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too many conflicting reviews on app store

D

dlemmon

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 14, 2009
147
33
denver, co
What's the best way to tell if an app is worth buying?

I read the reviews, half the people said it's the best thing they ever bought. I think some of them are just friends of the people who made the program. Then the other people say don't waste your money, it doesn't work or something like that. then I think those people might not know how to use it or something.

it's like this on almost every app, it's sooo annoying! any way to sort through the BS?
 
Ask people here for recommendations, people here are very helpful if you let them know what you're looking for in an app. Also check app review sites.
 
First you need to make sure the comments are for the latest version. Second, if it's a popular enough app, there might be a half-decent review somewhere on the internet. Otherwise, you'll just have to judge if the reviews are fake (if the wording is bad, or too short etc.)
 
this is why i either use a. a lite version of a program or use installous because you can never tell whats going on with what the reviewrs say i also cant stand when noobs put a one star rating but say its awsome. I usally download it from installous give it a shot for a few days if I like it i buy it if not i get it off of my ipod.
 
As a developer, I often wonder what makes people review an app a certain way. My app generally gets positive (4-5 star) written reviews, but then occasionally one really ridiculous 1 star review will pop up that makes me wonder if the person even tried to figure out how to use the app or read the description before they downloaded it. Because my app does seem to have somewhat of a learning curve, it tends to get people leaving it either a 1-2 star rating because they couldn't figure it out in 30 seconds, or a 4-5 star rating because they did figure it out and realized that it worked great for them. Another weird phenomena is how ratings vary from version to version. I have had one version get mostly 1-3 star ratings and then the next version with small, basically trivial changes gets mostly 4-5 stars.

If I was a random person trying to figure out whether to buy my app, I'm not sure what I would think based on the ratings & reviews.
 
admanimal said:
As a developer, I often wonder what makes people review an app a certain way. My app generally gets positive (4-5 star) written reviews, but then occasionally one really ridiculous 1 star review will pop up that makes me wonder if the person even tried to figure out how to use the app or read the description before they downloaded it. Because my app does seem to have somewhat of a learning curve, it tends to get people leaving it either a 1-2 star rating because they couldn't figure it out in 30 seconds, or a 4-5 star rating because they did figure it out and realized that it worked great for them. Another weird phenomena is how ratings vary from version to version. I have had one version get mostly 1-3 star ratings and then the next version with small, basically trivial changes gets mostly 4-5 stars.

If I was a random person trying to figure out whether to buy my app, I'm not sure what I would think based on the ratings & reviews.
Click to expand...

I think most of it is people not understanding how to make it work and don't take the time out to contact you for help. I had a 1-star review that said "Doesn't work in Canada." Well, the app is only sold in the US store, so that should tip off the buyer. Of course I had to change the description to warn of that now.

OP, I tend not to focus too much on reviews any more when making app purchases. I'll look for reviews in forums or blogs. Or if an app is $2.99 or less, I won't even think twice about buying it. If I don't like it, I delete it.
 
thanks for all the suggestions. it really helps. good to know that I'm not the only one who's noticed this. I'll check out the forums from now on.
 
Many of the one star reviews can also be discounted when the reviewer states something along the lines, "Crashes...!" Or, "Doesn't work on my first generation iTouch!"

For me, when I see many two or three star reviews I may shy away from the app.
Those are the, for the most part, truthful and painful reviews.
 
Most developers offer a demo version of the app. I usually download it and try it out myself. I find the "official" reviews/comments disturbing and rather build my own opinion by trying the software myself.

Good luck.
 
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