[endoftheQ]

Originally Posted by witz

OF is why I bought an iPhone. I had an ipad, and tried all the GTD stuff, but the news of the coming OFiPad app lead me to try the desktop demo. Once I saw how well this all worked, it dawned on me that it wouldn't work forme unless I had it in my pocket, so I finally got an iPhone. It's more important to me than the phone at this point.

The same here Witz, I didn't really want another iPhone but at the time OmniFocus in my pocket was more important than my resentment at Apple's stranglehold on my wallet.

Originally Posted by RiK

For the people who think it's too expensive I can only way (with a big friendly :D) - quit yer whining, you don't need it. Stick to a simple 99c to-do list and then everyone's happy aren't they!

OK, RiK, maybe for you it's "whining" but, playing devil's advocate, then perhaps Omni shouldn't position the product as a to-do-list on the App store?

I'm a happy user of OF on the desktop, less so on iDevices. I've already paid for and deleted OG and OGS from my iPad and I doubt I'll put them back unless some compelling new feature is introduced (OmniGroup Format?:)).

I believe that until Apple permits a paid App upgrade path (so that Omni can generate a revenue stream from its existing client base), then even the most evangelistic and dedicated fanboys of all things Omni need new users and for them to be happy new users.

I have a developer pal who has two paid Apps that have consistently remained in the UK general top 50 since their launch several years ago. He tells me that once your App drops to 2 stars it's game over.

I want Omni to succeed and remain willing to improve and innovate OmniFocus and for me that means I shouldn't shy away from trying to appreciate and, if I can, address other users understandably sometimes negative opinions, whether or not I agree with them. If I do agree with them, being a paid up Member, I feel free to say so. Sorry RiK, but IMHO I don't think telling them they're "whining" or "stick to a simple 99c to-do list" helps them (except to perhaps post negative App Store reviews), Omni or over the long term, us.

[gopi]

Originally Posted by endoftheQ

If Omni is marketing OF as a task management App, then it easily falls into the impulse buy category.

Interesting. I used OmniFocus on the desktop before iOS existed, so I am not great at evaluating the marketing text. You make, I think, a good point that the app's marketing makes it sound more like an impulse buy than it is - at any price it's too complex for that IMHO.

Originally Posted by endoftheQ

I've received equal, if not better, email customer support to Omni's from several 99¢ App developers, namely Atomic, GoodReader and WhatsApp.

Do you think that a significant percentage of buyers of those apps ask for support? Do you think that, short of a full personal assistant AI, that an app doing what OmniFocus does will not get a high enough percentage of users asking for support that a £0.79 price point just can't work?

Originally Posted by endoftheQ

Again, "really?", we must be reading different reviews! :rolleyes: Also, the last time I looked, OF for the iPhone was down to three-and-a-half stars on the UK App store. If it falls below three it is my understanding that future sales would be in serious jeopardy.

In the US it's at 4.5 and virtually all of the poor reviews are either incoherent or factually incorrect. I think there was only one where I felt like there was a coherent and valid point.

Originally Posted by endoftheQ

I guess my expectation is that if Omni pitches OF at the non-GTD'er and at a premium price, then those users have a right to expect OF to have the features as advertised,

I don't want them to change the app to appeal to people who aren't looking for serious GTD-esque features. I want them to clarify the marketing materials.

Originally Posted by endoftheQ

have a consistent GUI and icons across the board, isn't full of fundamental bugs that have to be voted on to fix,

I'm not noticing any bugs in my day to day usage.

I really do think that the two issues need to be separated. What OmniGroup says the app is, and what it is. I am happy with what it tries to do, but I do see people could be confused. Fix the confusion, don't rewrite it as a different app.

[hypotyposis]

Originally Posted by endoftheQ

hypotyposis, the medical Apps you mention are never going to be for the casual user, they are specifically designed to fill a niche. If Omni is marketing OF as a task management App, then it easily falls into the impulse buy category.
[...]
IMHO, Omni should stop development of any new features (such as DI which I've clamored for!) until the above basics are sorted and it should then market OmniFocus for what it is, a niche GTD program, not as a to-do list where, at such premium pricing, it seems to end up being an expensive disappointment to non-fundi-GTD'ers.

endoftheQ, I'm not sure I follow you here:

a) OF iPad (I can't remember what was said earlier in the thread and I'm too lazy to look at the previous pages, so I'll assume it is indeed OF iPad that is the subject, since we're in the OF iPad forum) is described on the (US) App Store as: "combin[ing] the in-depth task management functionality of a desktop app with the advanced mobile experience of the iPad."
To me, task manager is ceratinly not = to to-do list app. Which leads me to

b) I don't see how a task management app in the sense that it is not a simple to-do list app is an "impulse buy." I honestly don't know where the management philosophies are at in Britain those days (and I wasn't interested in them when I lived there, so it's not like I ever knew), but it seems to me that the 'cult of GTD' and others Franklin Covey etc. have become so prevalent in the US that it really wouldn't be unreasonable to expect your average US iPhone user to be at least vaguely aware of the distinction between a simple to-do list and a more extensive task manager. Maybe that's just babble though.

Now just to not miss an occasion to contradict you ;) , I believe the monetary threshold for "impulse buy" for medical folks is much higher... and what's that about calling us a niche anyway!?

[endoftheQ]

Originally Posted by hypotyposis

so I'll assume it is indeed OF iPad that is the subject, since we're in the OF iPad forum

Apologies hypotyposis, my previous posts relate to either OmniFocus on the iPhone or on the iPad (or both!). I accept it would be more relevant and specific if I'd opened a separate thread on the OF iPhone Board but having already received threats from Members of this Board to hack-and-erase my hard-drive and being unable to afford further armed security, I've refrained from pushing my luck!

Originally Posted by hypotyposis

I don't see how a task management app in the sense that it is not a simple to-do list app is an "impulse buy." I honestly don't know where the management philosophies are at in Britain those days (and I wasn't interested in them when I lived there, so it's not like I ever knew), but it seems to me that the 'cult of GTD' and others Franklin Covey etc. have become so prevalent in the US that it really wouldn't be unreasonable to expect your average US iPhone user to be at least vaguely aware of the distinction between a simple to-do list and a more extensive task manager. Maybe that's just babble though.

OK, I've attached a several screenshots from the UK App Store. I'd be interested in your honest opinion, if you were a newbie with no experience of OF, which one would you gamble on as the GTD App and which one is for simple errands, tasks, shopping lists, etc. and not for fundi-GTD?

Originally Posted by hypotyposis

Now just to not miss an occasion to contradict you ;) , I believe the monetary threshold for "impulse buy" for medical folks is much higher... and what's that about calling us a niche anyway!?

You medical students live in an alcohol-induced, drug-obliterated, sex-obsessed haze. App developers rely on this fact when charging $300 a hit as they know most of you will so unfocused (GTD or no-GTD) as to believe there's a decimal point after the '3'.

Or have things changed so much since I was at Uni? :p

[Eustace Tilley]

A distinct revenue stream for each product provides a clear signal to the producer of how the market values each product.

[endoftheQ]

Originally Posted by gopi

Interesting. I used OmniFocus on the desktop before iOS existed, so I am not great at evaluating the marketing text. You make, I think, a good point that the app's marketing makes it sound more like an impulse buy than it is - at any price it's too complex for that IMHO.

gopi, I'll put my hands up, same here, like you I hadn't read the App Store blurb, I just 'purchased' because I was a long-time user of the desktop program. It wasn't until a colleague complained about it being 'misleading', that I actually went back and read Omni's sales pitch!

Originally Posted by gopi

Do you think that a significant percentage of buyers of those apps ask for support? Do you think that, short of a full personal assistant AI, that an app doing what OmniFocus does will not get a high enough percentage of users asking for support that a £0.79 price point just can't work?

You make an excellent point. No, I hadn't thought about it in that context. You're right, I imagine that most users can find their own way around Atomic's web browser, despite it's ability to be heavily customised. However, I would say, and contradict me if you're not in agreement, that something as complex as OF should be released with an up-to-date user manual. I think it's shoddy that newbies should first have to find and then search this board for a PDF user guide (which was prepared by a Member) because (and I quote):

Originally Posted by Brian

Sorry about that! Documentation update is on our radar screen; just didn't want to hold the iPhone/iOS 4 release until after we completed the docs for OmniFocus for iPad.

So... many... projects... at... same... time! :-)

Originally Posted by gopi

In the US it's at 4.5 and virtually all of the poor reviews are either incoherent or factually incorrect. I think there was only one where I felt like there was a coherent and valid point.

Good to know. However, in the UK, it's currently 3.5 for the iPhone and a borderline 4 for the iPad (see attached pic). I agree that it's difficult to often grasp what the negative reviews are about, which is why I believe it's better that any grievances are posted on this Board where the more considerate Members can ask questions, try to understand and then help out, rather than the sometimes (IMHO) dismissive responses of 'go away, just ask for a refund' that new users receive.

Originally Posted by gopi

I don't want them to change the app to appeal to people who aren't looking for serious GTD-esque features. I want them to clarify the marketing materials.

Sorry if I wasn't clear, I didn't intend to suggest Omni should change the App. I was, admittedly, applying this to my own experience, where OF for iPhone was missing the 'pick photo' feature, as advertised on the App Store, and which took over a year to get sorted.

Originally Posted by gopi

I'm not noticing any bugs in my day to day usage.

I noticed fundamental bugs, at initial launch, such as having to go into landscape mode before being able to move items, no search within notes, etc.

Thanks gopi, I appreciate your taking the time out to respond.

[kimaira]

hello
Im looking here to learn re: cost/benefits before I buy. I have an iPad no iMac or iPhone. Im at college and like to get some organization re: coursework.
Thanx Kim.

[RiK]

Originally Posted by endoftheQ

gopi, I'll put my hands up, same here, like you I hadn't read the App Store blurb, I just 'purchased' because I was a long-time user of the desktop program. It wasn't until a colleague complained about it being 'misleading', that I actually went back and read Omni's sales pitch!

I must admit, I'm in the same group. I've been using OmniFocus on the desktop and my iPhone since day one on each (including the initial pre-release version on the mac) and so the moment it became available I just clicked on buy. It's only this thread that's made me finally go and read the description, which currently reads as below:



Which seems pretty reasonable and certainly doesn't read like a 'casual' app to me..

[RiK]

On the UK store it's currently at 4 stars for the current ver, 4.5 overall.

[endoftheQ]

Oh... for the love of G... !

Let me nail my colours to the mast. I believe that for followers of David Allen's Getting Things Done® (GTD®) philosophy there is no better program suite than Omni Group's OmniFocus. OK?

I used OmniFocus for iPhone as the example in the previous attachments. I've now done the same thing in this post using OF for iPad.

So RiK, pretend you didn't know about OmniFocus and were relying on the information provided by the developers, which one is the GTD App?