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Wolfram Alpha for iPhone packs big features and a big $50 pricetag
When Wolfram Alpha, the (don't call it a search engine!) computation knowledge engine, announced an iPhone app, I assumed it would just be a nice front end for the website. I also figured it would be free. Surprise! The Wolfram Alpha app does a lot more than expected, and it also carries a hefty $50 price tag. This might not be the smartest business decision for Wolfram, considering that App Store reviewers are notorious for complaining that even $10 is too much to pay for any iPhone app. On the other hand, the app does the kind of high-level math that would make Texas Instruments weep. If you're a student or someone in a math-intensive technical field, it might rock your world. Integrals, derivatives, differential equations, and all of the other stuff I've forgotten from years of math classes? Look no further than Wolfram Alpha. It's more than just a graph generator and equation-solver, though. Wolfram Alpha offers data on everything from finances to books, movies and music, and it's often quicker than the equivalent Google Search.
Is it worth $50? That depends on what you intend to use it for, but it's certainly less expensive (and less bulky) than a graphing calculator.
[via Mashable]
Comments
5
Subscribe to commentsmaster811Oct 19th 2009 9:31AM
I don't get it. Surely you get all these features from just using the website itself, and the app requires a net connection to work anyway.
MattOct 19th 2009 10:10AM
Yes, but this way you get to use your iPhone as an orders-of-magnitude more powerful replacement for your calculator, which makes Alpha instantly far more useful. Google works best on the desktop since you're using it to surf anyway, but Alpha is a pretty self-contained service, and as such fits on a mobile platform better.
JitarooOct 19th 2009 11:50AM
Companies should never market calculator apps for the iphone to students. I've never ever been to an exam where the proctor has never said switch off all cellphones. That's why graphing calculators are still on the market. They don't have extra functions that would allow cheating (other than the ones that save notes, but you can clear that before an exam).
soniiicOct 19th 2009 12:31PM
why would i pay $50 for something that works in the iphone browser for free? :s
ZackOct 19th 2009 2:49PM
My favorite part about this is the rating description in that screenshot.
"Rated 9+ for the following:
Infrequent/Mild Profanity or Crude Humor."