The problem isn't that he can't compete, it's that his potential customers can't tell which one he is! They hear from their friends that 'xyz app' is awesome, they search the market and find 2 of them... And 50% download the wrong one!
Of course, ratings and that top-5 spot should help shift that percentage in his favor, but it's still really ugly that it's even possible for people to do that.
Correct. It's not the quality of the competing app, or it's closeness to my functionality. It's the consumer confusion, and the blatant piggy backing off of others success which leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'm more surprised Apple doesn't deal with it.
Of course, ratings and that top-5 spot should help shift that percentage in his favor, but it's still really ugly that it's even possible for people to do that.