[wilsonng]

This is the new reality. Pay the price for the apps. But a new reality is that the apps are priced lower than traditional apps used to be.

I sometimes wonder whether I should pay $60 for a console video game or just pay $10 for an iPad video game.

At these new lower prices, it's still a bargain.

OmniFocus has shown its value to my daily life ten times over. I'd pay the same price if it helps my life out.

[pitamakan]

Originally Posted by wilsonng

But a new reality is that the apps are priced lower than traditional apps used to be.

That's definitely true in many cases ... though I'd argue that Omni hasn't at all adapted to that new reality. The older pricing models still seem to work for Omni at the moment, though my personal guess is that they're not going to be sustainable for them in the long term. If it works for now, though ... more power to them, I suppose.

[wilsonng]

yes, that's true about Omni pricing their apps higher. But I guess some programs will never be priced any lower. If you think you got value for your purchase, then you'll feel justified to paying that high price. Otherwise it is a bit too much for buyers who don't use it enough to justify its price.

I use OF every day and live off of it. So I'll get my full money's worth out of the purchase of a new app version. My sister is quite happy with Reminders on the iPhone. She just shakes her head when she sees my OmniFocus setup. My life has a bunch of grouped tasks or projects. So I'll need OF for iPhone. Her life tends to be more of a bunch of single tasks that can be placed into simple lists or groups. She's quite happy with Reminders. At least we have choices.

We are also seeing a new business model in the software industry. Now we are asked to go a subscription model. Microsoft Office 365 and Adobe Creative Cloud are the first salvo in an evolving industry. It may feel uncomfortable and strange at first. But it'll get accepted in the same way we pay for cellphone service or cable TV service.

In-App purchases have also become trendy to attract users to buy features in an ala-carte method. Just buy the features that you want or you can buy the entire package. Imagine a spreadsheet program. You get basic features for free or low cost. But then you can buy an engineering package for an additional sum for those that need those features. Then there could be a statistical package for those that may want those features.

It's interesting to see how the industry has evolved over the years.

[JRArseneau]

It's really a matter of perspective.

The bottom line, the Omni Group is a business and they have a need to sustain themselves. One of the reasons they've been able to do so for so many years is directly related to the fact their apps bring a ton of value to their users, who then become loyal and keep purchasing their products. They aren't cheap, but you get what you pay for. They wouldn't be around this long if their apps sold for 4.99 or continually offered free upgrades.

Take for instance the work a person does. You get paid to go to work. Let's say you're an office worker and have worked for the past 3 or 6 months on this important project. You complete the project and 2-3 months after completion, you get a new boss, who doesn't necessarily agree with the direction and wants you to make some modifications to your deliverable which will take you another 2 months. On top of all that, your boss wants you to do it off-hours, on your own time, without getting paid. You going to do it? Hell no.

It's really the same principal. So many individuals don't realize that the people at Omni Group put food on their plate and are able to live a decent living by charging for their apps. If they charged 4.99 and gave updates away for free, you probably wouldn't be seeing the quality you do.

Then again, if you're using an app like OmniFocus as a simple task manager, then I agree, repaying is a kick in the balls. But if you're using OmniFocus the way it was meant to be used, then the time and money you've saved (even after only a few months of use) will pay for the price of a new version ten fold.