iTunes App Store: First Impressions

So I updated my iPod touch this weekend to the new 2.0 software. Since I'm on an iPod touch and not on the iPhone, I had to pay $10 for the upgrade (grrrr). I avoided all the commotion and updated on Saturday afternoon. The upgrade went smooth, but took exactly 30 minutes. My iPod is now short 200MB. That's not a lot, but it made me wonder how big future software updates will be. So anyways, my iPod is updated. I can now download apps from the iTunes Store. Here are my first impressions:

1)My iPod touch is now a mini-Mac
Seriously. I can do things on my iPod that I never imagined doing before. I can browse the Web, watch videos, play Pac-Man, check up on the weather, browse through my photos, read my Gmail, add in my friends' contact info, and, um, listen to music. I'm very happy with my iPod touch.

2)The app store is half baked
Ok, here comes the bad part. Yeah, the app store is cool. But unfortunately, many of the apps in the app store suck/crash your iPod/or don't work. Was Apple asleep when they uploaded these apps onto the store? They should all work! I downloaded one of them (uLocate Communications' Where), which in theory sounded cool. It uses a Google Maps-style map and Yelp to show you when you're near a bank, Starbucks, restaurant, etc. Guess what? It didn't work. It failed to load. The company has posted a note essentially saying "sorry, we're working on a fix." Granted, it's a free app, but if an app is in the iTunes store, it better damn well work.

3)Apps are over-priced
$10 for Ms. Pac-Man! $8 for Platinum Solitaire! $40 for anatomy flash cards! Are you serious? Apparently the latter is supposed to be "a steal" so I'll let that one slide, but I think the prices for these apps are too high and too inconsistent. I realize the apps can't all be free or cost 99 cents, but some of these prices are steep for what they actually do/are.

4)Gimme demos
Some of these apps are cool, many of them are a complete waste of time. Case in point the New York Times app which pushes NYT headlines and stories onto your iPod/iPhone. Sounds cool in theory, but it's actually slow as molasses. Not to mention those articles, um, they come with banner ads. Not cool. Not cool at all. The NYT app is free, but if in the future I buy an app and I quickly find out that I hate it, I'm down $xyz dollars. Let me try before I buy.

5)Install/Uninstall is wonky
So like I said, I downloaded a bunch of apps to my iPod. The ones I didn't like, I uninstalled from my iPod. That was easy. But when I went to sync my iPod with iTunes later in the evening, it installed the apps again. Needless to say, uninstalling apps is a little wonky, although I'm sure that can be easily fixed.

That's it for now, tho I'm sure I'll have a lot more praise/gripes as I toy around with it more.