[briang00]

Ok fellow crackheads, needs some info. I am beta testing an app that is currently on the IPhone, but they finally developed a BB version. They have some questions that I would like to put out to you guys in regards to pricing options.
The app has a limited customer base as to be able to use it you must have an account to a restricted database, so only certain people will have a need for this app.
First the IPhone app sells for $7.99 which for what it does is a good price. Evidently Apple does not allow developers to charge of updates.
The developer is looking at different options for pricing:
$9.95 a year, which includes any/all updates/upgrades and email support for free. They are great with responding via email. They said the Blackberry version was more difficult to code than the IPhone version, which is why it will initially go for $9.95.
Is a subscription based app viable? They are not a huge company so they need to recoup some revenue. The app is only useful to a limited customer base. The app is definitely worth it and the customers who can use it do use it. Also the price would allow cash flow for continued development and the addition of new features.
What are your thoughts? Either respond to post or PM me and appreciate your comments.

[BerryNick]

Subscription apps are not very popular. If you provide a 10 day to two week trial period you make rope some people in. You will have to prove the value.

[valorian]

A 9.95/year subsription fee might be ok if the app is geared twards buisness' but for the genernal consumer this would be a hard sell. But like BerryNick said, the app would have to prove itself. You are not giving us much to go on by just saying 'I know a guy who has an app'. What does the app do?

[Greg G]

It is hard to respond without knowing what the application is. It sounds like it would have a very focused user base so perhaps it would be worth it to them. That said, I'm not a big fan of subscription applications and as a consumer I would be very unlikely to buy one unless it was a very compelling application that I would use on a daily basis. I also think that people would be bothered that iPhone users get a one time charge of $7.99 (or is that a subscription too?) while BB users would pay $9.99 yearly. The BB application should have lots of updates and be more feature rich than the iPhone version for that to be considered fair. If iPhone users get free updates for the one time charge of less than BB users pay each year then I would expect some flack.

-Greg

[briang00]

The user base is kind of limited for the software. Only members who have access to a particular online DB would be able to use the app, and not just anyone can get access to teh online DB. Personally I dont like subscription based software. Never mind the fact that IPhone users only have to pay for it once.

[valorian]

... Only members who have access to a particular online DB would be able to use the app, ...

You may want to try and target these members for a better answer. It appears as though you are not able to tell use what you have to be a member of to use this software so we will not be able to help you.