iPhonefreak width="190"

The SlingPlayer Mobile app for the iPhone first made its appearance in the App Store on May 13 and since then it has been ripped apart by just about every tech blog on the Internet. That said, it would appear that despite all of the complaining plenty of people have purchased the app which in turn has given Sling Media quite a bit of money in return.

According to some estimates coming courtesy of Apple iPhone Apps, Sling Media may have brought in over $200,000 from the app in the first three days alone. Some facts that that total are based off of include;

• The SlingPlayer Mobile app reached #8 in just one day.
• The #8 position would equal roughly 5,500 to 7,800 downloads per day.
• That number of downloads would equal revenue of somewhere between $165,000 on the low end and $234,000 on the high end.
• Even removing the 30% that Apple takes, Sling would be left with somewhere between $115,500 and $163,700.

Keep in mind that these numbers were noted as being a “best guesstimate” so take them for what they are. Sadly, as of now it seems the initial excitement surrounding the app has died down as it has fallen to (a still respectable) #25.

In regards to SlingPlayer Mobile reaching the #8 position in the App Store, that is notable because no other app that was priced higher than $19.99 has ever even cracked the Top 25.

I should point out however that even if they did take in the estimated $200,000 they may not yet be seeing all that great of a profit. It is safe to assume that Sling Media invested a serious amount of money into the development of the app.

Of course, all unhappiness aside, I have downloaded the SlingPlayer Mobile app along with Tricker ThreeG and am planning to buy a new Slingbox (the PRO-HD) in a week or two. I guess, at least in my case it seems that Sling won despite my initial upset, not only have they gotten my $29.99 but they will also be getting an additional $299.99.

One other interesting item to note is that a high priced app can be successful. Since the launch of the App Store plenty of users have gotten used to free and low priced apps. Could this be a small sign of change as to what we can expect to see in the future of the App Store?