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When will the quality apps be released

  • They already have been!

    Votes: 11 21.6%
  • A week - the devs have had long enough

    Votes: 4 7.8%
  • 3 weeks- be patient young grasshopper

    Votes: 10 19.6%
  • No telling- be REALLY patient young grasshopper

    Votes: 26 51.0%

  • Total voters
    51

Simgar988

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jul 22, 2009
1,094
37
UYBAATC
I really wanna buy something like iannotate, but all the apps seem to have been kinda rushed and slightly sloppily made. Before i fork over 10 bucks for an app, I'd really like to kinda wait till at the developers have had some time with the device and the "clear winner" of that app type has emerged because i have a feeling at some apps that are doing well now, will not be doing well soo n and eventually, like make iPhone apps, will jUst stop being developed.

How ling do you thunk before the developers start sending some really sweet stuff? A week, two weeks? It's already happened??
 

/dev/toaster

macrumors 68020
Feb 23, 2006
2,478
249
San Francisco, CA
Developers are charging far too much for apps without having demos. I have contacted quite a number of developers to let them know that if the application costs over $5 and doesn't have a demo ... the chances of me buying it are slim to none.

It drives me totally nuts that developers won't release demos. If your product is good enough, then people will buy it based on playing it for a few minutes. If they instantly realize its crap, then you need to put more work into making a better product. Stop scamming people into giving you money when refunds are very difficult.

Developers also seem to think that people will be willing to pay more for iPad apps. With me, this is not the case. Not to mention, I am not going to pay for the same application AGAIN just for increased resolution.

Take enigma for example. Awesome game, one of the first I bought for the iPhone. I paid $9.99 when it came out, enjoy it a lot. Now the price is down to $2.99. The iPad version is $9.99. Why the hell am I going to pay full price AGAIN for the same game, there is NOTHING new. Yes, higher resolution graphics. Which is just a matter of them reimported the images (ok a bit more then that, especially if they dont have higher quality originals)

I understand there is no way for a developer to give a discount if you have already purchased the application.

I contacted the developer of Enigma and they said they aren't doing a price drop. Ok, welp I won't be buying it then and I am sure lots of others will do the same.

What also pisses me off is developers who are creating 2 separate versions of an app. I understand they want to make money off the development of the iPad version, but make the new one universal!!

Over time developers will be forced to lower prices, they won't be able to compete otherwise.

So far, I have spent $9.99 on applications. That was to purchase numbers, which is well worth the price.
 

Simgar988

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jul 22, 2009
1,094
37
UYBAATC
Ill tell you exactly why they are over-charging. It's because the default app price for an iPhone app is 99 cents. Developers hate that this is the standard, are mad at themselves for getting the price that low to begin with, and are now desperately trying to inflate the "standard" price of an iPad app as high as they can get it.

I already have TONS of apps for my iPhone and absolutely will not repay one penny for any apps that are gonna charge me MORE for the app the SECOND time I buy it.

Insanity:confused:
 

/dev/toaster

macrumors 68020
Feb 23, 2006
2,478
249
San Francisco, CA
Ill tell you exactly why they are over-charging. It's because the default app price for an iPhone app is 99 cents. Developers hate that this is the standard, are mad at themselves for getting the price that low to begin with, and are now desperately trying to inflate the "standard" price of an iPad app as high as they can get it.

I already have TONS of apps for my iPhone and absolutely will not repay one penny for any apps that are gonna charge me MORE for the app the SECOND time I buy it.

Insanity:confused:

Its a losing battle for them. The higher they try to inflate the prices, the less sales they will have. Now, I am not saying that everything should be $0.99. Generally if its more then $4.99 there is a very good chance they are over charging.

Couldn't agree more. Some are charing more than 3x what the iPhone app costs.

For example, Omnigraffle ... they are out of their minds if they think I am going to pay $49 for an iPad app.
 

danpass

macrumors 68030
Jun 27, 2009
2,693
482
Glory
................

It drives me totally nuts that developers won't release demos. If your product is good enough, then people will buy it based on playing it for a few minutes. If they instantly realize its crap, then you need to put more work into making a better product. Stop scamming people into giving you money when refunds are very difficult.

..................

Agreed

After using Air Video Free for about twenty seconds, literally ..... I bought the full version.
 

gillybean

macrumors 6502a
Jul 21, 2008
788
2
Seattle, WA
For example, Omnigraffle ... they are out of their minds if they think I am going to pay $49 for an iPad app.

Well, it doesn't matter what you think if there are other people out there willing to pay that much. Omnigraffle costs $49 but that's making them the current #15 top grossing App in the iPad store, making them more money than Apps like like Goodreader (the current #23 rank) which everybody has but only costs 99 cents.

The most expensive Apps I've bought so far have been LogMeIn Ignition ($29.99 - currently the #13 top grossing), Need for Speed Shift ($14.99 - currently the #10 top grossing), Air Sharing HD ($9.99 - currently the #8 top grossing), and Pages ($9.99 - currently the #1 top grossing). Sure it'd be great if they only cost 99 cents or $4.99 each, but even at their current price points there are enough people out there buying them (e.g. me) to make them a lot more profitable for the developers at their current prices.
 

myoldwatermill

macrumors member
Jan 2, 2010
73
0
I am actually getting pretty disappointed that there haven't been more apps yet.

It is even harder to find them with the app store being so unwieldy as it is.

I would really love if Mac rumors opened up an iPad app sub forum, it might make things a bit easier to review and showcase apps to one another.
 

ClaireL

macrumors 6502a
Apr 4, 2010
522
0
New Jersey
myoldwatermill said:
I am actually getting pretty disappointed that there haven't been more apps yet.

It is even harder to find them with the app store being so unwieldy as it is.

I would really love if Mac rumors opened up an iPad app sub forum, it might make things a bit easier to review and showcase apps to one another.

Please make a post in the case for an iPad Apps board. Link here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/894712/
:)
 

muddy cleats

macrumors member
Sep 5, 2007
32
0
The guys over at MacBreak Weekly on TWIT were postulating we will start to see really great apps in 6 months.....
 

/dev/toaster

macrumors 68020
Feb 23, 2006
2,478
249
San Francisco, CA
Well, it doesn't matter what you think if there are other people out there willing to pay that much. Omnigraffle costs $49 but that's making them the current #15 top grossing App in the iPad store, making them more money than Apps like like Goodreader (the current #23 rank) which everybody has but only costs 99 cents.

The most expensive Apps I've bought so far have been LogMeIn Ignition ($29.99 - currently the #13 top grossing), Need for Speed Shift ($14.99 - currently the #10 top grossing), Air Sharing HD ($9.99 - currently the #8 top grossing), and Pages ($9.99 - currently the #1 top grossing). Sure it'd be great if they only cost 99 cents or $4.99 each, but even at their current price points there are enough people out there buying them (e.g. me) to make them a lot more profitable for the developers at their current prices.

Omnigraffle won't stay there for long.
 

wovel

macrumors 68000
Mar 15, 2010
1,839
161
America(s)!
Omnigraffle won't stay there for long.

Omnigraffe is sitting in a competition free spot on the platform. I think if they had a good demo like they do with there Mac software, they could hold that price for a while. It is a somewhat limited market so the price makes perfect sense.

If I knew it worked well I would not hesitate to spend the $49. I have to agree though, more demos. If your product is good, that is the best way to sell it. The only paid app I have bought on the iPhone that did not have a free demo was iSSH and the only iPad I will buy is Pages (When I can get my 3G), but I tried that in the Apple store.
 

MacToddB

macrumors 6502a
Aug 21, 2007
926
0
Rochester, NY
What also pisses me off is developers who are creating 2 separate versions of an app. I understand they want to make money off the development of the iPad version, but make the new one universal!!

The problem, speaking as a developer, is/was Apple was encouraging developers to create iPad-specific apps if they wanted a chance at being highlighted during the launch. So of course, I complied, as any eager dev would.

I have since submitted updates that make those apps Universal. Unfortunately, Apple rejected them, several times because they insisted it support all orientations, etc. Now it does, and is Universal, but that version has been in review for a week.

We're trying, folks. It was hard to develop for something we couldn't touch. Within 1 hour of opening my iPad early Saturday morning, launch day, I had submitted an update. It's still waiting for Apple.
 

vincebio

macrumors 6502a
Jun 27, 2005
792
48
Glasgow
The problem, speaking as a developer, is/was Apple was encouraging developers to create iPad-specific apps if they wanted a chance at being highlighted during the launch. So of course, I complied, as any eager dev would.

I have since submitted updates that make those apps Universal. Unfortunately, Apple rejected them, several times because they insisted it support all orientations, etc. Now it does, and is Universal, but that version has been in review for a week.

We're trying, folks. It was hard to develop for something we couldn't touch. Within 1 hour of opening my iPad early Saturday morning, launch day, I had submitted an update. It's still waiting for Apple.

this is a fantastic point....people seem to be forgetting the dev's didnt actually have iPad's...

give them a break on the timescales...

but feel free to hammer them on the markup on prices, some of them will get a reality 'cheque', pun intended
 

Compile 'em all

macrumors 601
Apr 6, 2005
4,130
323
Ill tell you exactly why they are over-charging. It's because the default app price for an iPhone app is 99 cents. Developers hate that this is the standard, are mad at themselves for getting the price that low to begin with, and are now desperately trying to inflate the "standard" price of an iPad app as high as they can get it.

I already have TONS of apps for my iPhone and absolutely will not repay one penny for any apps that are gonna charge me MORE for the app the SECOND time I buy it.

Insanity:confused:

Do you want more whine with your cheese?

99 cents is "not" a standard price. It never was. The 70 cents you are paying the developer won't get you a cup of coffee.

If you don't like the prices then by all means don't buy them. Nobody is putting a gun to your head. But please don't tell us how to price our software. Most developers have families and are making a living from writing software.

Of course, being able to demo an app or provide an upgrade path for existing customers would be nice but Apple didn't give devs any tools to do so.
 

gwynne

macrumors 68000
Mar 11, 2010
1,816
8
This is secondhand info only, but I hear people who forked over for omnigraffle were very not pleased with what they got.

Out of the paid apps I have, the only ones I don't regret spending money on are Air Video and Comic Zeal. I'm sure some of the games are pretty good but I tend to be a desktop gamer only.

Air Video has a Free version, which was what enabled me to decide to make the purchase.
 

atr

macrumors regular
Dec 16, 2009
113
0
This is secondhand info only, but I hear people who forked over for omnigraffle were very not pleased with what they got.

Out of the paid apps I have, the only ones I don't regret spending money on are Air Video and Comic Zeal. I'm sure some of the games are pretty good but I tend to be a desktop gamer only.

Air Video has a Free version, which was what enabled me to decide to make the purchase.

I forked it over for Omnigraffle and am happy with my purchase. I have yet to really use it outside of playing with it but I will. I have paid for many iPad apps, some I'm very happy with, some not so much. A demo would be great, but I accept the fact that I bought them without a demo first, like them or not. To be honest, I have found that for the most part, apps that were $9 or more have been very good apps, and apps that were in the $2 to $5 range weren't. There are some exceptions to that, but not the majority.

There are some developers that are taking their time in developing apps specifically for the iPad. I suppose that they want to ensure they have a "good/complete" app before they release one. But, and I can only give my opinion, I find this to be a bad choice. I have some really good apps on my iPhone and I was hoping to transfer their capabilities onto my iPad. But if the developer didn't make their app iPad capable (and yes I know you can use an iPhone app on an iPad - but I hate the x1 or x2 displays) then I have gone out and found someone else's iPad app that will. When they finally come out with an iPad specific version of their app I will already be using something else. I would prefer to stick with the one I was used to using, all the dev would have to do for now is to update the graphics to give a better view on the iPad. I would wait for updates to the functionality if that is what they want to do. I LIKE updates, look for them every day, kinda like a present when I get one. A perfect example of this is Daylite Touch. I love it on my iPhone and MacBook Pro. But it isn't so good on my iPad. I paid the $50 license fee to put it on my iPad the day they came out. But I think it looks terrible on the iPad and you can't use it in landscape view, so you can't get the bigger keyboard. I know that I "could" have downloaded the Daylite Touch app for free before paying for the license, and I would have had a chance to see that I didn't like it. But, I didn't even think of doing that since I knew I liked it on my iPhone and MBP. My mistake, my loss of $50. I am now using other apps to do the same thing so when Daylite Touch finally does come out with an iPad version, I will already be using something else.
 

marksman

macrumors 603
Jun 4, 2007
5,764
5
To be fair to developers they got caught in a cycle with the iphone and the app store where they got suckered into under-charging for their products.

They are getting a do-over of sorts, and many are charging higher prices, because a lot, if not most, iPad apps are underpriced.

This could mean they are swinging too far the other way, but it was certainly to be expected.

I think a demo is a good idea for apps to get people exposed to them.


I will say I am glad there was not as big a rush to get out there with apps as I had expected. It takes time to develop apps, and for ones that specifically make the best use of the iPad it will take a while.

Do people remember the original iPhone? We had safari and not much else and we liked it!
 

nastebu

macrumors 6502
May 5, 2008
354
0
Isn't wishing for the "really great apps" at the same time as complaining about the price a bit contradictory? Great applications take a lot of time to create, and so they are going to cost more.
 

GrindedDown

macrumors 6502a
Jun 4, 2009
715
263
Las Vegas
One of the biggest factors in charging more for apps right now is because the market is not nearly as competitive as it will be 1 year from now. The installed user base is pretty low and those people are looking to make the most of their new device. The customers now are way more likely to pay the higher prices than the customer of next year when more casual users begin to buy the ipad. I am surprised that some of these companies have agreed to charge so little for the applications. Like good reader could be $5 and same with air video. The prices will get lower as the average consumer spends less per app and there are more options available to the large consumer base. The prices will go down for most apps including a good number of games.

I think apps like omnigraffle will stay around where it is because the target demographic will likely be willing to spend that kind of money on a pro-sumer business app where as your casual user has no or little interest in an app like that.
 

RebelRed

macrumors member
Mar 12, 2010
82
1
I think overcharging is less about the actual price and more about what you actually get. For example, a PDF reader should be a buck or two. If that omni program is anything like the full Mac version, it should be higher. Pages is $10 and with good reason.

However, most apps are charging more just because they can right now. I can't wait for more competition so deva have to do more than just make something that works on an iPad to get sales.

By the way, why hasn't the featured app of the week changed ever? Did MLB fork over some nice cash to stay there?
 
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