Apple's App Store now allows you to pre-order apps, early adopter bonuses incoming?
Apple has announced the addition of a pre-order feature to the App Store. App developers will now be able to list their products up to 90 days in advance of their planned release. The functionality works with both paid and free preorders and on all versions of the App Store. When a pre-ordered app goes official, it will automatically be downloaded on a user's device.
This is a rather nifty feature, as it can help with the promotion of an app while also giving the creators an idea of how popular their service can potentially become. When it comes to software, preordering is something that most of us associate with game releases, so it will be interesting to see if developers employ this approach with other app types as well. We will also likely see marketing tactics such as pre-order incentives becoming more popular as a result of this new inclusion to the App Store.
While pre-ordering can be a truly useful feature for both consumers and app creators, we can't help but wonder as to why Apple took so long to launch the feature. After all, the concept isn't new, and many digital distribution platforms have been doing it for years. Better late than never, as they say.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: