This is a smart move. Far too many comments have been posted by people that haven't used the program concerned. For all we know, they might not even own or have the use of an iPhone or iPod touch!
Now, if you try to post a review without downloading the program, a dialog box pops up to say "You must own this item to write a Customer Review. In order to write a Customer Review for this item you must have purchased or downloaded it."
Not before time, I say!
I don't know about you, but I really don't care if someone else thinks a particular class of programs is a waste of time, if they reckon an item should be free, or if they have some philosophical or religious objection to a program they've never used. You and I are quite capable of making up our own minds on those points.
And there's always the niggling feeling that it's all too easy for a rival developer to post negative reviews of competing products, even if they are completely unfounded.
Come to that, how do we know that positive reviews aren't from people associated with the developer, or even the developer writing under a number of aliases. It's not that hard to set up multiple iTunes Store accounts even if you have to purchase some low-value gift cards to get sufficient aliases to make a difference.
Even genuine reviews can be problematic - please read on.
Apple blocks uninformed App Store comments
Hoo-ray! Apple has moved to cut the crap from App Store reviews by only accepting reports from people that have actually downloaded the application in question.
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Stephen Withers
Stephen Withers is one of Australia¹s most experienced IT journalists, having begun his career in the days of 8-bit 'microcomputers'. He covers the gamut from gadgets to enterprise systems. In previous lives he has been an academic, a systems programmer, an IT support manager, and an online services manager. Stephen holds an honours degree in Management Sciences, a PhD in Industrial and Business Studies, and is a senior member of the Australian Computer Society.
