App Store customer reviews

[Swecodelico]

Before I download an application from App Store and install it in my iPad 2, I would like to view customer reviews from Spanish users.
The problem is that I am in Sweden and I only see comments from Swedish users and ratings from users in this market.
Since the application is very popular in Spain but not in Sweden, there aren't enough ratings and no comments from users in Sweden, and I'm sure there are loads from users in Spain but I can't see them.

Is it possible to change the country the customer reviews come from?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I suppose that the country the customer reviews come from have to do with my IP address. Right?
(I have an iPad 2 WiFi)

 

[chevyguy]

Post the app, maybe users here have feed back on it that may help you? I think you are correct about the ip address and the store.

Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[Swecodelico]

It's not really a one single app that I would like to see customer reviews about before I make a decision.
I have installed many apps and I would have liked to see some customer reviews and ratings before downloading them, but I couldn't because in the Swedish market AppStore has "not receive enough ratings to display an average to the current version".

I'm giving you a couple of examples of apps without enough ratings in the Swedish market:

- LigaBBVA HD, the Spanish football (soccer) league app.

- As of this writing, The Economist app has only one comment from a user in the Swedish market, and no ratings average! I'm sure I could read quite a few if I could select comments from users in the UK market or USA.

These are just two examples and there are a lot more apps I would have expect to see some ratings and users' feedback about.
Selecting UK or above all USA when accessing customer reviews for a given app would help a lot.

 

[twerppoet]

A pain to do on the iPad. I'm not even sure it is possible without creating an account in the other country.

However; it is easy enough to do on the computer in iTunes.

Select the store in iTunes and scroll all the way to the bottom. To the right you will see a small button with your country's colors. Click on the button and you will see a list (with pretty buttons) for all the iTunes stores. Select the store you want to look at.

When you are done, do the same to go back to your own country. You'll have to log into your account again before making any purchases or updates on that computer.

 

[Swecodelico]

I tried it on my PC in iTunes and it's easy, as you said. One can change the country easily and then search for whichever app to see customer reviews from that country.

It'll be great if we can do something similar on the iPad in the future. The idea is not to have to start my old computer; it's so sloooow!

After I changed the country, I clicked on "Purchased", which apparently is new in iTunes, and I got the account ID pop-up. When I entered my password, I got the following message: "This Apple ID is only valid for purchases in the Swedish iTunes Store".

The whole thing is a lot clearer for me know. My account is associated with the country where I created it, or in other words, it is associated with the iTunes Store for a given market (country). If I want access to iTunes Store UK and iTunes Store USA, I suppose that I have to create two more accounts. (If this is not correct, feel free to correct me).
What I still don't know is if it's possible to switch accounts on my iPad, and if so, if it's quick and easy enough.

I had the wrong idea before I did all this. I thought that when I view an app on my iPad 2 WiFi, App Store gives me the reviews from a given market based on my IP address; in my case, Sweden. If I travel to USA and access the App Store using my iPad via the hotel's WiFi, the App Store will display reviews from USA customers, based on the IP address. I guess that this is not the way it works.

 

[twerppoet]

Sounds like you have it figured out. To switch app Stores on the iPad you tap on you Apple ID at the bottom left of the screen, and log out. Then log in again with the ID for the other store.

You will have to do this when updating apps too, so pay attention to where you buy them

 

[twerppoet]

That's a bit inconvenient.

Yes it is. But the iPad is really designed to be a one person device, which implies one account. Most people only get that one account and never run up against these limitations. If Apple had designed for multi-person-account-world-roving use, we'd have a very different experience; starting from the ground up with how Apple ID's work.

These solutions are workarounds, with all the inconvenience and labor that suggests.

There have been some low key rumors that Apple is working on ways to merge, move, and other wise offer more flexible accounts. I don't see it happening soon, but eventually they have to come to grips with the fact that they are a world player and need a more unified and flexible approach to their customer support.

or not.