Sareebrol Musings

The release of the iPad has created debate in many different circles, one of which is app pricing.  From a user point of view, the expectation is that most apps should be priced at $0.99.  From a developer point of view, this pricing isn’t sustainable if you plan on making a living on iPhone/iPad development.

At Sareebrol,  we’ve decided to raise the price of version 2 of our NaimGaim series of apps to $3.99.   For the extra dollar, you’re getting the Universal app (iPad and iPhone versions) as well as a list of features users have been requesting:

- Recognizing close names for partial scores

- Updated databases with more names

- Playable in any device orientation

- Improvements in the UI

Not bad for a dollar.

With lots of developers weighing in on the iPad, I thought I’d add my own2 cents.  Some of what people are calling limitations may actually be good things in the context of the device of how it’ll be used.  Focusing on a single task has gotten harder and harder in a modern desktop environment.  Witness applications like Concentrate for the Mac.  In any case, I think the iPad will somewhat “reboot” the notion of how we use computers.  Subtle on the surface, but actually quite important.

Here at Sareebrol, our initial offerings have been for the iPhone/iPod Touch.  Our assumption is that we’ll eventually create versions of some titles for the Mac (as well as Windows in some cases).  When factoring this into our planning schedule, however, it hit me just how important the App Store could become to software distribution.  The whole setup makes it a lot easier on a micro ISV, especially if you’re not a web developer.  Building a good web store isn’t a small effort, and then you have to do your own financial reporting on top of that.  Maybe it is just me, but I’ll trade 30% of the revenue for a scenario where I can just upload an app and be done.  Time is at a premium here and building a web store will cut into that.

I’d like to see Apple extend the app store to the Mac.  I’ve heard various micro ISV owners say that they get a lot of sales from Apple’s download page already.  I think it makes sense and fits with the Apple vision. It might even help with piracy.  I could be wrong, but I think we’re looking at the future of software distribution with the App Store.