We've recently been testing some iPhone apps. So far, what do consumers say:
1. Keep it simple. This seems like a no-brainer, but you can get into some rather complex iPhone applications that do create user experience problems. Mostly they occur when they provide options to "shake" or to vibrate in some way. Not all iPhone apps work out of the gate and this functionality is often buggy.
What seemed to work very nicely for the "urbanspoon" app, doesn't work so well in other apps.
2. Use the Apple features as they are now ubiquitous for iPhone users. In other words, if you are using an iPhone, you've already become accustomed to interfacing with some of it's functionality the way only iPhone provides it. Try selecting dates or times with an iPhone and you'll instantly see the "slot machine" style selection interface.
See example:
Users that were offered different interfaces were often confused. Go with what is working for iPhone users to date.
3. Test multiple version of the icon that will be used on the iPhone desktop. Not all icons are recognizable and some consumers were easily confused or even forgot what the app was for after downloading. It's one thing to get them to download an app, but to use one takes recall and recognition. This is where that icon comes.
If you're a Facebook user, you're probably quite loyal to the brand. You'd know their logo and iconography anywhere. It would be easily recognizable on iTunes.
So you go to iTunes and download the free Facebook app. Once you do, the icon resides on your iPhone desktop. And as a result, you'll no doubt know what this icon is for:
But would you know what this one is for after downloading:
(It's for hotels.com, the travel site. As you can see, not all brandable icons are as effective as others.) It's something to watch for as you develop apps.
4. Price. Test prices. When we asked consumers about free vs paid apps, almost all users said they were open to both. When asked to pay for apps using their own money, users tested checked the free apps first at a 4:1 ratio. They also downloaded more free apps than paid. Within the paid apps, users price shopped for alternatives if there were some in product categories and were will to use price as a decision point, even more so than app reviews by consumers.
