The Art of the App Store: The Business of Apple Development

IGNORING FACEBOOK CONVENTIONS

There are a lot of things you can learn by picking up a book on Facebook monetization, but all of them don't necessarily translate well to iOS apps, nor do iPhone users expect the same type of experience they can get on Facebook. Usage patterns are different, session times on iPhone are shorter, and people expect more entertainment in shorter bursts for their time (as proven by the low price of apps and heavy competition in most niches). The exception to this would be the iPad, because session times are more on par with using a PC, in addition to the resolution offered.

For iOS devices, however, the much better graphic processing power, in addition to user expectations compared to that of games in Flash (which have traditionally lower expectations in terms of polish because of the sheer number of them and graphic capabilities), result in different user experience expectations. Following are two examples of Facebook conventions you should consider ignoring altogether, or special-tailor them to suit your audience on behalf of the iOS user.

Waiting Is Not Fun

Many of Facebook's most popular apps are built on a monetization model that makes users wait for currency and progress rewards from their various virtual world objects. For example, in “Farmville” (and almost all other apps like it, including “Smurfs' Village” for iOS), the main driving incentive for earning game currency and experience toward new levels is having to wait for your planted crops to ...