Reviews
10 Apps to Think Twice About Buying
March 31, 2009 | by Andrew Kameka
Android App Reviews, Android Apps, Paid apps, Reviews
Since the Android Market began letting developers cash in on their creations, worthy paid apps have slowly trickled onto G1’s across the U.S and U.K. However, quite a few Android apps are decent but not worth the price. Even worse, some apps are just plain ridiculous and pointless.
Knowing which apps are worth your money can be tricky, and I’ve highlighted some that you may want to think twice about purchasing. Be advised that this is NOT a “don’t buy this” list. A couple of these apps are actually great and I personally own them. But whether it’s because there’s a free alternative, decent competitor, or it doesn’t make sense to own, you may want to think twice about pressing that “Buy” button.
1. Statusinator – $1.99
Facebook and Twitter command a large share of social networking traffic, so of course there will be apps that enhance the mobile experience for these websites. But do we really need a paid app for mundane social media activity? Statusinator uploads mobile photos and status updates to Facebook and Twitter for the low price of $1.99. That’s $1.99 more than it takes to do the same with Facebook Mobile, Twitter Mobile, TwitPic, Fbook, BuddyMob or one of several Twitter apps available for Android.
2. aHome ($4.99), dxTop ($3.99), and Open Home ($2.99)
Huh? Apps that already have glowing reviews are on a think twice list? Yes, and for good reason. aHome, dxTop, and Open Home are not on this list because of flaws. In fact, it’s the opposite: all three home screen alternatives get better with time. The problem is this continued growth makes it difficult to pick one app and stick with it. There are probably plenty of people who bought one app early on, only to discover that another introduced a feature that makes it more attractive. Even the currently free Sweeter Home is making strides towards one day catching up to the big boys. Let the dust settle and test each home screen alternative thoroughly before committing to one app too soon.
3. TeleNav – $9.99 monthly subscription
Here’s a thought: let’s put turn-by-turn navigation, business search, traffic info, and several other enticing features on a cell phone. Everyone will love it! Well, everyone except T-Mobile subscribers who get spotty 3G coverage in their area. Amazing features mean nothing if you can’t latch-on to a stable connection required to access them. TeleNav’s price can’t meet its value if you frequently travel in remote areas or markets with a weak T-Mobile presence. Think twice about your local coverage before signing over $10 every month.
4. Android7 Video Recorder – $2.95
Cupcake. We all know it’s coming someday – I know, I know – and video recording will come with it. That’s why it doesn’t make much sense to buy Android7 Video Recorder. The “video” produced by the app isn’t fluid or useful, so users are better off waiting until [insert overused metaphor of Cupcake coming out of the oven here]. Then you can record your frustrations and delight on an Android phone for free.
5. QuickOffice – $19.99
In other “Why didn’t we think of that?” news, QuickOffice was wise to bring Microsoft Word and Excel to Android. Too bad the app can only view documents and not edit them. QuickOffice says it will eventually be able to edit Office files, but paying $19.99 for a half-completed app that can’t view Office 2007 files just doesn’t seem right. It’s even less right now that DataViz’s Docs to Go can edit Word documents.
6. Guitar Hero: World Tour – $7.99
Gasp! Guitar Hero, one of the most popular brands in gaming, is a dud on Android! Don’t let the success of the Guitar Hero name fool you – this game gets stuck at times, the touchscreen response time is off, and the overall experience is lackluster. Translating console success to mobile gaming greatness is incredibly difficult, but Guitar Hero World Tour doesn’t seem like anyone had that goal in sight.
7. I Am Richer / I’m So Poor / Do Not Buy Me – $0.99 – $200
There’s a sucker born every second someone purchases one of these apps that prey on consumer boredom. Actually, prey is a bit harsh because people who buy these apps are fully aware that they are wasting money on a “status symbol” or pointless joke. I hope most of you are smart enough to not need to be told how silly it is to purchase these type of apps.
8. Soundboards (Any of them) – $0.99
I really wanted to browse through the market to find the soundboard that was least worth a download, yet alone a purchase. Then I realized that no soundboard app is any more ridiculous than any other, so it would be unfair for me to single one out. These apps are novelties that serve their purpose for about five minutes. That’s not enough comedic bang for the buck.
9. Tip Calculator Pro ($3.95) / Tip Even Calculator ($0.99)
I hate math just as much as the next man, but it’s just plain lazy to need a tip calculator app. How hard is it to load a free Android calculator and multiply your bill by 0.15 or 0.2 (15% to 20%)? Come on, people! If you’re really that set on using a tip calculator, at least use the free Tip Calculator or Dinner Itemizer.
10. Farting Apps (any of them) – $0.99 – $1.99
Farting. Really? Really?
Thanks a lot for your advise. I was planning to buy aHome app. Today ans you saved me some money. I bought a video player yesterday and turned minutes later to uninstall it. All I kept getting was app. Force closed.
I think the thing to remember here is that buying a G1 isn’t like joining a non-profit club. The cost of the G1 is the opportunity to use the innovative new software that will be developed due to the open Android OS. If there is no profit motive for developers, there will be no innovation for the G1. And, $0.99 apps won’t support development in most situations.
So, before we decry an app to be unworthy of $0.99, maybe we need to look at what the VERY SAME $0.99 will buy any where else.
And, just as an example. If you DID actually pay $3.99 for a home screen replacement, and 2 months later a different home screen replacement is released that you like better (also @ $3.99), is that so terrible ? Did you not enjoy all the extra functionality supplied by the first home screen replacement for 2 months ? Compared to a $3.99 latte, or a sandwich at Arby’s, wasn’t the home screen replacement MORE enjoyable to you for a LONGER period of time ?
That’s true Todd. I’m all for great app development and am willing to pay. This isn’t a definitive list – just a word of caution for certain things.
I’m not suggesting someone wait 2 months before buying a home replacement; just be sure to test them all and wait a couple of days to avoid buyer’s remorse. It’s the same as if I buy gas for $2 a gallon and see it for $1.95 on my way home from work. I’m not going to pull over a throw a fit, but there’s a feeling you get that “Hey, I should have waited.”
First to mention, Statusinator is an apache licensed open source project so $1.99 (now .99) gets you the ease of updates by way of the market; you can find the code and build the app from the code on statusinator.googlecode.com for free.
Each of these apps have great features and are pretty cool in general but they didn’t fit my usage habits. Some had serious showstoppers a as well; for example: I’m not willing to give ping.fm, a service that does not run on my own device, my facebook or twitter credentials.
Statusinator scratched an itch I needed and I chose a 2 dollar price point because I felt that I would be willing to drop two bucks on an app that does the exact and specific four things I need it to do: Update my status, upload photos, show my friend status and push updates to twitter.
Personally I think that dxTop was well worth the money I paid for it. Granted there aren’t many themes and widgets yet, but it’s still a darn fine HS replacement. You definitely make a great point, that one should evaluate all available options before purchase, but I’m willing to bet there will be a new and better version of just about every app on the market, in time. If you want it now, buy it now (of course, that could just be the developer in me talking).
This is a good little post, I often find when I am bored I’m searching through androis market looking for something interesting to keep me occupied until my bus stop etc.
I’ve bought a number of apps and some are worth the money and some are not. I’ve bought aHome and actually think it might not be worth the price, but could be in a few months.
I’m waiting for the stndard of games on Android to get past the the clones of tetris and pacman etc. I dont see why someone can’t code up something like the auction house for Warcraft, or some sort of worthy plugin to a major game like that.
I’m also stunned that no-one has released a decent exchange client that pulls mail and contact natively into android. Surely thats a no brainer for a paid for app. Anyone serious about business and android would pay for that.
I’m also annoyed that the G1 on Tmob doesn’t have latitude working yet. It took me ages to work out why and now I kow it’s just the Tmob network it’s really annoyed me.
Anyway, good post.
Cheers,
M@,
I very much agree with this whole list. Even the part about home screen apps. I did in fact start off by paying for Open Home, mostly because I’d already bought Better Cut. Then I tried out all the other home screens, and at the moment I switch back and forth between a paid version of aHome and Sweeter Home (which sadly is simply too glitchy and slow as hell for me to use regularly). I just didn’t like dxTop, mostly because I didn’t see any features that made it useful over the Android home screen, other than that 1-swipe idea (which frankly made me queasy for some reason).
But about #7: there’s another reason why those I Am Rich apps aren’t worth the price. There’s a free one on the market already!
I think they’re all stupid, but I chuckle when there’s a paid version of an already free stupid app.
And I whole-heartedly agree about #10: no more freaking farting apps! I’m so sick of those??? Who actually pays for these things?