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LOS ANGELES
— This one's not an April Fool's joke. When Apple
releases its iPad tablet computer Saturday, some
shoppers may be surprised to find that prices for some
applications will have been super-sized overnight while
others remain free.
According
to several sites, including AppShopper, Appolicious and
Silicon Alley Insider, some apps are expected to cost 50
percent to 500 percent more on the iPad as they do on
the iPhone. Here's a sample of some best-selling apps
that are expected to see a sticker surge:
—Fieldrunners:
$2.99
for iPhone,
$7.99
for iPad
—Flight
Control:
99 cents
for iPhone,
$4.99
for iPad
—Flick
Fishing:
99 cents
for iPhone,
$2.99
for iPad
—Plants
vs. Zombies:
$2.99
for iPhone,
$9.99
for iPad
—Need
for Speed Shift:
$6.99
for iPhone,
$14.99
for iPad
Several
app developers who wanted to remain anonymous because of
their confidentiality agreements with Apple confirmed an
uptick in price.
Some,
however, will remain free, according to reports. Those
include news apps such as NPR and USA Today, as well as
utility apps such as Twitter and Kayak.
Apple
declined to comment on the iPad app prices.
To
justify the extra dollars, some apps will come with
added features for their iPad versions. Take Plants vs.
Zombies, for example. The original game for Macs and PCs
cost
$19.99
. The publisher, Pop Cap Games, released a smaller
version of the title several months later for the iPhone
for
$2.99
. The iPhone game comes with fewer levels and features.
One theory is that the iPad version would contain all
the bells and whistles of the full game. A Pop Cap
spokesman would not comment.
Why the
higher prices? At
99 cents
an app, most developers can't make money. The iPad is a
chance for publishers to hit the reset button on those
rock-bottom prices, said
Colin Sebastian
, analyst with Lazard Capital Markets.
"Higher
prices will make it a more attractive market for
developers," Sebastian said. "That should open
the door for more money put into the development of
apps. And that should result in higher quality
apps."
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