IOS vs OSX (Business Model) A years worth of experience.

[Syndicated Puzzles]

www.iLifeTouch.com has really focused on digging deeper into the Mac App store. We have 60 apps on the Mac App Store after a year of actively working the store here are all the answers you have been waiting for.

1. Sales are a lot lower than IOS. HD Videowall was 50th on the top List ( Number 1 Entertainment) in the US = 34 sales US + 8 worldwide yesterday

2. The same apps sell over and over again in small numbers. Bread and butter is earned from the same apps.

3. Experimentation with app ideas is tough. We published an app called "Now" which is a to do list. Sold next to zero apps. If we would have called it with To Do xyz it would have sold a lot better. Familiarity sells.

4. Strength in numbers. Having 5 apps on the Mac App store is a tough ride. The only way we can support our effort is by having a minimum of 2 new apps a week to stay in plain view on the store. The 60 apps we have on the store help us keep ourselves making a small profit. Most apps sell a few copies a day and that adds up supporting our efforts.

5. Updates are crucial. OSX users are very tough to please. Anything wrong with your app you will hear about it. We try our best to update but most of our apps are based on live feeds that always change or screw up.

6. Hitting a homerun is going to be 100 + apps a day. We have had a few apps in the top twenty of the US store and that equates to 100 + sales. The IOS dream is not the same on the Mac App Store.

7. Being featured by Apple on the Mac App Store is twice as odd as on the IOS platform. Big companies get featured immediately and the few leftover spots are handed out to the weirdest apps possible. Trying to build something to have it featured is an absolute waste of time. Even if your app is a hot seller Apple will feature something strange with very little justification. The odds of getting featured should be in your favour considering the low number of submits every week. Not the case.

Some apps have been featured up to five times, as if the store has no new apps going live? Every week a few apps get re-featured.

8. Reviews are a lot more important on the Mac App Store. If you start off with a bad review it is really next to impossible to recover. The only thing you can do is submit a new version (that really helps) Most one star reviews are from other developers and it is hurting everyone.

Strange store with lots of quirky scenarios. The Mac App Store is definitely a learning experience.