As a new writer here on WOiP I’m getting a new perspective on the applications I see in the iTunes App Store.

In the past I would see an app, think it was cool, try it out, and decide if I wanted to keep it installed or not. Because of this, most of what I looked at were free apps. After becoming more familiar with what is out there now I am view things in a much different light.

It’s become clear to me that there is a big problem with the App Store- the default $.99 price. More accurately, the bargain pricing is symptomatic of a bigger issue, the  underlying causes of which needs to be addressed.
In the short run inexpensive apps look to be a great deal for consumers. Cheap applications mean handheld devices can acquire tremendous functionality in a short period of time. On the developer side, cheap applications mean developers can get huge exposure to a large number of people rapidly. The warm fuzzies end there. Even though it looks great at first, upon deeper examination, it is the most unfortunate thing for the consumer and developer that could’ve ever happened.

Just this morning I was perusing the App Store as usual, I took notice to the unusualy high amount of new crApps in the store. Now I don’t throw around the term crApp loosely. An app really must be a pointless waste of space to be labelled as such, but alas, there were plenty. This reminded me of the post Dan recently wrote in which he commented that the good apps are very good, and the crap apps really were crApps. It has become increasingly prevalent that some developers have picked up a copy of "iPhone Apps for Dummies" and have taken it quite literally.

This brings me to the point of this post:

We, as consumers have a tremendous impact on the fate of the App Store. It is, after all a market-driven entity. What sales have shown thus far, is that consumers do not feel that expanding the possibilities the iPhone can offer is a mainstream idea.  This is evident in the apparent reluctancy (just look at sales numbers) to buy higher priced apps, reardless of the versatility and promise they show to the iPhone as a platform and to the user buying it. That, in turn, makes it less likely developers will put in the time and effort to make fantastic apps. The result is an over-all dumbing-down of the App Store’s offerings.

Using the iPhone and iPod Touch as a wireless remote is something many have thought of and there are plenty of options in the App Store to do just that.

Two applications, however, stand out in terms of price and quality: iTap and Air Mouse. They both do what they say, and do it well. And each have key points that make them worth a serious look at.  

We took a look at iTap a few monts ago. Since then, the app has been updated and new features. Here’s a fresh look…

Every so often an update comes along that answers everyone’s prayers. Well… Thank the lord! On the seventh day, he gave us text input! iTap’s recent update can almost classify itself as a new app release with all it has to offer. The jist is the same; remotely control your computer from across the room or, best case scenario, the couch. The application that gave us multitouch trackpad support at an affordable price has done it again adding keyboard input that is easy to use and extremely convenient. One of the most noticeable upgrades in the application is to the trackpad itself. In order to keep with Apple’s high standards it has been updated to reflect the new buttonless multitouch pad found on the new unibody Macbooks.

(More and the giveaway after the break.)