The Scandal Behind $1000 iPhone App I Am Rich
Warning: Plopping down a grand on an app to flaunt your personal wealthiness may have the opposite effect
In an interview with Priceonomics, Developer Armin Heinrich finally reveals what I know you've all been waiting seven anxious years to find out: the fascinating story behind the infamous $1000 iPhone app, I Am Rich.
C'mon, don't tell me you've missed out on this little gem of Store lore. The I Am Rich app was available for less than a full day on the App Store back in 2008, its description proclaiming:
“The red icon on your iPhone or iPod touch always reminds you (and others when you show it to them) that you were able to afford this. It’s a work of art with no hidden function at all. After pressing the (i) on the main page, a secret mantra will be shown. This may help you to stay rich, healthy and successful.”
Priced at $999.99 - the highest price permitted by Apple on the Store - the app sold eight times in the span of just a few hours. That's right, there are eight people on this planet with just that much spare dosh (or gray matter) to burn. Maybe one of them was Shaq, spending his entire weekly app budget in one go?
Apple booted I Am Rich after less than a day of letting it languish in the Store, leaving Heinrich with a cool $5,600 in revenue - after Apple's own “store upkeep fee” of $2,400, of course. It's still not entirely clear which part of the ToS I Am Rich violated.
Recognizing the unflappable demand for throwing our hard-earned dollars into the void, Heinrich bounced right back to the Store shelves with I Am Rich LE. It's strikingly similar in classiness to the original I Am Rich, but also includes a calculator for basic and financial calculations, and this at 1/100th of the price.
Full review at Appszoom
Download from App Store
I know a bargain when I see one, folks. Step right up.
Source: How to Charge $1,000 for Absolutely Nothing
Missed out on last week's news? Catch up now!
Ten bucks is the price of a latte these days. Why do we use lattes as the benchmark for everything costly? Why not use I Am Rich LE as a standard of measure? Discuss, if you will, in the Comments below.
