HTC, HP, Samsung, etc…NEVER advertised software that was available for Windows Mobile. Windows Mobile apps had to be priced high enough that the companies could still make money even though they had to advertise more and were selling less.

Some of the iPhone apps I have paid top dollar for with absolutely no regrets:
Jaduu VNC – $30
BeeJive – $10
Pocket Informant – $13
DocsToGo – $10

I think that $50 is the high end of what I would pay for an app and that app would have to be from a company that I have a history with. Companies like DataViz and WebIS are always improving their software, so I tend to trust them over some of the no-name devs when it comes to big money apps.

Great comments Brandon and Brett! Thanks for sharing your points of view. I too would hate to tally how much I’ve spent on Palm OS and Windows Mobile software over the years.