iPhone apps I paid for but don't use
When the App Store was launched, I went a bit nutty and downloaded lots of apps. Eventually I limited myself to apps I thought I'd love. Some were free, some weren't. Recently iTunes told me that I had 13 updates available, and I noticed that I've paid for many apps that I don't use.
It's easy to list your favorite apps. As a contrast, here's a list of the apps that I paid for but don't use (as well as why). Note that all app links will launch iTunes.
This great app by Avatron Software lets you use your iPhone as a virtual hard drive, and was the first of its kind that I tried.* Later, it was replaced by Evernote. I use multiple computers, and accessing files from any one of them is important. Throw the iPhone on top and I'm a happy guy.
The beautiful ebook reader by Andrew Katz and Phill Ryu brings literary classics to the iPhone via a sleek and intuitive UI. It's even been featured in Apple's television ads. It's averaged 4 stars across nearly 7,000 ratings. So why don't I use it?
It's no fault of the app. I just don't like reading that much text on the iPhone. Even the best iPhone reader (and this is probably it) couldn't win me over.
Fastlane Street Racing
The original iPhone game demo featured some cool accelerometer-based flying and racing games that grabbed my attention. Turn by moving the phone? Tilt to accelerate or brake? Awesome! I bought Fastlane immediately to experience the fun.
And it was fun, but fun that wore off quickly. The accelerometer implementation seemed to be the thrust of the game. Of course, my favorite racing game is Ridge Racer on the PSP, so what do I know?
Another victim of the accelerometer curse. Glyder by Glu is quite pretty and the gameplay is fun. Wooshing around is quite pleasant, but I got bored collecting orbs, etc. The good news is my kids love it.
Groceries (Grocery Shopping List)
I first heard about this app on Twitter. People whose opinions I respect were raving about it. "Oh, Groceries is so elegant." At last I was convinced, and bought it.
They were right, it's beautiful and elegant. Assembling a list is simple as is "crossing off" items you've collected. Plus it looks great. I don't use it for one simple reason: Paper is faster. In the "tap tap tap" it takes me to navigate to "Milk," I could have written it three times. My love of paper is no secret, and many "productivity" apps attempt to mimic its simplicity and ease. Many come close. None hit the mark. Groceries, while a great little app (and perfect for some), didn't make it for me.
Koi Pond was the first iPhone game that I really fell in love with. It's actually more of a toy than a game. It presents you with a nicely-rendered koi pond. You can feed the fish, tourment them or splash around. Choose from several settings, fish, etc. My kids loved it as well.
Eventually, I got kind of bored. It's still a great little app, but I've experienced what it does to satiation.
*And there's the rub. If I were able to try some of these apps before buying, I could have avoided some purchases. But that's an old argument.
PhotoFrame by Chilli X is one of those apps I thought I'd use more than I do. It's pretty cute, really. Insert your own photo to display along the time and date. When running on your phone while docked on your desk, it's quite useful. The trouble is, my iPhone is only docked overnight.
Touchgrind is definitely fun. You push a tiny skateboard around a skate park, do tricks, etc. Eventually other games replaced it, I noticed I hadn't played it in a while and removed it from my phone to save space. No fault of the game, it just failed to keep my attention.
There's my list. Surely you've purchased an app or two that you longer use. Sound off in the comments.