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famousringo said:
Plaupius said:
famousringo said:
1337 Gamer said:
thats amazing but most of these people are not going to buy more than 1 or 2 games that you need to pay for. This isnt a fact but everyone i know that has one has only bought a few if any games. The free games are the ones that most people seem to get and thats why 30M units will not translate into huge $.

But i could be wrong has anyone noticed anything different? I dont hate /love the iphone im just posting what ive noticed

 

It's true that the attach rate is low, but cheap development and distribution still allow for enormous profit potential.

And then you can consider the growth potential of 30 million customers. People may not be paying much for software right now, but the hardware barrier is already out of the way. You just need to make something that people feel they have to have on their iPhone.

Actually, the attach rate is anything but low: 30 million devices and 800 million downloads equals 26.67 downloads per device, in 8 months. Even if you assume that 80% of that is free programs (which might be close to reality), it's still 5.3 paid apps. The attach rate is not low, the revenue per download is. But some apps are hits and sell huge numbers, and those success stories fuel the devs in both good and bad. The market is still taking the first infant steps, imagine where it will be when it grows up.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if paid downloads are a lower proportion than that, but point taken.

I'm definitely excited for digital distribution to grow up in any medium. Just think of all the resources wasted on printing things and periphal costs of distributing and purchasing those printed things.Free up those resources and we can devote them to other, more productive activities, like making more content perhaps.

Also, re: the above post, jinx. You owe me a Coke.

I have a vague recollection of reading/hearing that about 80% of the downloads are free, but it could just as well be a figment of my imagination. I share your enthusiasm for digital distribution, and I'd like to add that from a financial perspective it also frees up huge amounts of cash that would otherwise be tied up in the physical products all along the value chain. The downside is that your local brick-and-mortar game shops will have a much harder time when physical game sales decline, something which Apple won't suffer from since their retailers are not depending on game sales.

Regarding the Coke, how would you like it delivered?