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I won't be paying $1 for a rocket launcher! (Source: Engadget)

With the 3.0 iPhone and iPod touch software update, Apple added many new features for the user and new APIs for developers. In App Purchases, or Store Kit as Apple’s developer resources call it, allows apps to offer additional features or content to users for an additional fee.

These purchases could include new levels in a game, furniture in the Sims, or books in an e-book reader. There are many applications for this new functionality that may help developers fund their development efforts.

One thing that concerns me is the price points that Apple is going to enforce. I cannot find this documented anywhere, but I heard that the in app purchases are limited by Apple’s same price points on the App Store itself. This means that the lowest price a developer could charge is $0.99 (Canadian/US).

In today’s online world, microtransactions are becoming a big business. On the App Store, people already scoff at paying for apps, let alone paying a $1 for a feature in an app. In my opinion, if Apple really wanted to make a killing with in app purchases, they should lower the minimum price to $0.50, if not all the way down to $0.15. This way developers can actually sell very small content in a game. I know that I will not be willing to pay a whole $1 for a stereo in the Sims, while I could instead use that $1 to buy a new full-featured game.

Tapulous, the maker of the hit iPhone game Tap Tap Revenge, recently announced a partnership with Universal Music to sell individual songs within Tap Tap Revenge 2. They said they would sell these songs at $0.50, a price that makes sense considering the song will only be accessible within the game (does not transfer to iTunes).  Given Apple’s minimum price, Tapulous will not be able to sell them at this price, and I seriously doubt people will be willing to pay $1 for a song they can’t freely use. This means Tapulous will instead have to sell multiple songs at once, which makes these purchases much less of an impulse buy.

Apple is making a huge mistake with their minimum price for these purchases. Developers are going to have to really make these in app purchases worth it to convince me to purchase them. However, if apps had tiny upgrades for less than a dollar, I’m sure they could get quite a few nickels and dimes out of me. Just like the App Store itself, I think developers are unfortunately going to have to aim for volume sales of these purchases – something this minimum price will not help.

UPDATE: I found a podcast from Monday on this topic from Mobile Orchard. It is an interview with Urban Airship, a startup providing services for App Developers to outsource the infrastucture for push notifications and in app purchases. You can find listen to the podcast on Mobile Orchard’s page.

Zip Car is not here in Ottawa yet, however back home in Toronto there is a Zip Car parked outside a Donut Shop not to far from where I lived. Ottawa has VRTUCAR, which actually has many cars very close to my house. I have yet to try out either company, but would definitely like to if I had enough of a need.

A post on VentureBeat regarding rumors of the company going public got me thinking about the company. Zip Car has taken a fairly old business model, car rentals, and made it interesting again. I like the decentralized approach, having cars accross the city definitely makes it appealing. Being able to walk to a car rental is very convenient.

A Deal for Students
The main barrier stopping me from using a service like this is their application fee and a monthly/yearly membership fee. I don’t think many students would find their need for this service frequent enough to warrant paying these fees. I did a little digging through Zip Car’s website and found they offer a deal for select universities, such as Ryerson. This deal eliminates any application fees and only costs $25 annually. This makes the service reasonable, even if you are only going to use it once a month or less. As a student, I find I only have the rare time when I wished I had a care for a brief period of time. If Zip Car was in Ottawa and offered this I would definitely be on board.

So if VRTUCAR is listening, they should definitely consider copying this program! I will the first one in line to sign up.

Zip Car iPhone App
At Apple’s WWDC keynote, Zip Car demoed their new iPhone app. The app looks like it takes car of everything required to find and reserve Zip Cars. You can even unlock the car or honk the horn. See for yourself below in this somewhat cheesy presentation: