Ten dollars and the App Store - BrettTerpstra.com

Mark Hernandez 14y, 165d ago

Andy, I think there's more that you should consider.

What if Omni Group charged $140 for the whole package for all devices (the cost of all the individual versions combined). Would you still buy it even though you may not have an iPad or an iPhone?

Are you confusing "nickel and diming" with providing options?

MSWord for Mac costs $229 from the Apple Store. It doesn't work on an iPad or an iPhone. How much of Word's capability would you actually use?

Did the Omni Group perhaps come out with separate iPhone and iPad versions because they're so very different from each other and it's impractical to make an "universal" app?

(I'm an iOS developer and I know how making a universal app is a ton of hair-pulling work that would have delayed any release significantly, and that's if the user-interfaces are similar. )

Will OmniFocus be a universal app down the road with a more consistent user-interface?

Is OmniFocus innovative and blazing trails with what they are doing, learning as they go?

remark

Andy, I think there's more that you should consider.What if Omni Group charged $140 for the whole package for all devices (the cost of all the individual versions combined). Would you still buy it even though you may not have an iPad or an iPhone?Are you confusing "nickel and diming" with providing options?MSWord for Mac costs $229 from the Apple Store. It doesn't work on an iPad or an iPhone. How much of Word's capability would you actually use?Did the Omni Group perhaps come out with separate iPhone and iPad versions because they're so very different from each other and it's impractical to make an "universal" app?(I'm an iOS developer and I know how making a universal app is a ton of hair-pulling work that would have delayed any release significantly, and that's if the user-interfaces are similar. )Will OmniFocus be a universal app down the road with a more consistent user-interface?Is OmniFocus innovative and blazing trails with what they are doing, learning as they go?

Andy 14y, 165d ago

Hi Mark,

In the case of the OmniGroup, you can't really say that they made all the versions just to "provide options." I've been using OmniFocus on OS X since before the iPhone or iPad versions came out, and they clearly just took time to write each one as the API came out. And, at least in the case of the iPhone app, they are very clearly companion apps and not just different versions of the same app. When I first purchased OmniFocus for the iPhone, it was completely unusable without the desktop companion. I can't say if that's the case with the iPad version, as I refuse to buy it, but it would seem hostile of a company to charge $40 for an extension of a product that I already paid for.

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Ammon 14y, 165d ago

Excellent insight! $10 may be too much, however, for a generation raised on Napster, Kazaa, and BitTorrent where everything is free and that is the issue. I don't think the Shareware purchasing generation has this issue.

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btadmin 14y, 165d ago

This "culture of entitlement" devalues not only the product, but the consumer. If you're not paying for it, you're not the customer… you're the product. Can't remember who said that now, but it's terribly true.

I think the early shareware era taught a lot of us to value things differently. Software became more accessible, but people still made profits. It wasn't such a huge gamble… creating a startup and hoping to build up a mass of followers on free software so that you can eventually turn a dime on advertising or premium plans. Risky business…

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Andy 14y, 165d ago

I totally understand the rant, but I want to pick on one point. MacStories linked to this article with the added commentary:

"The same happened when OmniFocus for iPad came out. And that app is priced at $40. What is the problem with these people that can’t do anything besides complaining and asking for discounts in forum posts?"

I agree that people complain way too much about paying a fair price for a good piece of software on an iPhone/iPad. I have paid $10+ many times for quality apps, but in the case of the OmniGroup I think they're sort of giving the middle finger to a lot of their customers when they price their apps at $40. I paid $80 for OmniFocus on the Mac. I paid another $10 for the iPhone companion. And now they want to charge me another $40 to use it on my iPad when they could have easily made the iPhone version universal.

It's this nickel and diming that gets to me, not the high price. I've paid $25 for iTeleport (completely worth it) and $65 for Navigon (also completely worth it) so it's not the price that pisses me off -- it's the complete disregard for the customer base some of these developers already have.

remark

I totally understand the rant, but I want to pick on one point. MacStories linked to this article with the added commentary:"The same happened when OmniFocus for iPad came out. And that app is priced at $40. What is the problem with these people that can’t do anything besides complaining and asking for discounts in forum posts?"I agree that people complain way too much about paying a fair price for a good piece of software on an iPhone/iPad. I have paid $10+ many times for quality apps, but in the case of the OmniGroup I think they're sort of giving the middle finger to a lot of their customers when they price their apps at $40. I paid $80 for OmniFocus on the Mac. I paid another $10 for the iPhone companion. And now they want to charge me another $40 to use it on my iPad when they could have easily made the iPhone version universal.It's this nickel and diming that gets to me, not the high price. I've paid $25 for iTeleport (completely worth it) and $65 for Navigon (also completely worth it) so it's not the price that pisses me off -- it's the complete disregard for the customer base some of these developers already have.

btadmin 14y, 165d ago

I'm actually with you on that one. I usually get pretty frustrated when apps I've already invested a fair amount of money in don't go universal. In fact, I was pretty pissed with iTeleport for making me spend the extra on an iPad app, then they went and made the iPhone one universal, and I lost out on an extra $20. That's not cool.

OmniFocus' iPad app is supposedly an entirely new project, but I haven't taken it for a spin (I've been on Things for a bit now). If I were currently using OmniFocus on my laptop/desktop, I would probably spring for the iPad version, but would be annoyed because I also own the full desktop version and the iPhone version. I might even be willing to post some comments about my annoyance. I can relate to that.

I think what's needed is some mutual respect between customers and devs. Devs should take care of their customers, and customers should appreciate the work that devs do, and both sides need to be able to agree on what a fair value is. And a lot of users need to just accept that what one person considers a fair value, they might not. But a rant is a rant… I can easily argue both sides of the debate pretty endlessly, but I won't :).

remark

I'm actually with you on that one. I usually get pretty frustrated when apps I've already invested a fair amount of money in don't go universal. In fact, I was pretty pissed with iTeleport for making me spend the extra on an iPad app, then they went and made the iPhone one universal, and I lost out on an extra $20. That's not cool.OmniFocus' iPad app is supposedly an entirely new project, but I haven't taken it for a spin (I've been on Things for a bit now). If I were currently using OmniFocus on my laptop/desktop, I would probably spring for the iPad version, but would be annoyed because I also own the full desktop version and the iPhone version. I might even be willing to post some comments about my annoyance. I can relate to that.I think what's needed is some mutual respect between customers and devs. Devs should take care of their customers, and customers should appreciate the work that devs do, and both sides need to be able to agree on what a fair value is. And a lot of users need to just accept that what one person considers a fair value, they might not. But a rant is a rant… I can easily argue both sides of the debate pretty endlessly, but I won't :).