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$40? Seriously? [OmniFocus for iPad Pricing Feedback] Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
It wasn't and isn't ad hominem to point out the stupidity of other people in general. It would be ad hominem if I said "So-and-so is an idiot".[1]

To return to the discussion however: the people that paid anything more than nothing for a "shopping list app" aren't the customer base I think OmniGroup is marketing to, and if they're unhappy because their Grocery List App gets an update a week after they bought it, I don't think they'd care. And if they do care, they are paid off in the form of a full refund by OmniGroup (I've seen at least two instances where an idi^H^H^H mentally challenged? person bought OmniFocus and then threw a tantrum because it didn't do whatever feature that a cheaper or free application does and OmniGroup dutifully intervenes and says "here's your money back go away".

If they're buying OmniFocus to manage a shopping list, they're not cost-driven customers. If they'll pay USD$20 for a Shopping List, they'd probably pay $30, and they may never even interact with OmniGroup or their users in any way.

As for upgrade prices on OmniProducts, I've purchased OmniFocus on iPad, iPhone and OS X, OmniGraffle Pro and I didn't even know that there was an upgrade price available on OmniGraffle Pro. In the case of OmniGraffle Pro, I would consider an upgrade price to be a way to convert a purchaser that wouldn't buy the product at all because the current version suits their needs. It's a marketing move more than a customer/brand retention one.

I can't be the only one that finds it difficult to have a conversation about cost/ROI when we're a user base that purchases a premium brand of computer or mobile device and specialized software on top of that. A refined and polished experience is what everyone here expects, and we haven't exactly been paying market rate for our user experience, hardware and software since 1984, have we?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by emory View Post
A refined and polished experience is what everyone here expects, and we haven't exactly been paying market rate for our user experience, hardware and software since 1984, have we?
It seems to me that we have been paying market rate for a refined and polished experience, hardware, and software. The market rate for the Windows/Dell experience is lower, though, and our market appears to be smaller. There are some who have difficulty grasping the concept that our often superior experience might actually justify the price, I've noticed ;)
 
It's always easy to jump on the band wagon and call for lower prices, and I'm going to as well, but it is a considered jumping on.

Let me start by saying that I think OF Desktop is over priced to start with. It's a great app, but $40 would be an attractive price and having used it I'd still be willing at $50, but $80 is just too steep IMHO.

Further let me say up front that I find apps that COULD be combined iPhone/iPad apps but aren't to be patently obnoxious. I think of it as buying a mobile app, not as buying one app for my phone and another for my iPad. I think the same of desktop apps that are restricted to a single machine. A single user shouldn't have to buy a separate license for their laptop and their desktop.

Even then, if there was a combined app, I think that app should have been priced around $25. As it is we've got to spend $60 to get both.

The iPhone app is nice, but it's not really usable as a stand alone product, it's usefulness comes from syncing with the desktop version. The iPad app might be fully usable for some, but I still think of it as an accessory to the desktop version. Making people pay nearly as much for the accessories as the actual product irks me.

By comparison, Things which is essentially similar to OF (and I think actually offers better sync services, more on that later) is $50 for the desktop app (fair), $20 for iPad (fair) and $10 for iPhone (fair)... still I don't think the iPad and iPhone apps should be separate apps, but the overall pricing seems more reasonable to me.

As for sync'ing services which is why I came to the forums today. I understand OF isn't really optimized for network based syncing, and that the infinite undo ability probably makes that extremely difficult, but ubiquitous instant syncing between devices is the very least I would expect if paying those sorts of prices. WebDAV (which I use) is a start, but DropBox ought to be supported as well.

The saving grace for OmniGroup's pricing is their great support, but the lack of ubiquitous instant syncing is the overriding reason I think the mobile apps simply aren't worth anything near their price tags.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jb510 View Post
Further let me say up front that I find apps that COULD be combined iPhone/iPad apps but aren't to be patently obnoxious. I think of it as buying a mobile app, not as buying one app for my phone and another for my iPad. I think the same of desktop apps that are restricted to a single machine. A single user shouldn't have to buy a separate license for their laptop and their desktop.
You seem to be ignoring the fact that there is significant extra development work for the iPad version. The laptop/desktop example is one where they are charging you twice for the same thing.

OmniFocus for iPad was a significant amount of extra work. If they didn't charge for that version, they would've had to charge more for the iPhone version.
Quote:
Making people pay nearly as much for the accessories as the actual product irks me.
Accessories that have a significant amount or R&D, and that many customers will not want.

iPad keyboard: $70
Case:$40
Car charger: $30
Headset: $30
iWork: $30
Total: $200
That's a fairly normal set of accessories for an iPad.
Quote:
As for sync'ing services which is why I came to the forums today. I understand OF isn't really optimized for network based syncing, and that the infinite undo ability probably makes that extremely difficult, but ubiquitous instant syncing between devices is the very least I would expect if paying those sorts of prices. WebDAV (which I use) is a start, but DropBox ought to be supported as well.
By network, you mean LAN, right?

Does things support WAN / remote syncing yet? Haven't they promised that for a long, long time?

I share an OmniFocus database with my wife. It is on two iPhones, three iPads and a MacBook Pro. I hit sync when I'm done making changes and the database is quickly synced, whether I'm on a LAN or a WAN.

I would hate to have to open up the app on my iPhone and iPad before I put my laptop to sleep.

Even when I was keeping one iPhone and one laptop in sync, I preferred OF sync to LAN sync.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jb510 View Post
Further let me say up front that I find apps that COULD be combined iPhone/iPad apps but aren't to be patently obnoxious. I think of it as buying a mobile app, not as buying one app for my phone and another for my iPad. I think the same of desktop apps that are restricted to a single machine. A single user shouldn't have to buy a separate license for their laptop and their desktop.
What I find even more obnoxious is that Omni, a bunch of talented people, wasn't simply able to bundle iPhone/iPad and Mac app into one, sold for $.99. What? They'd just need to run a virtual machine on the iPhone/iPad. Obviously if they're not capable of doing that they must not be as talented as everyone makes them out to be. Actually, if they were really talented they should have made it possible to have a virtual 30 in screen on OF iPhone (which anyway would be the same as OF iPad). Also, they should allow you to claim student discount on their product which would mean that they should actually pay you to use them. And then they should thank you for doing so. Jeezzzz. [/SNARK]
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by whpalmer4 View Post
It seems to me that we have been paying market rate for a refined and polished experience, hardware, and software. The market rate for the Windows/Dell experience is lower, though, and our market appears to be smaller. There are some who have difficulty grasping the concept that our often superior experience might actually justify the price, I've noticed ;)
Oh, I couldn't agree more. I find it hard to believe that anyone using an iPad and also using an iPhone or a Mac is batting an eye at 40 dollars or is all that cost-sensitive.

If you need OmniFocus for the iPad, the price is right to get it and also meet the balance against development and support costs. They probably could have charged another $9 and only lost double-digits of customers.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jb510 View Post

Further let me say up front that I find apps that COULD be combined iPhone/iPad apps but aren't to be patently obnoxious. I think of it as buying a mobile app, not as buying one app for my phone and another for my iPad.
There is a combined app for the price-conscious. Run the iPhone app! What's that you say, you want the extra features and display tailored to the iPad? Well, that is why you pay extra, just like if you want all the features in Photoshop CS5 instead of the less-powerful Photoshop Elements. Photoshop COULD be a combined app, you know...
 
I can never really understand this attitude that some people seem to feel they are 'entitled' to every piece of pro-grade software that exists, whether they need it or not.

The chances are, if you think it's too expensive then you really don't *need* it and one of the more cost-effective solutions would be more than enough to suit your need.

For example, I'm a photographer and I often hear people moaning about the price of Photoshop, and yet they're not involved in the graphics industry and barely take any photos other than holiday snaps. They don't need it, Elements or even iPhoto would be more than plenty for all their needs. They just *want* it, because they've heard it's cool.

Photography is a major part of my life and so I bought the full Adobe Creative Suite, and Lightroom too. They are an absolutely key part of my daily workflow and more than worth the asking price because I use them every day for several hours. I spend far more hours using Photoshop than I do in my car so the value to me is obvious.

I've already said several times that OmniFocus in it's three forms saves me literally hours of time every week. If it only saved me one hour it's paid for itself so the price to me is irrelevant. If I'd paid double the asking price I wouldn't be disappointed and I for one hope that Omni always charge the right price that allows them to continue making the quality of software that they do.

I'd suggest people consider the *real* value to them before they start moaning something is too expensive.
 
I'm finding the "qu'ils mangent de la brioche" posts regarding the relationship between hardware costs and Omni's App pricing difficult to grasp. :confused:

I don't know what the situation is in the USA but in the UK you can pick up an iPhone for £25 ($40) a month, which includes 5000 minutes (+500 xNet), 5000 SMS (texts) and 1G of data downloads.

Also, I've given away my last two iPhones and they are now on PAYG. I've bought a few iPads as gifts and they're top of my feral kin's Xmas wish-lists. I recall a couple of Members have posted that their iPads were 'presents'.

So, not everyone is nonchalantly doling out $1000 and then complaining about $40.

If I'm missing the point, happy to be enlightened! :)
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by endoftheQ View Post
So, not everyone is nonchalantly doling out $1000 and then complaining about $40.

If I'm missing the point, happy to be enlightened! :)
There were people complaining about OmniFocus pricing as a percentage of iPad purchase price.

If anything, I have less sympathy for people who got a gadget for free and then don't want to buy accessories. If you can't afford what you need to use the gadget, too bad.

If somebody offered to give me a Bugatti Veyron, I would try to figure out how to politely suggest that I would need to sell the car and buy something inexpensive like a Rolls Royce or a Ferrari. I can't afford a stress analysis on my rims every few thousand miles, among other things, adding up to 5 or 6 figures in yearly operating costs. In that situation, I assume you would not be sympathetic to me complaining about upkeep.
 
 


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