Comments on: iPhone App Store Evolution: How the mobile game-changer has improved since its inception http://blog.cascadesoft.net/2009/11/07/iphone-app-store-evolution-how-the-mobile-game-changer-has-improved-since-its-inception/ Simple solutions for complex problems Fri, 27 Aug 2010 01:05:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Ram http://blog.cascadesoft.net/2009/11/07/iphone-app-store-evolution-how-the-mobile-game-changer-has-improved-since-its-inception/#comment-114 Ram Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:08:20 +0000 http://blog.cascadesoft.net/?p=136#comment-114 Thanks for the note. Yes, this was an important change and many developers had been asking for this change. However, I wouldn't describe the change as an improvement <strong>The change increased the chances of skewed ratings for apps</strong>. It can hurt developers who come out with good V1 releases and it makes it easier for other developers to game the ratings. As an example of the former, the v1 version of the <a href="http://cascadesoft.net/economy.aspx" rel="nofollow">Economy app </a>had more than 120 ratings and (by a huge margin) it had a plurality of 5-star ratings. However, the first five ratings of the v2 version didn't include any 5-star ratings and they included (for some inexplicable reason) a couple of 1-star ratings. The app store now ignores the previous 120+ ratings of the v1 version. It calculates the rating of the app based on the small sample-size of five ratings received by the v2 version. This results in a misleading/skewed average rating for the app. I think that Apple should avoid displaying a skewed rating by giving equal prominence to the average rating of the current version and the average rating of the app across all versions. Thanks for the note. Yes, this was an important change and many developers had been asking for this change. However, I wouldn’t describe the change as an improvement
The change increased the chances of skewed ratings for apps. It can hurt developers who come out with good V1 releases and it makes it easier for other developers to game the ratings.

As an example of the former, the v1 version of the Economy app had more than 120 ratings and (by a huge margin) it had a plurality of 5-star ratings. However, the first five ratings of the v2 version didn’t include any 5-star ratings and they included (for some inexplicable reason) a couple of 1-star ratings.

The app store now ignores the previous 120+ ratings of the v1 version. It calculates the rating of the app based on the small sample-size of five ratings received by the v2 version. This results in a misleading/skewed average rating for the app.

I think that Apple should avoid displaying a skewed rating by giving equal prominence to the average rating of the current version and the average rating of the app across all versions.

]]> By: Paul http://blog.cascadesoft.net/2009/11/07/iphone-app-store-evolution-how-the-mobile-game-changer-has-improved-since-its-inception/#comment-96 Paul Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:30:48 +0000 http://blog.cascadesoft.net/?p=136#comment-96 Another improvement they've made is that ratings and reviews for the current version of an app are separated out from those for all versions. Another improvement they’ve made is that ratings and reviews for the current version of an app are separated out from those for all versions.

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