[BabaBerry]

Google has a lot of free software up there sleeves... If only... everything would have worked on BB

[adwiv]

There are various reasons for the high cost of applications on blackberry:

1. Developing applications for native blackberry (not j2me) is costly. A good blackberry developer might cost twice a simple java developer and much more than a windows (vb) developer for example. With this and reason 6 combined, the cost of software per license has to be high compared to windows or pure j2me software.

2. J2ME apps do not work out of the box on blackberry. See 4 how it would affect the pricing.

3. There are so many versions to take care of. On windows, you are pretty sure that if it works on your desktop, it will work on every other persons' desktop too. For blackberry, if it works on my 8700, there is no guarantee that it will work on yours too.

4. Because of 2 & 3 above, almost all purchases generate some support query during their lifetime. Or you would upgrade your device, and need support. If the support per purchase takes half an hour of support person's time, it would cost as much as 5$ minimum. If the application retails for 5$, there is no money left to pay for development. This is the reason support sucks for most of the cheap blackberry applications.

5. Many of the intermediaries like the ones you generally purchase applications from CHARGE UPTO 40-60% OF THE PRICE you pay as commission. So for a 30$ application, the developer ends up with $15 or so, maybe lesser after factoring the taxes.

6. The biggest reason of all: There are so few of us. This forum has something like 85K users registered ever. Only a selected few of them would ever buy applications. There are games on symbian (read Nokia) that have sold over million copies. Even RIM can not sell so many copies of an application unless they push it for free to all users.

There is at least one way in which we can help the vendors provide us cheaper products:
BUY SOFTWARE FROM VENDOR'S WEBSITE instead of using the intermediaries. This would help them get a greater share of what we pay for their products, which should reflect in product quality and support.

[BabaBerry]

I agree to an extent that BB softwares are expensive. But some are definitely worth the amount you pay for...

There has been a mention of Ascendo Fitness in the discussion earlier. I have been using a Ascendo Fitness for about 2 months now (New year resolution to get fit again )and have been more than impressed by the software and especially their after service support. I had a few issues with installation and these guys were quick to help me out.

Google is the other company I love to admire! and ofcourse its free software . But there are no free lunches in this world and I am sure they are gonna change their software to have some kind of advertisements(like they have for desktop versions)...

I agree software is expensive...but at the same time, I am ready to pay something for a good piece of software.

[kathrynhr]

Originally Posted by dlbrock

I also work in the sofware business. This is a great post! I also don't mind paying for any software that I use. With subscription based software it becomes guaranteed income on a regular basis to the developer. I have found that most subscription based software comes with free upgrades while non-subscription software you have to purchase the upgrades. I guess it depends on what side of the business you are on. If you are the developer then it makes sense because you are trying to make a living. If you are the consumer, we all expect to get everything for little to no cost.

I'm also a professional software developer (non-BB). I don't mind paying for software, but sometimes I mind the price very much:

Good software is so intuitive that you don't notice it at all. All your attention should be on the task you're using the software for, whether that's filing your taxes or squashing your enemy. That kind of well-crafted tool is rare, and it is absolutely worth paying for. Generously.

That said, I would not pay a premium price for something I knew I would use only occasionally, no matter how good it was. The cost-benefit isn't there.

I would also not pay much for something that was not pleasant for me to use, even if I used it every single day. Form is as necessary as function when you're talking about a tool you use frequently. I can think of more than a few BB apps that fall into the "useful but unwieldy and/or downright ugly" category. The product isn't finished, IMO as a developer, until it's a pleasure to use. I am not going to pay very much money for an unfinished product.

[kathrynhr]

Originally Posted by adwiv

On windows, you are pretty sure that if it works on your desktop, it will work on every other persons' desktop too.

I wish this were true! I've been writing Windows software for 14 years, and there's no being "pretty sure" about anything in Windows. From DLL h3ll to service packs to well-meaning third party firewall applications, it's very tough to guarantee that your application will be stable on others' PCs just because it's stable on yours.

That said, I believe your other arguments, as to why BB software is justifiably more expensive than some other mobile software, are exactly right.

[cenner]

BB is more expensive but I think its because the software creators numbers are not there for this platform. Very little competition.

[littleseve]

cool

[JG in SB]

I have no problem paying for good software. I don't think $30.00 is an exhorbitant price to pay for an application that saves me multiple times that amount by increasing my productivity or dramatically enhancing the usefulness of my BlackBerry.

The folks that write these applications have to eat and pay their mortgage just like I do. I have seen the pain and brain damage that goes into just making a simple web page work, and I can only imagine what is involved to create a really well done application for the BlackBerry.

So I say, pay them, and it will serve as an incentive for the existing developers to improve their products, and new developers to want to enter the market. ;)

[lark]

I also do not like paying a monthly subscription fee. I would rather pay more up front, and have it be mine. Good software is always worth the $$, in my opinion. But other programs, that have a monpoly (I am thinking of eoffice), seem to charge what they can get - not for what the program is worth. But, I guess a program is worth what people will pay.

Like Dave, I am coming from WM platform where feature rich programs can be had for a lot less money. Well, OK, they don't work or they may make the device crash - but still they are cheap.

[rel12561]

Originally Posted by DaveAnderson

Appreciate the comments.

I'm very resistant to leasing software. I prefer a model similar to Vbulletin's (I run a web site off their software). Pay for the initial software + 1 year support. After that, you can pay (a lesser value) for another year of support + free upgrades, or not pay and keep what you're on.

I like Newsclip. I like reading the news. $30/year is a lot, though. I understand how it's broken down - per month, day, etc. It's still a lot for what I'm getting.

Try PicoNews...it's free

[jtdarden]

I have no problem paying for an application. If a developer is confident in the application they will offer a trial period on the app.

That being said, there are a lot of application vendors out there that are charging subscription rates and high fees for applications that are not very well thought out, clunky, prone to crashing, and more trouble than they are worth. It is one thing to offer an application for a reasonable price while still in development. It is a whole other issue when the app is not supported and never evolves into a completely usable app. We all know that applications are usually released into the wild before they are completely 100% ready for prime time. I have no problem with this, as long as the support continues after the fee has been paid.

There is a balance of price versus value, and if the developer's application is not compelling and solid the trials will not convert to sales. I am about a 30% trial to purchase ratio myself as a consumer.

If you find the right app., why would you not pay $30, or $100, or $20 per year. You obviously found a compelling wireless device that you are paying $480 per year for, what's another $30 per year if it is the killer app you cannot live without?

[danbra]

Hi all,
This thread turns to be an intruiging duscussion.
My company aims to one time purchase and free technical support with free upgrades when a new version is released. Until recently we had one subscription - WDH - attachment service - but now it is replaced by Online file storage which is a license not a subscription.
And I see no reason why this should not be a future for the market. Beery Pix posted a great topic, but one thing is missing there. The amount of BB users is growing and 4 millions is just a number for a moment.
Furthermore, trial is absolutely necessary. The developer himself (let's forget about marketing for instance) is interested in a customer who knows what he wants and can clearly express his 1) expectations; 2) impression; 3) dissapointment. A good customer for developer is interested in obtaining THE application to serve him in his business. He therefore will be eager to coopearate with technical support to sort any technical issue out just because he needs this application. It's a bit idealistic but still - no marketing.
On the other hand, it's unfair to charge additional fees - subscriptions - from such a customer.
Good product costs money, but just one time, and trial, free support and upgrades are prerequisite. I would say the same as a person who also uses BB third-party applications. If I pay once and then just use the product to my advantage I would forget the sum and the payment and the feeling of giving my money away at all sooner or later. If I have to pay again and again - this feeling is always with me.

[adwiv]

Hi Dan, I agree completely with the trial. It is a must for every developer to offer trial of their products. The only exception are products that have one time utility like ebooks etc.

Free support - There is nothing free. The cost of "free" support is factored in all products. My estimate is that for each customer, the support cost comes around to 10$ per year. (Unless you outsource product support to Nigeria, that is) This is fine for $200 products that your company offers to factor the cost of support. Not so for $5-10 products. (And people want telephonic support for $5 products and that too want you to call.) 80% of the issues are because the users don't read manuals. You can just copy paste the relevant part in the mail and u're done. The same thing would take 30 minutes over the phone.

Upgrades - Minor upgrades and bug fixes are a must. But no successful software company offers free upgrades for lifetime. On mobile devices, the technology is changing so fast that you will end up rewriting your application within a year. You had eFile and all your products used it. We now have a filesystem. So you rewrite that part of code. And transfer the cost to the newer customers. Instead, you can charge a small upgrade fees and reduce the SRP of your products.

And regarding the 4million users, (Its actually 7 million in Dec 2006 as per RIM), how many of them can your products reach? BlackBerry forums has about 100K users, which is just about 1.5% of the total users. And even a small minority of them would ever come to know about your product. How many of the real users visit this Aftermarket software section regularly? Again, I am not talking about corporate products like yours where sales are mostly convincing one person and then pushed to hundereds of users. I am talking about real consumer products.

The biggest issue is that there is no channel for product discovery and delivery on blackberry. The available ones like handango eat the developers alive with their commissions.

[danbra]

Hi Adwiv,

As for support it is an interesting point. That's with what I work mostl of my time and could share my arguments, but it will be flood. Not in this thread. Perhaps, we should consider initiating a special one
Our company offers upgrades to newer versions of products free for its lifetime. That is to prove my position.
Our software is not for enterprise customers only. Standalone users are equal. And everything we have for those who reside on BES is available for those who does not. Moreover, just released product MasterDoc and eOffice 4.0 are at the moment available for individual users and targeted at their needs. You may check http://dynoplex.com/masterdoc.shtml for instance

Handango... That's out of this thread again, i wrote too much, will let others to express their point of view

[jtdarden]

Originally Posted by adwiv

Free support - There is nothing free. The cost of "free" support is factored in all products.

I Agree 110%. . .Quid Pro Quo

Originally Posted by adwiv

Upgrades - Minor upgrades and bug fixes are a must. But no successful software company offers free upgrades for lifetime.

Feature upgrades are reasonable to charge for, but changes to existing features to get them to work better with the app, bugs and fixes should not be charged for. This is why a subscription model is sometime beneficial for all (customer and developer).

Originally Posted by adwiv

And regarding the 4million users, (Its actually 7 million in Dec 2006 as per RIM), how many of them can your products reach? BlackBerry forums has about 100K users, which is just about 1.5% of the total users. And even a small minority of them would ever come to know about your product. How many of the real users visit this Aftermarket software section regularly? Again, I am not talking about corporate products like yours where sales are mostly convincing one person and then pushed to hundereds of users. I am talking about real consumer products.

You hit the nail on the head. I would say that a majority of that 7million users had the decision to use the Blackberry made for them. A smaller minority are power users, and are considered the perfect customer for a developer because you have a compelling application and the customer obviously understands value if they are shelling out an extra $40 per month to have a BB. The Windows Mobile crowd I would say is not as rabid a userbase, and I would argue that the WM crowd has a much lower trial to buy ratio.

This is just my $.02 from a guy who is not a developer, but someone who appreciates what you guys do everyday and is willing to pay for a quality app.

[danbra]

Guys, we reduced prices for DynoPlex products. eOffice now is 99,95 $, MasterDoc is 49.95 $, eSpell - 19.95 $.

[bratan007]

I think there's a major problem with logic used here. You cannot compare an effort to develop software for Windows with developing software for Blackberry/Java. You just cannot do same things and have same features on the phone that Windows has. Thus apps are lighter and more limited. Blackberry apps are unjustly overpriced. I used to own a Palm OS phone, and I bought alot of useful apps for it. I payed around $5-15 tops! And those were great programs too. Why same programs made for Blackberry cost in the $50 zone I can't understand. I mean look at BeeJive's messanger. They offer it for FREE for iPhone, and want $20 for Blackberry version of the SAME software. How do you explain that? I know I can't. I think it might be a thinking that Blackberry is used by rich suit men who can afford anything...

[MaxDiggity]

Originally Posted by bratan007

I think it might be a thinking that Blackberry is used by rich suit men who can afford anything...

I'm getting that impression also; I'm in front of a PC or using my BB all day, if I'd pay for every semi-decent application I'm using I couldn't afford to buy food anymore.

I got into programming with python some time ago and the best thing I ever programmed was a USD/Euro-converter, and even that took me a while so I can understand that developers that invest their time and skill in programming software want something for it in return, but like kathrynhr wrote up there, the cost-benefit just isnt there considering I'm jumping from application to application all day long.

I dont mind paying for good software I use alot but 25 bucks for a hardly used messenger? I dont think so.

Wowzer this thread IS old lol

[JSanders]

First, welcome to the BBF.

Second, you dug up a six month old thread for this?

Originally Posted by bratan007

They offer it for FREE for iPhone, and want $20 for Blackberry version of the SAME software.

Forever?

Thirdly, it is called the free market. If it is overpriced, it won't get bought. If the market can't bear the higher prices, the company will be forced to lower the price. I have seen happen twice this year already with two different applications.

[danbra]

Also, the applications functionality is expanding while the prices, as JSanders noted, tend to decrease. Just check the release posts from the developers and you'll notice these two trends.
We have just released eOffice v. 4.3 which allows native xls and doc files management, i.e. no conversion is needed any more. MS Office files may be copied to SD card, then opened on BB and edited. And eOffice price stays at 99.95 $...