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The most common words used in 1-star and 5-star App Store reviews
I'm not quite sure if this one counts as 'news', and you'll probably want the 30 seconds of your life back afterwards, but anyway: Marco Arment (of Tumblr and Instapaper fame) has compiled a list of the most commonly used words in 1- and 5-star App Store reviews.In true American style, awesome and worth are at the top of the 5-star list. As Marco points out, it's very nice to see simple so high in the 5-star list, but words like ever, never and done are a bit odd. I don't have an iOS device, so I can only guess, but are people writing reviews that read 'This app is awesome. I don't know how I ever got along without it. I will never leave home without it'? And where does touch figure into positive reviews? I hope it comes from 'it also works on my iPod touch!'...
The bad-review list reads like a litany of woe: waste and money come first, quickly followed by crashes, useless, deleted and stupid.
Interestingly, both lists emphasize cost and value: i.e. when an app works well, it's 'worth its weight in gold', but when it doesn't work, an app is 'a useless waste of money'. As Marco highlights, though, talking about the price when you've paid hundreds of dollars for the device itself is a little silly.
My favourite word, if you're wondering, is right at the end of the 1-star review list: Apple.
Comments
2
Subscribe to commentsPonTelonSep 13th 2010 4:33PM
I think The Oatmeal put it pretty well: http://theoatmeal.com/blog/apps
It's an irrational thing to worry about a $1-10 app. But on the otherhand, if you don't, they add up REALLY quickly.
"How did I charge $50 to my account this month? ...oh"
In the end, I'm less likely to worry about it if it's below $5. But at that point, I have to wonder if the time I spend with the app will be worth the cost.
PS: I also don't go to movie theatres or buy expensive coffees.
Sebastian AnthonySep 13th 2010 5:57PM
Hehe, yeah, it definitely depends on how much you use the app -- or how much time you save with it.
I still think people undervalue how much a few hours of entertainment is worth! $50 for 10 hours of unbridled awesomeness (Uncharted 2) is easily worth it, IMO :)