[BuzzStarField]

12000 downloads! Dang Buzz, that isn't bad. I am not sure how it works money wise from RIM but I am happy to see you are making some money. I would love to see more apps like this out their. I just learned at 4:30 pm I can start to look for Jupiter. Anyways, keep it up and don't let those negative nelly's disway you from this. People only attack, these days, stuff that is decent. Look at RIMS media image these days....

Half of the sales were last 2.5 months! And then the recent sh*t hit the fan when things suddenly went back to "normal" since the earnings call. I am very lucky that I have the skills to build this particular app on this particular platform. People are almost too kind and I really do appreciate your patience.

I attribute some of the improved sales to RIM doing all of the right things to attract both new clients and new developers. Separating apps from games in App World was a big deal for me - it means people can find my app easier. But most of the credit goes to fellow developers like peter9477 who showed me the way to access the magnetometer.

But as I stated in my OP, I am extremely frustrated that even using RIM's official mag API, I am having so much trouble wringing enough performance out of AIR so that I can compete with other platforms. As I said, its tough to be a BB developer, especially now with RIM stumbling though a very difficult transition period.

I'm just asking fellow CBers to try not to blame developers unfairly for some app deficiencies. And especially don't blame Android developers for not having faith in RIM. I'm not certain most of the time so don't expect them to jump on board without thinking twice. Rome wasn't built in a day.

[BuzzStarField]

12000 downloads! Dang Buzz, that isn't bad. I am not sure how it works money wise from RIM but I am happy to see you are making some money. I would love to see more apps like this out their. I just learned at 4:30 pm I can start to look for Jupiter. Anyways, keep it up and don't let those negative nelly's disway you from this. People only attack, these days, stuff that is decent. Look at RIMS media image these days....

I forgot to mention: In addition to Jupiter, look for Venus (much brighter) and Mars (bright and red)s. All three are visible just after the sun sets. Here's wishing you clear skies.

[kbz1960]

Even the most sought after app for the pb and bb's isn't immune. Click on the 1 star reviews.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...m.skype.raider

[sashlon]

Buzz, your app is pretty cool. It was one of my first Appworld purchases.

There will always be idiots (sorry, I know that's a strong word, but they are idiots) out there. Some people are highly critical. I especially find it strange that they get so demanding over a thing that cost $1-$4 to buy.

I may be wrong, but I think a lot of the 'lazy developer' talk is more aimed at big time developers who have ignored this platform. There is a lot of anger/resentment toward those people.

Lastly, and I know it's hard, but you have got to be thick skinned. The review process will always hold the potential for negative comments (warranted or not), and it's just the flipside of putting your work out there. Inevitably you'll come across critics/haters. But I'm sure you'll find that the vast majority of your customers are happy.

Keep up your good work.

[h20work]

Only 11,999 people, I bought it twice instead of using my bbid for both pb's

[burgene]

Yours was one of the first apps I bought and I still really love and appreciate it! Understand your frustration. By the way, this thread reminded me that I hadn't left a review, so I promptly went to appworld to post a 5 star review. Personally, I have come to a stage where I don't expect to see much intelligence, class or reasoning ability on internet forums and "comment" sites.

Cheers.

[offthahorseceo]

Buzz, you should be laughin all the way to the bank especially if this is a hobby/side project.

i also work in retail, with customers. For that reason, i tend not to take reviews SO seriously. We have "surveys" here. we know most customers arent the most sharp tools in the shed so we try to educate them. We explain everything down to the last minute detail to them before they leave and ask 100 times if they have any questions or concerns. We then ask "if you were to be surveyed, would you say you are completely satisfied with your experience today? Would you be willing to recommend us to friends and family?"

Those two questions are always answered enthusiastically with a YES OF COURSE!

then we get the results of the surveys back, and theyve given us 1's 2's 8's out of 10.
We resorted to promising free accessories for 10's and specifically said we wanted 10's.

Customer started returning with surveys pulled up askin for the free cases, we would look at the survey and see 7's 8's 2's...wtf?
we would say, "sorry, it was supposed to be a ten, whyd did you give us a 7? Is there something youre not satisfied with? Do we need to address any issues or concerns?"

They would reply with,"Oh i thought this was about my phone software not about you!" or something along those lines


Bottom line, the fact that out of 12000 downloads, you got less than 10 negative reviews is a testament to how good your app really is!


EDIT: Beyond that, i noticed a big shift in people torward negativity, call it hating if you will. Take this website for example http://www.automotivehotornot.com/

Most of the cars here are pretty nice. They may not be ferraris lamborghinis etc but theyre not rust buckets or ugly cars by any means. Out of 10, the average rating seems to be around 4. WOW seriously. When did we as a society become such haters?

[tinker2000]

Mr Buzzz,

Your app is amongst the best for the playbook...yes it could be a little smoother and be a bit more polished in places, but it is fu**ing brilliant as it is (ps..uk Postcodes would be nice )

Your updates provide additional features and youve even managed to get the GPS to work.

Its a great bit of code and I can point it out of the back door at night whilst I smoke my life away and it tells me what I'm looking at.

Even sadder than the overly critical arses is the fact I take your app to the back door. Keep it up please and dont let the bas**rds grind you down.


PS...Whats up is underpriced!

[BuzzStarField]

Even the most sought after app for the pb and bb's isn't immune. Click on the 1 star reviews.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...m.skype.raider

When you have over 200 reviews and almost all them are good ones, you can afford to be thick skinned. I am not concerned about the odd bad review. The purpose of my post was to try to point out that if I am getting some douzies, you can imagine what kind of reception that a brand new Android developer is getting. I have bought several of these apps like browsers, solitaire, file explorers and so on. They are all good apps but the player keeps breaking them by seizing up. It makes me angry.

So when people complain about all the "garbage apps" I do not get the sense that there is enough understanding to realize it's not all the developers' fault. RIM absolutly has to fix the player, but now that people are scared that their pirated (that IS the right word) apps will be unavailable after the next update, many of them will not upgrade and will try to live with a flawed player. They will be angry.

I don't see any way around continued strife in this forum. But a little civility would go a long way.

[kbz1960]

It's good that you and some others are on here to point these things out. Is it the player? Is it the app? Is it some of both? You have the tools? You don't have the tools? Is it RIM? Is it because the OS is still so new and young?

Are any of these reasons that some of the big name developers haven't come on board or why certain apps just can not be done at this time?

I know you've all ready pointed the answer to most of those questions.

[TBone4eva]

Thanks for your clarification. As you indicated in your first post, we have had this same discussion before. But this was not the topic of my original post.

In my mind, I made a fairly even tempered (and fairly calm) comparison between the abusive people who posted reviews in App World (where I can't defend myself) with abusive people who express the same "unrealistic expectations" in this forum (where I can and do defend myself). I then followed up with the process that is required so that I could meet my customers' expectations at some future date. I posted it here in addition to my Facebook page because I get much more exposure in this setting.

Was I wrong to ask people to reset their unreasonable expectations that if only developers weren't so lazy, selfish and incompetent, then App World would be filled to the brim with desirable apps. This has been a very common theme around here lately and frankly, I find it infuriating. But I try to control myself as much as possible and explain my point of view patiently and persistently. I don't always succeed but I do try.

Given your experience in customer relations, do you think that your advice to develop a thicker skin and just accept what my customers say is germane to my original post?

I would not equate having thicker skin to mean just accepting what a review says or what someone posts in the forum. I totally understand your passion. If everyone could do what you and others developers do, well, we'd have a mountain of apps to sort thru. I understand that when someone gives you a poor rating by stating that your app doesn't have a feature, that you obviously spent many hours programming in, that's hard to swallow, especially when it could have been easily resolved with an email.

My advice is to continue to be proud of what you have created, keep the passion and, although I'm sure it's not easy to do, also allow some of the crap to roll off your back because you are already dealing with a system that's based on "opinion". Opinions are subjective and you can't please everyone. Two people might state the same things in their review, yet one might give you 4 stars and the other 2 stars. Let your work speak for itself a little. Everytime I visit App World your app is consistantly in the Top Paid - Apps category. No matter how great your app is, you're going to get that one person who is going to crap all over it in the reviews anyways. It happens anywhere the customer is given the opportunity to leave a review, from Amazon to Google Play to eBay to App World.

[tinker2000]

I dont get many crashes with the android player. If i had an issue with an app then its best to ask the developer rather than slating the app on the open market. Most Devs care about what they release and dont deliberately submit apps that dont work. Slating the app is hardly motivation.

(Am on PB mini keyboard, excuse lack of apostrophes)

[BuzzStarField]

Yours was one of the first apps I bought and I still really love and appreciate it! Understand your frustration. By the way, this thread reminded me that I hadn't left a review, so I promptly went to appworld to post a 5 star review. Personally, I have come to a stage where I don't expect to see much intelligence, class or reasoning ability on internet forums and "comment" sites.

Cheers.

Thanks for the review but that really wasn't my reason for posting. If I have succeeded in making people realize that potential developers are watching this forum then it is mission accomplished. There is no doubt that people here are frightening potential Android developers away. It's time for rational people to speak up in this forum and raise the tone. Try to walk a mile in a developers shoes.

It's time to revisit the download pages for various apps that you downloaded and do one of two things. If you have nice things to say, leave a review. It your impression is not favourable, send a note to the support email address and tell the dev why you are not impressed. And if you can do so, offer some encouragement. If the dev improves the app, that is the time to post a review.

[offthahorseceo]

its definitely both.

I reluctantly started using Kindle app recently, after having read a few books on Kobo. The kindle app is slow and not as responsive as kobo, but i can sideload book i already own to kindle.

The slowness in that situation im sure is due to the android player.


However, android as an OS (at least to me) has always been pretty buggy. Recently i opened a brand new galaxy note and powered it on. was greeted with a force close message...


i tried to port the little lowrider game i did to android, it runs VERY slow compared to the playbook version.

[BuzzStarField]

It's good that you and some others are on here to point these things out. Is it the player? Is it the app? Is it some of both? You have the tools? You don't have the tools? Is it RIM? Is it because the OS is still so new and young?

Are any of these reasons that some of the big name developers haven't come on board or why certain apps just can not be done at this time?

I know you've all ready pointed the answer to most of those questions.

You first paragraph is correct. PlayBook suffers from all of the problems that you mention. So when someone posts about a particular pet peeve, absolutely everyone chimes in with their own version of the problems and some (usually ineffectual) ways to resolve all the problems. Almost every thread here takes that form.

Kindle, Skype or Netflix always manages to be featured in any given thread. These, in my mind are special cases and I do think that RIM is trying to get these players onside. But the big name developers are probably asking for far more than RIM is prepared to pay. It's just business. There is nothing we can do but wait. I don't even use any of these apps/services but I wish they would jump on board already. The reality is different and we may never get what we want.

You last point about some apps not being possible at this point is very important. No app can be built unless RIM provides us with an API. Much is missing from the tool set. We would like to deliver these apps but we just can't. Is RIM dragging their feet? Yes they are! I would like APIs built into AIR so that I can play on a level playing with pirated Android apps like Google sky. I had to go though hoops to make my app interesting enough to spark decent sales. And now I have to redo the entire mess.But I have to wait for Cascades and then learn how to use it.

Having said what i just said, there is no reason to despair. If RIM can stay solvent for a bit longer, you will see significant improvement over the next few months. How many consumers will notice the improvement? I'll stick my neck out and say "not many".

[playbookster]

You shouldnt be down man, your app is always in the top sellers. There is a reason for it, its good!

[tinker2000]

And my final comment on it all...

If you are moaning about having to convert to native from java/AIR I am extremely pissed off!... I am trying to convert my brain from VB.net to C++ (want to write BB apps) and hating every minute of it. Its got to be the most difficult of languages and Being a hobby VB coder its not easy writing in C++ (Especially with no M$ VDE)

So hats off to you again..and imagine how speedy your app will be in NDK C++

By the time you do that, I may understand the graphical "Hello World"

[BuzzStarField]

And my final comment on it all...

If you are moaning about having to convert to native from java/AIR I am extremely pissed off!... I am trying to convert my brain from VB.net to C++ (want to write BB apps) and hating every minute of it. Its got to be the most difficult of languages and Being a hobby VB coder its not easy writing in C++ (Especially with no M$ VDE)

So hats off to you again..and imagine how speedy your app will be in NDK C++

By the time you do that, I may understand the graphical "Hello World"

I hear you. I'm not much ahead of you but having downloaded RIM's NDK, I have mastered Hello Wold on a PB and have coded and compiled a Native Actionscript Extension. The SDK comes with a decent IDE, lots of sample code and easy access to RIM APIs. Get it - you'll be glad you did.

[deswayze]

I've had What's Up, almost from day one. I love it. I've felt you have always been honest about its limitations, which are few IMHO. I bought my Playbook on April 19th, 2011, release day and I understand software. It is always a work in progress. That being the case your app does what it promises and I use it to stargaze every chance I get. So don't let a few knobs get you down. I'm in a business where people pay highly for my advice. 99% of them are happy and keep coming back. Sometimes the other 1% really make me angry but I remind myself you can't please everyone and some people just have unreasonable expectations. Keep up the good work.

[burgene]

Thanks for the review but that really wasn't my reason for posting. If I have succeeded in making people realize that potential developers are watching this forum then it is mission accomplished. There is no doubt that people here are frightening potential Android developers away. It's time for rational people to speak up in this forum and raise the tone. Try to walk a mile in a developers shoes.

It's time to revisit the download pages for various apps that you downloaded and do one of two things. If you have nice things to say, leave a review. It your impression is not favourable, send a note to the support email address and tell the dev why you are not impressed. And if you can do so, offer some encouragement. If the dev improves the app, that is the time to post a review.

No, I fully realize that you didn't start this thread to solicit good reviews. My point was that I am probably not unique in not posting a review when I am happy with an app (or a product). To me, the whole concept of posting reviews tends to encourage negative people, who just love to and complain (most times without a valid reason because as I mentioned earlier, way too many people can't, or are just too lazy to reason things out from different perspectives) or ones who try to tear something down strictly to give themselves some sort of validation. The vast majority, when satisfied, just go on without commenting or reviewing when their expectations have been met or exceeded. Just my two cents.

[BuzzStarField]

No, I fully realize that you didn't start this thread to solicit good reviews. My point was that I am probably not unique in not posting a review when I am happy with an app (or a product). To me, the whole concept of posting reviews tends to encourage negative people, who just love to and complain (most times without a valid reason because as I mentioned earlier, way too many people can't, or are just too lazy to reason things out from different perspectives) or ones who try to tear something down strictly to give themselves some sort of validation. The vast majority, when satisfied, just go on without commenting or reviewing when their expectations have been met or exceeded. Just my two cents.

I agree with your assessment. My experience is that less than one percent of purchasers leave a review. The majority of the reviews are well-considered and thoughtful. I think that the ratio is so low because most people think that there are only so many ways to say "Nice app".

I can assure that I read every one and value each very highly. I especially like the ones that highlight real life experiences like "I took the kids for a walk in the park and saw this bright object. Luckily I had my PB handy and..."

Some of the reviews ask questions or report a usability problem. I value these too, but I think this type of comment is best handled via email. That way we can have a two-way conversion and exchange pertinent information.

[Stewartj1]

you have a great app, don't let a few trolls get you down. Did you know Crackberry has an Ignore feature?

[BuzzStarField]

you have a great app, don't let a few trolls get you down. Did you know Crackberry has an Ignore feature?

Yes and the button works! So does the "nanny" button. But alas, no such things exist in App World. It would be neat to be able to ignore reviews by a certain outspoken critic or apps by some shady author. These filters are still on RIM's extensive to-do list

[mikelcal]

Buzz, to quote another lesser famous Buzz, "To infinity and beyond!" I was at the Grand Canyon this week and your app is super amazing! I was able to find the name of every single star (and planet) my curious nephew pointed at. We had so much fun playing "find the constellation" Don't feel discouraged! I'm sure you will find the "key" to make this app the best native star gazing app on appworld! I don't have internet riight now, since I'm still on the way home, but I will most definitely leave an honest review on your page.

Also, if need be, I'm willing to pay for an updated version when its ready, no rush. It works great for me as it is.

smile.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9800 using Tapatalk

[Innovatology]

Hey Buzz,

Compared to other markets, App World is quite civilized. Post an app to take photos on Android Market / Google Play and people will complain that it doesn't enhance their sex-life, make toast, protect them from Nigerian scam spam or recharge their battery with perpetual motion. Probably in Swahili, and in Comic Sans, if they had the chance. In stark contrast, the polite, easy-going "Canadian-ness" of the BlackBerry brand seems to rub off on our users. But alas not on all.

If somebody posts a review that is wrong in your opinion, it hurts. You've worked hard on making your app as good as it can be, spent day after day fine-tuning and are proud of what you've achieved with the limited tools at your disposal. Then someone comes along, spends a buck and 30 seconds, then dismisses it as junk because they were too lazy to read the description and thought it was a chat client.

Now the review is out there for everyone to see, with no context, reasoning or opportunity for response. A prime example of where the 140-characters-or-less trend goes wrong. On the one hand you're tempted to delete the review, on the other hand you're proud that you don't resort to those tactics.

I've had a few reviews & e-mails that have really ruined my day. But then I get an e-mail or two from users who are over the moon with our app despite having found a bug, and are eager to help diagnose and fix it. And that reminds me that for every bad review there are 100's of satisfied users who are pleased with devs willing and able to support their platform.

I hope the replies you've had in this thread give you some confidence. It seems people love Whats Up, and are willing to accept that it is built by a single enthusiastic developer and might not be as polished as something built by a trillion-dollar corporation.

If you like I can look over the internals of your app to see whether there are any quick-win performance optimisations that can be done. Sometimes four eyes are better than two.