Chapter 23
The Amazing App Store
You have just seen how easy it is download music, videos, and podcasts from iTunes right to your iPhone. You have also seen how easy it is to download iBooks from the iBooks store.
It is just as easy to download new applications from Apple's amazing App Store. Apps are available for just about any function you can think of: games, productivity tools, social networking, and anything else you can imagine. As the advertising says, There's an app for that.
In this chapter, you will learn how to navigate the App Store, as well as how to search for and download apps. You will also learn how to maintain and update your apps once they are downloaded onto your iPhone.
Learning More About Apps and the App Store
In this chapter, we will focus on accessing the App Store directly from your iPhone. However, you should remember that you can also shop at the App Store using the iTunes program on your Mac or PC (see Figure 23–1).
Figure 23–1. Accessing the App Store from the iTunes program on your computer or the App Store icon on your iPhone
In a very short amount of time, the App Store has exploded in popularity. There are apps for just about anything you can imagine. These apps are available at all price levels; in many cases, the apps are even free!
Where to Find Apps News and Reviews
You can find reviews for many apps in the App Store itself, and we recommend that you check out the App Store reviews. However, sometimes you will probably want more information from expert reviewers. If so, blogs are a great place to find news and reviews for particular apps or content.
Here is a list of Apple iPhone- and iPod-related blogs with reviews of apps:
- The iPhone Blog:
www.tipb.com - Touch Reviews:
www.touchreviews.net - Touch Arcade:
www.toucharcade.com - The Unofficial Apple Weblog:
www.tuaw.com - 148apps:
www.148apps.com - App Advice:
www.appadvice.com
App Store Basics
With a little time, you should find the App Store to be quite intuitive to navigate. We'll cover some of the basics for getting the most out of the App Store, so that your experience will be as enjoyable and productive as possible.
NOTE: App availability varies by country. Some apps are only available in some countries, and some countries may not have certain games sections due to local ratings laws.
A Network Connection Is Required
After you set up your App Store (iTunes) account, you still need to have the right network connectivity (either Wi-Fi or 3G) to access the App Store and download apps. Check out Chapter 4: “Connect to the Network” to learn how to tell whether you are connected.
Starting the App Store
The App Store icon should be on your first page of icons on the Home screen. Tap the icon to launch the App Storeapp.
The App Store Home Page
We'll look at several parts of the App Store's Home page: the top bar, middle content, and the bottom soft keys.
We'll look at the top bar first. At the top of the page shown in Figure 23–2, you will see three buttons: New, What's Hot, and Genius. Tap any of these to change the view.
TIP:Genius is a feature that suggests apps you might like based on apps you have already downloaded and installed on your iPhone. It can be quite a nice way to filter through the hundreds of thousands of apps to find the ones that might interest you.
The middle of the page is your main content area. This main content area shows you a list of apps or the details of a specific app that you are viewing. You can swipe up or down to view more apps in a list or details for a specific app. You can also swipe left or right when viewing screen shots. On the Featured apps page, you will notice that there are a few large icons at the top. Clicking these icons will show you either types of apps or individual apps. Below the larger icons (you have to swipe down), you will see a number of featured apps.
The bottom of the App Store's Home page has five soft key buttons:
- Featured: Shows apps that have been highlighted by the App Store or by the app developers.
- Categories: Shows a list of categories used to organize the apps, so you can browse by category.
- Top 25: Shows top selling or top downloaded apps.
- Search: Finds an app using entered search terms.
- Updates: Lets you update any apps you have installed, and redownload any apps you've already acquired.
You can tell that Figure 23–2 is showing Featured apps because the Featured soft key is highlighted on the bottom row of soft keys. Scrolling is handled the same way as in other programs—just move your finger up and down to scroll through the page.
Figure 23–2. The layout of the App Store's Home page
NOTE: The App Store is essentially a web site, so it changes frequently. Some of the details and nuances of the App Store might look a bit different after this book goes to print.
Viewing App Details
If you see an app in a list that looks interesting, tap it to learn more. The Details screen for the app includes its price, a description, screen shots, and reviews (see Figure 23–3). You can use this information to help you determine whether the app will be a good choice for you.
Swipe down to read more details about the app on the Info page. Swipe left or right to view more screen shots of the app. Tap the Rating button near the bottom to read all the reviews for an app.
You can also see other details about the app, such as its file size, its version number, and developer information near the bottom of the Info page.
You can also Tell a Friend or Report a Problem using the buttons at the bottom of the screen.
Figure 23–3. Viewing details about an app
Finding an App to Download
If you want to search for an app to download, begin by looking around in the default view, which shows the Featured apps. Scroll down the page to see all the featured apps.
NOTE: As with the iTunes Store, you can only download apps less than 20MB in size while on 3G. Downloading larger file sizes requires a Wi-Fi connection.
Viewing the New Apps
The default view in the App Store shows new and featured apps. This is the view shown back in Figure 23–2. You can tell that this view shows new featured apps because the Featured soft key 
is highlighted at the bottom of the screen, and the New button 
at the top of the page is pressed.
Viewing What's Hot
Touch the What's Hot button at the top of the screen, and the “hottest” apps in the store will be shown on the screen. Again, just scroll through the hottest apps to see if something catches your eye.
NOTE: The fact that an app is in the “What's Hot” category does not necessarily mean you will also believe it is useful or fun. Check out the app descriptions and reviews carefully before you purchase anything.
Genius
The third button at the top of the Featured apps section takes you to the Genius feature. This feature works like the identically named feature in the iTunes app that plays music on your computer. For example, it displays apps you might like based on apps you already have installed on your iPhone.
NOTE: The first time you use the Genius feature, you will have to accept the terms and conditions presented before the feature will be enabled.
Based On
Notice that there is a Based on (app name) label above each app. This label shows you that the suggested app was based on a specific app you've installed on your iPhone. For example, the CBS Radio suggestion was based on the fact that Pandora Radio is installed. We didn't know about CBS Radio, but maybe we'll give it a try based on this recommendation.
Swipe to Remove
If you do not like a Genius suggestion, then you can swipe left or right on it to bring up the Delete button, just as you would to remove email or other items from lists on your iPhone. Tap the Delete button to remove that app from the list.
Disable Genius Feature
To disable the Genius feature, you need to go into your App Store settings (see the “App Store Settings” section later in this chapter to learn how to disable this feature).
Categories
Sometimes, all the choices presented can be a bit overwhelming. If you have a sense of what type of app you are looking for, touch the Categories button along the bottom row of soft keys (see Figure 23–4).
The current categories available are shown in Table 23–1.
NOTE: The categories listed are fluid and change over time, so it is possible that the categories you see will have changed by the time this book finds its way into your hands.
Figure 23–4. Viewing apps by category—Games, in this example
Looking at the Top 25 Charts
Touch the Top Charts soft key along the bottom row, and the App Store will change the view again. This time, you will see the top 25 paid, free, and top-grossing apps. Just touch one of the Top Paid,Top Free, or Top Grossing buttons at the top to switch between the views.
NOTE: The Top Grossing category refers to the highest money-making apps, which is sales volume times selling price. This view will help more expensive apps get up higher in the charts. For example, a US $4.99 app that sells 10,000 units will rank much higher on the Top Grossing chart than a US $0.99 app that sells the same number of units.
Searching for an App
Let's say you have a specific idea of the type of app you want to find. Touch the Search soft key and type in either the name of the program or the type of program.
So, if you are looking for an app to help you with rowing, just type in “rowing” to see what comes up.
You may see some suggested search terms appear; tap these to narrow your search.
Tapping Rowing Stats in the suggested search terms yields only one result.
We want to see all the rowing-related apps, so we tap in the Search bar and use the Backspace key to erase the word “stats.” Next, we tap the Search button in the lower-right corner to see a broader list of rowing-related results.
TIP: If you row on the water (instead of only on a rowing machine), you might want to check out SpeedCoach Mobile, which sells for $49.99. There is also a free (at the time of writing) alternative called iRowPro.
Downloading an App
Once you find the app you are looking for, you can download it right to your iPhone, as shown in Figure 23–5.
After locating the app you want to buy, notice the small button that says either Free or $0.99 (or whatever the price is).
Just touch that button, and it will change to say Install if it is a free program or Buy Now if it is a paid program.
Figure 23–5. Buying an app or downloading a free app
Once you have read the reviews and the app description (and perhaps visited the developer support site), go ahead and download or purchase the app. Once you tap the Download App button, you will be prompted to input your iTunes password.
Input your password and tap OK; the app will be downloaded to your iPhone.
Finding Free or Discounted Apps
After browsing around, you will notice a couple of things about the App Store. First, there are lots of free apps. Sometimes, these are great applications. Other times, they are not so useful—but they can still be fun!
Second, you will notice that there will be sales for some of the apps, while other apps will become less expensive over time. If you have a favorite app and it costs $6.99 today, you might see its price decrease if you wait a few weeks or a month before buying it.
Redeeming Gift Cards or iTunes Codes
You can redeem gift cards or iTunes codes by swiping all the way to the bottom of most pages in the App Store.
At the bottom, tap the Redeem button.
Enter your code on the next screen. (You may have to scratch off something from the back of the gift card to see the code.)
Tap the Redeembutton.
Maintaining and Updating Your Apps
Often, developers will update their apps for the iPhone. You don't need to use your computer to perform the update—you can do it right on your iPhone.
You can even tell if you have updates, and how many, by looking at the App Store icon. The one shown here has five app updates available for you to download.
Once you enter the App Store, tap the right-most icon on the bottom row. This is the Updates icon.
If you have apps with updates available, there will be a small number indicated in red. This number corresponds to the number of apps with updates.
When you tap the Update button, the iPhone shows you which apps have updates.
To get your updates, you could touch an individual app. However, it is easier to touch the Update All button 
in the upper-right corner to have all your apps updated at once. The iPhone will leave the App Store, and you can see the progress of the updates in the little status bars. All apps updating will have icons that look grayed out.
Some status messages will show Waiting, while others will show Loading or Installing. When the update is complete, all your icons will return to their normal colors.
NOTE: You will need to relaunch the App Store app to get back in. The update process takes you completely out of the store.
Redownloading Apps
Once you've downloaded an app, whether free or paid, you can download it again as often as you like at no additional charge. For example, assume you buy an app to take with you on vacation.Once you've finished your trip, you can safely delete it and then download it again the next time you travel. This can help keep your Home screen clean and help prevent you from running out of storage on your iPhone.
To get a list of apps you've previously bought or downloaded, tap the Update button and then tap the Purchased tab at the very top of the screen.
Inside the Purchased section, you have a choice of two views. First, you can view a list of all the apps you've ever bought or downloaded. Alternatively, you can view a list of apps that aren't currently installed on your iPhone.
NOTE: Are you seeing apps listed that you don't remember buying or downloading? If so, this might be because you downloaded apps on your iPod touch, purchased universal apps on your iPad, or you shared your iTunes account with a spouse or family member who has downloaded apps to his device(s).
Automatic Downloads
The iCloud online service lets you set up your iPhone so it automatically downloads and installs any apps you purchase through iTunes on your Windows or Mac PC—or even on another iOS device, such as your iPad.
Follow these steps to turn on Automatic Downloads:
- Tap the Settings icon.
- Scroll down and tap Store.
- Toggle Automatic Downloads for Apps to ON.
If you no longer wish to download appsautomatically, simply toggle Automatic Downloads for Apps back to OFF.
You can also choose whether to Use Cellular Data to download your purchases. If you're on a slow network or have a limited data plan, consider turning this optionOFF.
Other App Store Settings
Inside the settings for the App Store app, you can also check which account is logged into the store, log out, turn off the Genius feature, view your iTunes account, and work with your newsletter subscriptions.
TIP: If you want to prevent someone from buying apps on your iPhone using your iTunes account, you need to sign out of iTunes using the steps described next.
Follow these steps to change the other settings for the App Store app:
- Note that you can see the account you are logged in with at the top of this screen.
- Tap Sign Out if you wish to log out of theiTunes service. For example, you might togive your iPhone to someone you don't using your phone to buy apps with your iTunes account.
- Tap View Account to see the details of your account (you will need to sign in).
- The figure to the right shows your account information. Tap Payment Information to adjust your billing information (e.g., your credit card type and number).
- Tap Billing Address to update your address.
- Tap Change Country to change your country.
- Scroll down to see more settings.
- You can Turn Off Genius for Apps (or if it is off, this button will allow you to turn it on).Or, you can Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the iTunes newsletter from this dialog.
- Tap Done in the upper-right corner when finished.
