The app absolutely does offer a nice experience, one that yes, is better than the free website. I can only assume they mean “ergonomics” there, but we’ll forgive them for that Freudian slip. Likewise, we feel that the app’s egonomics and speed make it well worth the investment. The app is targeted at the most serious users, and is priced as such. This is one of several “premium” experiences that the company will offer in addition. The core WolframAlpha site will always be free. But if you’re using this on your iPhone or iPod touch, you already have access to Google, and more to the point, the mobile web version of Wolfram Alpha, which is free.Ĭlearly, the service had some insight into how controversial the price will be. That’s also true, like giving you a detailed read out of how many calories are in a Big Mac, fries, and a Coke. Okay, you might say, but Wolfram Alpha does offer a lot of interesting data far beyond graphing calculators. And there are dozens of graphing calculator apps in the App Store that sell for a whopping $0.99. And the iPhone already comes with a calculator, which can turn into a more advanced one, and both of those are free. It’s fine that it can replace your $100 graphing calculator, but it’s also limited because it requires WiFi or a 3G connection to do so. Wolfram Alpha may have to figure that reality out the hard way. And don’t think for a second that studios like EA wouldn’t sell them for $30 if they could, but they realize that they can’t. They’re not quite as good graphics-wise, but I would argue that they’re every bit as fun. Hell, there are even some games that sell on the bigger consoles for $60 that are less than $10 on the iPhone. Games that sell on systems like the Nintendo DS for $30, are $3 on the iPhone. As I said, the app is a solid one, but this is the reality of the App Store. Actually, to be honest, even at $10, I’m not sure how many people would buy this app.Īnd that’s too bad for the team. But if they really want this app to sell, they’re going to have to knock off like 90% of its price. “We do plan to offer regular discounts and sales,” the team tells us. And of those, if you remove the GPS turn-by-turn apps and maybe a few apps meant for doctors, you’re probably down to a couple fingers.Īnd I’m sorry, but Wolfram Alpha does not yet have the clout of Navigon, nor is it in the hot turn-by-turn GPS space that would warrant such a high price. Of those, the number over $20, you can probably count on one hand. The reality is that you can probably count the number of iPhone apps over $10 that sell really well on your hands. That’s fine, but with the exception of the $90 Navigon GPS turn-by-turn app, all of the top grossing apps are under $10.
Apple has recently tried to de-emphasize this by adding a “Top Grossing” section to the App Store. It’s no secret that most apps that sell well tend to be cheaper - as in, free or $0.99. Or, as we’ve been saying, the price of 12 lattes from Starbucks…īoth of those points are true, but the App Store has created a different economic reality than say, walking into an Office Max and buying a graphing calculator. Here’s what they’re telling us:Ī note on price - it is listed at $49.99, which is basically less than 1/2 the price of a graphing calculator with inferior functionality in comparison, which is how the company came to that number. And while I get Wolfram Alpha’s logic behind selling the app for $50, I think it’s faulty logic. I’m going to mainly focus on second point here, because if you’ve used Wolfram Alpha, you don’t really need much explanation about this app, which is a slick interface for the service. 2) They’re insane for trying to sell it for $50. There are two key points about Wolfram Alpha’s iPhone app: 1) It is pretty cool, and very nicely done. I was one of those people, so rather than send them feedback, I’ll write it here. Just a few days after they submitted it to the store, Apple sailed it right through the approval process with such speed that it even surprised the Wolfram Alpha team, which had hoped to get some feedback from testers before the approval. Apple wasted little time approving Wolfram Alpha’s new iPhone app, which we hinted at last week.
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