GPS Log – Price Tag

iPhone users really have come to expect a bargain.  Odd considering how much cash they forked out for the phone.  But so many people discounting their Apps in a desperate bid for popularity (it’s based on downloads, not downloads * price, which encourages $1 apps), the prices are generally undervalued (that – and there’s a lot of crap on the App Store).

I’ve had 2 people now review the free version of GPS Log (albiet with overall positive reviews) asking for a lower price.  But it’s only $10.  I’m trying to think of computer software I have bought for less than that, and I can’t.  I’ve bought a dozen small utilities over the years, from screen capture tools, to newsgroup software, all in the $25 range (sometimes US).

lwb@sg writes, “Excellent GPS software. It’s easily one of the best geotagged-related programs I have tried on iPhone. If the full version is more reasonably priced, I would not hestitate to get it!”

So it’s better than all those other shitty apps.  But it costs more than them.

hmm.  lets think about that for a minute.

It’s better.  But it costs more.  That’s because it’s better!  Maybe if those other devlopers were working on their apps full time they would be better too – but then they would also want more money, because hey – you have to pay for the food you eat!

So I don’t get it people.  Reward quality with purchases, and you will encourage more quality.  Set the bar at $1 and expect 8 pages of crap on your iPhone.

The thing is that you can’t make up for the low price with volume, unless your App has mass appeal.  If GPS Log was $1 I would have the same number of people interested – but perhaps a small fraction extra would buy it because they are unwilling at the current price.  But I would need 10x more purchases to make up for this!  I know GPS Log doesn’t have mass appeal – I never intended it to – I want it to appeal to a small group of users who need the extact features it provides (such as me), and thus are willing to pay $10 for the privilage.  So far this seem to be working.

I’m asking for $10 – and I’m keeping it that way.

The Youth of Today

The next time I see a newspaper article (even in The Age) that talks about the “iPod generation” or the “Facebook generation” and their careless ways, I will throw a maxed-out credit card strapped to a first generation iPod through one of their windows.

What is it about these technological advances that encourages other generations to label us by them? Do we call them the “TV Generation” or the “Space Rocket Generation” or the “Marijuana Generation”? NO. So why don’t you just sit down in your home (yes, the one you paid $25,000 for but expect us to pay $500,000 for), stop overgeneralising, and enjoy your tax-free retirement (which we will pay for, by the way).

*humph*