Huge news came from Apple yesterday. Developers are now allowed to distribute free versions of their Apps and allow users to unlock the full version from inside the App. This is the door that will lead to demo Apps. I take full credit.

Up until now developers had to make two editions of their programs, one a ‘Lite’ or free version, and another regular paid version. The ‘Lite’ versions usually had some features crippled or had advertisements embedded (take Griffin Technology’s iTalk Recorder for example). Now developers have the choice of making a single application, one that can be upgraded to the full version upon payment making demo versions of Apps extremely likely.This solves two big problems that I mentioned yesterday. If we do get demo versions of Apps, we can avoid the frustration that comes from Apple’s “NO-REFUND” policy. We also can bypass reviews which can be fraudulent and misleading.

There are also anti-piracy benefits for developers. Unlock codes can be sent to paying customers only, giving developers, at least for the moment, a way to bypass Jailbroken phones and websites that make their software available without charge. Everybody seemingly wins.

Analysts and bloggers alike are expecting to see these applications within the next few weeks.

[The Unofficial Apple Weblog] via [The iPhone Blog]