Audanika on the darker side of being an app developer
If you ever wondered what a developer has to go through to get an app on the app store then you should read this post from Audankia (maker of SoundPrism).
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11 comments:
I don't see a post link.
click on the title of the post :P
Until Ashley fixed the post, here's the link:
http://audanika.tumblr.com/post/7854261138
That Dev is always bitching about apple.
If you dislike them so much then go write software for a different platform!
Of course its all about getting publicity and people love reading about a bad apple.
Sad they have to lower themselves to that level.
Personally i think their app is great but your companies marketing practices suck.
You could learn something from Blip Interactive.
PS. I am still pissed that you had to charge me $20 for midi and that you made early adopters pay $5 for the original Soundprism and then made it free!
As a developer who some may recall recently posted in a comment section .....
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/haters-gonna-hate
"That dev" Is me any my colleagues. You might as well address me directly.
There is no other platform to develop music applications for right now. None that has a large enough market for it to be feasible.
Also, if I would have wanted to get publicity from that article, I would have included a link to ANY of our products in there.
We never charged 20$ for MIDI.
This blog post's is meant as a warning for new/information for experienced developers.
Lastly: get used to developers being forced to make their applications free if you want the to survive. It's a competitive market and customers seem to be happier with products that they can try before spending more money on it. If you're an early adopter I'd like to thank you for your purchase. We never took anything away from you, you still have the app you paid for initially.
Well put Sebastian, I also purchased the original SoundPrism way back and have since purchased the Pro version too. I think it's all too easy for app purchasers to lose perspective on these things and the price paid. Most apps seem to be very cheap when compared with other regular purchases on a daily basis. A cappuccino, a magazine etc.
Back to your blog though, the app review process is a nightmare and unfortunately you're not the first dev team I've heard coming up against the bottleneck. Some apps take a number of weeks to get passed, even with no issues raised! It seems Apple are a victim of their own success and probably need to scale up their effort somewhere along the line - shouldn't be difficult with the amount of revenue they get!
@seb it's like reading a kafka novel! or something out of terry Gilliam's brazil. good luck man!
I'm interested in why Audanika chose to make one single Universal app for 12.99 euro, instead of a lower priced iPhone app and a more expensive iPad version, like some other developers do.
IMO, as iPhone 3GS user, given the limited screen real estate, I find 12.99 euro quite a lot. I bought the SP app that's now free. The iPad version is worth more because of the bigger screen [and better processor I think?]. The iPad app has a higher use value.
As a dev, is it nicer to have to deal with one project for both platforms? Other reasons? Just something I'm curious about.
Re: "I'm interested in why Audanika chose to make one single Universal app for 12.99 euro, instead of a lower priced iPhone app and a more expensive iPad version, like some other developers do."
We think it adds to the value of an application that it's universal. You buy the iPhone version - you can be sure to use it on your iPad as well should you decide to get one at a later point in time.
It's a tiny bit messier to have two different applications with two different names. It complicates marketing.
If Apple would have let us, we wouldn't have split up our apps between a pro and a standard version either but that's another long story.
In short: one app that's universal is neat. It helps us focus development efforts, communicate and market our product.
Also I think the iPhone version has the advantage of being able to use the accelerometer a lot more easily while playing. I really don't think the iPad version is worth more. They both have their merits.
Lastly: We think long term when it comes to building SoundPrism and SoundPrism Pro. Splitting up something that should be the center of your attention and efforts doen't help you keeping your focus on it. Distraction baaaaad. :)
@Sebastian
Thanks for your detailed answer.
I'm working on my first app and this is very helpful, as are the dev-related posts on your tumblr.
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