I have attempted to write this umpteen times already, and just can’t come up with the best way to word it! No matter how I write it, I look like the technical idiot that I really am!  So be prepared, this is funny, so go ahead and laugh!

In my previous posts and again here I have declared my lack of knowledge to you, but I truly don’t think some of you either

a. believe me  or  b. can’t imagine how little I really do know about all this 

(Note: Jennifer did NOT create this image.)

So when I tell you about my latest little adventure it will be perfectly clear that I really have a long way to go.

Mike did a great job yesterday ranting about concerns over the dumbing down of the App Store.

He’s right. There are some applications that are just $.99 or even free that are superb but, more often than not, high quality applications, particularly those from independent developers, cost more than $.99.

Some are $4.99, some are $9.99, and some are even more.  

Oftentimes, however, it’s certainly worth it.

That doesn’t mean, however, you should be downloading any application that’s over 10 bucks. Because some of the more costly applications are absolutely worth every penny, while others aren’t.

We’ve got a few of the Rivet Systems that Dimitri reviewed last week available to give away tomorrow night. In order to enter to win one leave a comment below telling us –

What application have you paid more than $4.99 for and feel was worth every single penny?

I’m a huge fan of Juxtaposer and think it is well worth the $2.99 price. If you’re not entirely convinced yet you are in luck. 

Juxtaposer Lite is a new free version of the app that lets you easily combine any two images into fun and creative photomontages. 

With it you can…

Wow Twittelator Pro is one highly coveted app.

Thanks to the folks at Big Stone Phone we had five promo codes to share. And they go to…

corona
schemegs
didymos
herbertkornield
jneerocks

Reminder to all promo code recipients-

We’re giving out promo codes to some great apps to mark the start of the Developer’s Corner.

PLEASE be sure to leave feedback here and on iTunes.

Several months ago, Podcaster and MailWrangler were rejected by the powers that be over at Apple primarily because they were deemed duplicative of the functionality of the applications that Apple preinstalled on the iPhone (iTunes for the former and Mail in the case of the latter). Now we have news of not one, not two, but five — wait, make that six; I just stumbled upon another — third-party apps each serving the basic function of a mobile Web browser. Yes, mobile Web browser, a phrase that was until now attributed in iPhone parlance only to Mobile Safari.

Here’s a rundown of what I’ve found so far after searching Mobile Safari’s newly approved "duplicates." Individual reviews are underway, but for now snippets from the corresponding developer’s notes follow below.  

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.

"Simple, Clean, and Fast Twitter Cient for iPhone and iPod Touch."

That’s how Twitterfon is described by its developer. And that’s exactly how I see it.

It’s simple; the app helps you with satisfying your basic Twittering needs. It’s clean; the app has a super-easy user interface. It’s fast; the app is very responsive and practically has zero loading time.

And — it’s being improved regularly with updates (at least twice a month, in fact), with the most recent one bringing the following changes:
Added drill down conversation view
Added Favorites tab
Added "Email this link" on Web view
Added direct message detail view
Improved stability with corrupted database
Optimized drawing friends list

Admittedly, it still isn’t the best, most comprehensive Twitter client out there, but hey, who’s complaining? It promises to take care of the bare necessities, and it does so really well AND for absolutely free.

You can get it HERE in the App Store.

We are pleased to announce the opening of

The What’s On iPhone Developer’s Corner

The Developer’s Corner is an opportunity to put us, as iPhone/iPod Touch enthusiasts in direct contact with the people creating apps for our favorite handheld device.

Appigo just release an update to ToDo that brings one of the most asked-for features to its powerful task management system– Sync with Mac OS X iCal.

In order to get sync going on your Mac (sorry Windows users) you need to grab the update and jump over to the Appigo website for the Appigo Sync program that will make the magic happen.

 Use care in using it the first time since tasks currently synced with Toodledo or RememberThe Milk will be removed in the process.

Appigo’s site can be reached HERE.

ToDo can be purchased HERE the App Store for $9.99.

Yet another victim of the economic times, the amazing voice to text note service Jott is ending its free offering, including their iPhone app, on February 2. 

In a long post on their website (included after the break) one of the company founders explains this as a necessary step as the company works to move toward profitability as quickly as possible.

I know a lot of people who live by Jott’s free services who will be rather unhappy about this. (I had taken a year’s subscription in order to get access to longer "Jotts.)

There is some good news-

1. Services for paid members remain the same

2. The monthly cost of Jott’s basic paid plan is just $3.95 a month.

3. While not the same product, reQall remains in free beta and does a superb job of voice transcription (in addition to a whole host of additional goodies).

4. A new version of Jott’s iPhone app is on the way.

The blog post continues below or your can visit the Jott website HERE.