Google Should Consider Apple’s “Try Before You Buy” Section

The Apple iTunes App store has added a “Try Before You Buy” section for mobile apps. Great in concept, and needed for several reasons:

The App Store still needs work. Searching and navigating it still sends you running for a third-party directory.

The new preview section encourages more sales by prefacing the “buy” invite with a “try” invite.

It adds a security measure to the end-user experience, something Apple is all for. Mobile security will only increase in importance.

Effectively, it’s another mini recommendation box within a sea of apps. This is something Apple’s smartly been incorporating to its iTunes interface, and it presents yet another marketing opportunity for those that get placement here.

That being said, “Try Before You Buy” isn’t without its problems. Right now, the section is pretty limited, listing less than 100 apps. Granted, a mini-recommendation section should be as streamlined as possible. But a categorization such as this deserves to be opened to more app developers and beyond existing light versions, or ad-supported versions, particularly with already-popular titles.

But, in a time where mobile apps are developing new caverns for targeted ad networks and supplemental revenue streams, it will be more important for app market owners to appeal to their shoppers. The virtualization of so many products and services will require a specialized interface–a necessity I mentioned regarding Jolicloud’s design approach.

And it’s a concept Google needs to consider. As it stands, you can buy an app in the Android Market, and get a refund if you don’t like it. But it’s still a few extra steps. On the upside, it is a way to truly try before you buy, as you’ll have the full version of the app. But the Android Market itself is quite cluttered with separate downloads for the same app, whether it be the light version, version, the Droid-specific version, etc. I’m actually disappointed that Google–search engine deity that’s organized the whole of the web–has neglected its mobile and (especially) web interfaces for the Android Market.

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