I would like to offer a possible solution to the freemium model that many of us don’t like. Rebrand the freemium model into something that includes the first level with 10 stages. Not a timed demo or limited first level, but give me the first full level with all the perks for free. And if I love the game I will pay $0.99 for Level 2 (10 stages), and I will pay $0.99 for level 3 (10 stages). No one wants to buy health or guns or mushrooms. We want a full experience; not to be given the opportunity to spend $50 on these games. The freemium model kept me from spending $10 on TouchPets (which is what I expected it to cost) when it came out because the freemium model cripples the game. Sure you can get to the end, but expect it to take longer. That’s not fun.

One thing my freemium model allows you to do is build the first two levels of more games; give away the first level; one month later release level 2 for $0.99. If you have 30 games on the market you know which ones to continue to develop for because those are the ones that are selling levels. So instead of developing 5 or 10 games with all their levels and charging for items, develop more games with a higher diversity and make more game play available as that game pays for itself.

My daughter was very excited about TouchPets, until it came out and she was required to buy dog food. Before I could even tell her that she’s not to make in-app purchases she said she didn’t want to play the game because it made her wait. Now ngmoco could argue that I could have bought her some food, but where does it end? In the article they even mention the Black Market. Really, you’re going to convince me that your model works because another game has a Black Market? We don’t like an open-ended payment scale for these games. We want a flat fee for unlimited play, even if we’re only buying it one level at a time. But each level will be unlimited to me.

I hear plenty of whiners complain about the price of $2 games and those people must be ignored. I’ve paid $10 for many iPhone games and more than $30 for a couple utilities. If people wait a week for a game price to drop it’s because they’ve been trained that’s what will happen. And as much as this country is a democracy we don’t want to be told we’re paying to support the people who weren’t willing to pay for the game.

I suppose they already know this and are just trying the pay-for-food-and-health model to see if it makes them more money than the other models. However, it has made many of us leery of their games because we don’t know what they cost. And don’t tell me that they’re free.

Hours later I had re-downloaded all my apps except one, NetShare, why? Because it wasn’t available anymore. Apple had for the second time pulled the app from the store. Only they removed my ability to download it even though I bought it.

After sending iTunes Support a message that I was unable to re-download NetShare they sent me this reply on 8/4/2008.

Dear Rob,

Eric
iTunes Store Customer Support

Their reply being completely unacceptable I replied back with this message today (8/16/2008 8:09 PM).

Your reply is unacceptable. The reply is basically saying “Thank you for buying from the App Store but you can’t have what you paid for.”

Thanks

Within 5 minutes of sending that message I received this email (8/16/2008 8:14 PM).

Dear Rob Jones,

Amount: $10.69 USD

At first I didn’t think that I could have received a refund that quickly from a message that was 5 minutes old until I received this message from Apple (8/16/2008 8:31 PM)

Dear Rob,

Eric
iTunes Store Customer Support

Wow, his analogy is so wrong I don’t even know where to begin. Apple did exactly what I said I didn’t want which was give me a refund and didn’t do what I asked for which was re-download NetShare.

The Apple Store had a couple employees walk by asking if we had any questions and passing out water. The guy in front of me sat down on the fountain and I jokingly said, “Ohhh come on, we just got here, you can’t be tired already”. The people in front of us (10 people up) were sitting down in the chairs at the Starbucks cafe which was dangerously close to the line. And then they proceeded to scoot those chairs along as the line moved.

2008-07-11 10:45 AM A woman approached me asking if we worked at the Mall. It was an odd question since I was standing in line. After saying no she proceeded to explain that she had just purchased something from Sharper Image (who’s going out of business) and they didn’t have anyone to carry it to her car. She offered pay two of us $15 each to help her. I said, “Sorry, no, but I’m sure you can find help from someone who isn’t standing in line”. The guy in front of me said, “I didn’t know what to say to her.” I said, “She obviously used the least amount of effort to find someone to help her since we were standing outside Sharper Image. She can find someone else.”

2008-07-11 10:32 AM

You can see in this photo a Starbucks chair in the line and further up my client in a green shirt and khakis pants.

2008-07-11 11:15 AM Mall security came along and told everyone they had to put their chairs back. Even the guy with a cast. However, they did get him a wheel chair. I finally finished my coffee. Occasionally chatting with the people in front of me and the kid in a wheelchair behind me.

2008-07-11 11:53 AM

In 1.5 hours we had only moved to where the chair is from the previous picture.

2008-07-11 12:03 PM In line for the iPhone 3G, they are telling people they have plenty but the wait could be 5 hours because AT&T servers are down. Sad face

After hearing the AT&T server went down I expected more people to get out of line, but they didn’t. Apple employees still walking around answering questions and passing out water.

2008-07-11 12:05 PM I’m in the Oxmoor Mall in Louisville, KY. iPhone 3G, I can wait. Line is still moving. And I have 2.0 on my current iPhone. SuperMonkeyBall

2008-07-11 12:12 PM I’ve already been in line for 2 hours. My feet hurt a little, which is sad since I used to run the Mini Marathon (13 miles) in under 2 hours

2008-07-11 12:17 PM Twitterrific on the iPhone works very well, while I wait in line for the iPhone 3G. Easy to read and post. I like it a lot. Happy face ;-)

2008-07-11 01:12 PM 3 hours now waiting in line for the iPhone 3G. Gary did you block me? You listed me in that tweet. Thinking about sitting down

Other than my feet hurting I was still standing without a sit down or restroom break.

2008-07-11 02:04 PM 4 hours and waiting for the iPhone 3G. I’m 50 feet from the Apple Store entrance. I’m going to be quite hungry after I get it.

I’ve already sat down on the floor letting my feet relax. A lady who was sitting up against a wall was asked not to.

2008-07-11 03:02 PM 5 hours now waiting for the iPhone 3G. 20 feet from the Apple Store entrance. Could be done by 4 or dinner time which ever comes first.

2008-07-11 03:05 PM

2008-07-11 03:24 PM My client who waited more than 6.5 hours just left, they could not activate his new iPhone 3G. He has a ticket to come back. Ouch :-(

His problem was he was on a business account and the transfer did not go through as expected.

2008-07-11 03:27 PM I’m standing in the Apple Store foyer, next to the security guard. They can only let so many people in at one time. Need food.

I laughed out loud when I realized there was a line inside the store.

2008-07-11 03:30 PM

I was just let into the store.

2008-07-11 03:48 PM Almost 6 hours of waiting for the iPhone 3G so far and my current iPhone battery is almost dead. I’m close to the middle of the store. ;-)

As I passed the AppleTV display I tuned it to one of my Flickr Sets.

2008-07-11 04:08 PM Finished the purchase of my iPhone, now off to set it up with another Apple employee. As I was switching employees my client had returned to the store to see if they could get him setup now. I told him I would check up on him before I left. After getting setup I went back to check on my client, he was not happy, he wasn’t going to get his iphone 3G today. Not only did he also wait in line 6 hours to get it but he’s 72.

2008-07-11 04:35 PM I just walked out of the Apple Store with my new White iPhone 3G. Time for something to eat.

After 6 hours of standing without a restroom break or food, all of the sudden a restroom break was the only thing I could think about. Follow that up with a soda and some pretzels and I was ready to head home. Several time while carrying my new iphone in a bag I could feel it vibrate, missed calls.

As I was walking towards my car I passed the same guy who was in front of me in line all day. He said he was having a problem getting his phone activated and I said “Let me guess, business line” he said yes.

After getting home I rewarded my daughter, Allyson, with my replaced iPhone, she was so excited it actually surprised me.

In the middle of one of the threads someone posted “TRY A DIFFERENT USB PORT”. I wanted to blast them for wasting my time and posting such a simple fix to the problem. But then I remembered one of my clients was having trouble with their USB modem adapter and the solution was to use the USB port closest to the front of the MacBook. I paused for moment, looked to see which USB port I was using, it was the one furthest from the front of my MacBook. It couldn’t possibly be that simple, I unplugged the USB cable and moved it to the USB port closest to the front of the MacBook. Hello iPhoto, it popped up and was ready to import my photos. I couldn’t believe it, not because it worked but because I has inadvertently used the rear USB every time without even thinking about it.

That leads to a hardware question. What’s wrong with the rear USB port on the MacBook?

The other day I was at a restaurant and as I moved to the right out of someone’s way I hit the screen of my iPhone against the very sharp edge of a chair. I immediately knew I caused damage because of how hard I hit the chair. I looked down to confirm the damage and I was correct.

Below are two images to show the damage caused. I hit the chair so hard it bounced and hit the screen twice.

Later on that evening I lifted up the corner of the “POWER SUPPORT” crystal film static cling to see what kind of damage the actual glass received. To my surprise the glass was completely undamaged. The static cling took all of the damage. So I went out and bought another set of the “POWER SUPPORT” crystal film static cling and replaced the damaged one on my iPhone.

I can easily recommend purchasing the “POWER SUPPORT” static cling (crystal or anti-glare) for your iPhone, especially if the screen is exposed.

Visit www.powersupportusa.com or pick them up from your local Apple Store like I did.

First and foremost the movies will be rented from the iTunes Store. So you can watch it on your computer.

But how do you watch it on your TV? A couple of ways, first would be the Apple TV. It connects to your TV and you can tell it to download all new content on your computer.
The second way would be if you have and new iPhone, iPod touch, iPod nano or iPod classic. You would sync your movie rentals to one of these devices and with the use of a special $50 Apple Composite AV Cable or Apple Component AV Cable you can connect all of these devices your your television. You can even buy a special Universal Dock if you want to control the playback with the Apple Remote.

I have an iPhone, the Composite AV Cable and the Universal Dock for watching content from my iPhone on my TV. I looks quite good with the videos I’ve tried.

My predictions for the January 15th 2008 MacWorld Expo Keynote presentation by Steve Jobs:
1. New less expensive Apple TV, I’m guessing around $150. This hasn’t been in the rumors at all it just makes sense to me.
2. New hi-end Apple TV with 1080p output and 5.1 audio, DVD (Blu-Ray upgradable). Possible combining of the Mac mini and Apple TV.
3. Movie Rentals.
4. New MacBook Pros. Redesigned.
5. New MacBook Pro to replace the un-replaced 12″ PowerBook.
6. New Apple Universal Remote.
7. New MacBook that has built-in 3G network from AT&T, that way it’s connected from everywhere.
8. New Apple displays with HDMI. Easily connect to Apple TV
9. New iTunes 8 after the show.
10. iPhone update with new features never been announced.

We’ll probably hear about Starbucks, Microsoft Office 2K8 with Roz Ho, AT&T Pres about 3G and the show will end with musical talent (possibly a black male).

But iPhones can’t run Flash, I know. Also revealing about the article is that Quicken Online will be released exactly one week before Steve Jobs will give the MacWorld Expo Keynote.

My assumption is that Steve and Co. will announce Flash for the iPhone. Perfectly logical, I know.

My previous article is about the iPhone connecting to my TV. This would give me the ability to watch TV shows and Movies from the iTunes store on my television.

But why not take it one step further? Apple has already given iTunes similar functionality to that of Sony’s LocationFree. With an Apple TV you can connect to different iTunes enabled computers to stream audio and video. And you can stream audio from iTunes to different Airport Express (Airtunes) routers. That indicates that data flow can be both directions. Apple TV pulls data from your iTunes enabled computers and iTunes pushes data to the Airport Express.

Apple, give me the ability to browse iTunes media on my local network with my iPhone and the iPod touch.

Let’s say that I have an iPhone (and I do) or iPod touch and I want to view something on an iTunes enabled computer. I wake my iPhone or iPod touch and click the SHARED button (Apple already uses the SHARED directory in iTunes when it detects other iTunes on the same network). After pressing the SHARED button I would be presented with a list of all iTunes enabled computers. Upon selecting one I would be presented with the options to choose between the different types of media: Music, Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts and so on.

I think this is similar in functionality to the way a PSP can view media from LocationFree or a PS3.

This would give me the ability to watch or listen to anything on any of my iTunes enabled computers on my local network. This would work the same way if I was at a friend’s house and he was sharing from iTunes.

Or what about the new deal with Starbucks. Imagine going into Starbucks and being able to listen in full to the same music that’s being played instead of 30 second clips of the previously played songs.

I doubt I’m suggesting something that those Apple Ninjas haven’t already thought of but I want to go ahead and say I want it. Apple likes to claim they think of stuff we want before we even know we want it. Most of the time they really do give me something I hadn’t thought of or knew I needed but when I have it I can’t do without it.

This time I want something before Apple told me I wanted it.

Possibly today Apple removed the iPhone from the list. Why? Maybe the iPhone was only included because the AV Cable came with a USB power adapter. Or they accidentally revealed something that had not yet been announced.

I hope the AV Cables do work with the iPhone when they are finally released. This would allow me to watch TV Shows, Movies and upcoming iTunes Movie rentals on my TV with the iPhone.