Apple Creates Try-Before-You-Buy Option for App Store
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Every iPhone in existence has acquired a miniature asteroid belt of free apps clogging up the home screen, but people are much more careful about which apps they purchase. Some even worry about buying an app without trying it first to see if it's worth the money, however small. Apple has decided to grant that wish for app buyers.
The maker of the iPhone and the iPad created a new section in the App Store called Try Before You Buy, where users can download free trials of popular apps are available. Some of them are referred to as "lite" versions of the apps because some features found in the paid versions have been stripped out of the paid version for the trial.
The idea is to let people play around with apps in the hopes that they will see the value and pay for it. Trial versions have a long tradition in software and especially gaming , but hasn't been a large part of the App Store ecosystem up until now, perhaps because many developers figured something costing three or four dollars probably didn't need a trial.
Apple may also be doing this to combat a common rationalization for app piracy in which people simply claim they are "trying before buying." Now that there is a dedicated section of the App Store for this, it's not a valid excuse anymore.
