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Paid For Apps Coming Soon

As a developer, I can say that there will still be free apps, but the quality and choice of apps you'll get when we can get paid for our work will be much higher. At least, in my opinion.
 
Google and Apple understand the value of free apps on their system long term. They have contests and fund best of apps that won't ever be sold. This helps keep small devs building apps. The hope is that if they award 10 big cash prizes and 25 small cash prizes for making it into the prelim rounds other devs who didn't make it will still release some of their entries for free. Smart idea.
 
i think free apps will almost die except for ones that not may people would pay for. Yes it dose bring out some good apps from the good developers but you also are going to have to fork out some good money for them....
 
No, free apps won't "die".

Did they with the iPhone App store? Of course the better apps will be paid apps, as that's common sense.

Me personally, I want paid apps to kick in asap, so I can see some top-notch work from devs.
 
I like the idea of paid for apps just dont want to spend 20. dollars on a single app. 5 to 10 would be ok but some of those IPhone apps are expensive
 
How does it usually work with the paid apps

Do you get a trial period to try them out, or is it payment before download
:confused::confused:
 
I have never had an iPhone so I don't know if they have a try before you buy, but on the Sidekick they offered a description by the dev., and 3-4 screenshots. Those were really useful and I miss them in the Market. Easier to see if it is worth it.

It is worth noting that a few apps already offer trial periods like GasBot.
 
My son recently got an iPod Touch for his birthday.

The iPhone Apps market does have plenty of free apps. Of those you need to pay for, most don't have a demo mode, but most are between $.99 and $4.99... pretty inexpensive.

Still... it's surprising they don't offer a demo of most games. There are some exceptions, but most don't give you a demo.
 
sw20matt said:
I like the idea of paid for apps just dont want to spend 20. dollars on a single app. 5 to 10 would be ok but some of those IPhone apps are expensive
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Well, you could always buy a GasBot license, it's right in your price range! ;)
 
Gasbot - just a thought. Have you toyed with various pricing options? I see you are using paypal subscriptions....

You could offer monthly, quarterly and the current yearly subscription. Just an idea to offer a lower trial price (after the trial period).

.99 45 days
$2.99 quarter
$7.00 a year
$5.00 a year/ 2 years

Also one other marketing idea - consider putting on your site something like this:

Avg tank price - $1.90
Avg search range price - $1.79
Savings per tank - $0.11 X 15 gal tank = $1.65
Mileage may vary (pun intended)

Savings per subscription with one fill up per week -
45 day savings = $9.90 - .99 subscription = $8.91
Quarterly savings = $19.80 - 2.99 sub = $16.81
Yearly Savings = $85.80 - 7.00 sub = $78.80
2 year savings = $171.60 - 10.00 sub = $161.60

Clean this up, make the math more real and maybe even variable.

Also drop the idea of "license" and just call it a subscription.
 
dkaufman1 said:
Gasbot - just a thought. Have you toyed with various pricing options? I see you are using paypal subscriptions....

You could offer monthly, quarterly and the current yearly subscription. Just an idea to offer a lower trial price (after the trial period).

.99 45 days
$2.99 quarter
$7.00 a year
$5.00 a year/ 2 years

Also one other marketing idea - consider putting on your site something like this:

Avg tank price - $1.90
Avg search range price - $1.79
Savings per tank - $0.11 X 15 gal tank = $1.65
Mileage may vary (pun intended)

Savings per subscription with one fill up per week -
45 day savings = $9.90 - .99 subscription = $8.91
Quarterly savings = $19.80 - 2.99 sub = $16.81
Yearly Savings = $85.80 - 7.00 sub = $78.80
2 year savings = $171.60 - 10.00 sub = $161.60

Clean this up, make the math more real and maybe even variable.

Also drop the idea of "license" and just call it a subscription.
Click to expand...
I've thought about making it like a dollar or two per month, however my data providers charge me on a yearly basis up front. So if someone were to sign up on a monthly subscription and then drop it right away, I'd lose money on it. Now on a couple that would be ok as I'd make it back eventually, but if a bunch of people decided to do it, it could get real expensive, real quick.
 
I built an app like this in the past and the trick is to work with your data providers as "partners" and share the revenue back with them. Or re-negotiate a time in force deal, such as 1 person for 1 year = 1 year, 3 people for 1 quarter = 1 year.

Various things like that. Another trick, find a secondary provider so you can both ensure the long term viability and keep your prices in check.
 
dkaufman1 said:
I built an app like this in the past and the trick is to work with your data providers as "partners" and share the revenue back with them. Or re-negotiate a time in force deal, such as 1 person for 1 year = 1 year, 3 people for 1 quarter = 1 year.

Various things like that. Another trick, find a secondary provider so you can both ensure the long term viability and keep your prices in check.
Click to expand...
Well they technically get a rev share because they demand money per user per year. I'm trying to work with GasBuddy as well to start getting data, but they're extremely unresponsive.
 
I read somewhere last week (possibly android community) that paid apps will start becoming available mid to late January. The marketplace is also supposed to get some enhancements.

Some of the free apps so far have been really impressive (Shop Saavy and Shazam are awesome) but I expect good things once the paid apps hit. I just wonder what the average price for apps will be.
 
Free apps will never die, and I have a Ipod touch and I just sold my 16gb Iphone. Some of the apps are expensive. Like for instanct, the IM app on there was 15.99, it's the best one. I have some games on there that are free and are really great, so I don't think a whole lot would change. See the difference between Google and Apple is FAIRNESS. Some apps we would never see, because of regulations, not with Google. I think after the cupcake update things will change for the market and overall US.
 
gewgluvr said:
i think it's great ... most of the paid apps will wind up on piratebay anyhow
Click to expand...

Comments like this are why I have absolutely no interest in distributing apps except throught the Marketplace. Guess what developers do when their apps get pirated? They stop writing stuff. I wrote a hit program twenty years ago that got massively pirated and simply moved on to the professional world, swearing a mighty oath not to let it happen again. I probably could have written some cool stuff in that twenty years, but in the professional world there aren't leeches trying to steal my work at every turn.

The marketplace won't stop the pirating but maybe it will slow it down. Amazing to me that people don't see what piracy does to developers and development, and that sites like Gizmodo and Engadget seem to revel in promoting piracy. Have fun while it lasts, kids. You CANNOT be a promoter of Android and a promoter of piracy simultaneously.

Seems to me that more and more people simply aren't bothered by criminality being a part of their basic psychology. Oh well.
 
Sundog said:
Comments like this are why I have absolutely no interest in distributing apps except throught the Marketplace. Guess what developers do when their apps get pirated? They stop writing stuff. I wrote a hit program twenty years ago that got massively pirated and simply moved on to the professional world, swearing a mighty oath not to let it happen again. I probably could have written some cool stuff in that twenty years, but in the professional world there aren't leeches trying to steal my work at every turn.

The marketplace won't stop the pirating but maybe it will slow it down. Amazing to me that people don't see what piracy does to developers and development, and that sites like Gizmodo and Engadget seem to revel in promoting piracy. Have fun while it lasts, kids. You CANNOT be a promoter of Android and a promoter of piracy simultaneously.

Seems to me that more and more people simply aren't bothered by criminality being a part of their basic psychology. Oh well.
Click to expand...


I think the market ideas are exactly that to promote sales, and avoid piracy issues. Cloud computing will benefit from this too.
 
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