What Is The Most Expensive App You Own And Why?

What Is The Most Expensive App You Own And Why?

Earlier this week, I stumbled upon a story that made me double-take. Apple had apparently approved a 4K video capture app for iOS 7, at the bargain price of $US1000.

By stitching together 4K images at 24 frames per second, the app provided one of the only ways to get 4K content out of your iPhone 5s. This high-res video also stored information at 72MB per second, meaning you’d better make room on your phone if you wanted to capture video at all. Also, it only currently works for iOS 7 so upgrading to Apple’s new software would cost you your $US1000 prize. In the end, is it worth it? No, probably not. But then again, what apps are out there that are worth shelling out top dollar?

A few pieces of mobile software that stretch into triple digits can be worth it. Take for instance, the $US100 knfbReader app that can take text from a photo and read it out loud as speech. This app has life-changing applications for the blind, its intended demographic. According to Reuters, the app is the result of a decades long partnership with the National Federation of the Blind and Ray Kurzweil, director of engineering at Google.

The most money I’ve ever dropped on one app was $US10 and even that was because I had an iTunes gift card. (What can I say? I’m cheap.) However, my experience with TapeACall Pro has been well worth it, especially since I spend a lot of time on over-the-phone interviews. But are there expensive apps out there that are worth it but are locked behind a scary monetary commit? A crappy free app is easy enough to delete, but a crappy paid app is the worst. Last week Android extended its app return policy to two hours, so even if you do get stuck with a pricey-yet-craptacular app, you can still get your money back.

So now I’m feel a little more adventurous. What have been your favourites and what have been your horror stories? It’s time I investigated the pricier side of smartphone software.


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