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Pay once app on both iPad and iPhone?
- Thread starter tibi08
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There are definitely ways to create a unique ipad application that takes advantage of new features while keeping it still functional for iPhone. You keep a unified backend code but provide different views for each device. It's a pretty bold statement to say that universal apps will all suck.
For example, iTap RDP and VNC are both universal apps, and the UI doesn't really need to change to take advantage of the better device. It all depends on the app.
As I understand it, it doesn't work this way.
All the apps you already own are accessible from your iPad as soon as you sync it. If an app that you own is a universal application package (that is, the single distribution contains iPhone/iPod and iPad specific components), then, when you run it on your iPad, it will take advantages of the iPad. If it isn't a universal app, it'll run on the iPad but look the same as it did on the iPhone.
If you have an app, and there's now an "iPad version" of that same app, separately listed on the app store, then, unless they change their mind and release a universal, you'll have to pay for the iPad version if you want the iPad features.
OTOH, I haven't seen a list of apps that are being distributed in the universal format yet.
I think it'd be awesome if Apple implemented a way to tell which of your iPhone apps have new iPad versions (either free updates or even new, separate apps) and let you easily upgrade them, similar to what was done with iTunes Plus.
Obviously direct updates to the existing app would be easy. But perhaps if an app has an entirely separate iPad version, they could let developers enter metadata to 'link' the two so that iPhone app owners could easily buy the iPad version if they wanted to.
As it is, you have to go through and search for every single app you have to see if there's a new iPad version.
Obviously direct updates to the existing app would be easy. But perhaps if an app has an entirely separate iPad version, they could let developers enter metadata to 'link' the two so that iPhone app owners could easily buy the iPad version if they wanted to.
As it is, you have to go through and search for every single app you have to see if there's a new iPad version.
Theres a few "Universal" apps on the App Store already. Pandora and IM+ (paid) come to mind.
I think a lot of developers are going to come to the realization that many (if not close to all of us) who own both devices will not be buying two separate versions of an app. If you want my money then you need to make a universal app that works on both. Not release the iPhone/iPod touch version for 99c then expect me to pay $9.99 for the iPad version because its "HD". It's ridiculous that EA is trying to charge $14.99 for Need for Speed Shift when the game itself isn't even worth the $6.99 for the iPhone version. And to top it off, they're offering nothing in the iPad version other than higher resolution graphics. There is no reason that couldn't have been made a universal binary that would work on both with the app rendering the graphics at a higher resolution by default on the iPad. None of the assets in the game appear to have changed, it just renders natively at 1024x768 instead of 480x320. Real Racing HD offers a skinning feature, but thats not worth double the price either. Same game, same assets, just higher native rendering resolution. What a rip.
I never did buy IM+. I always used the free version. But since they're doing the RIGHT thing and releasing a universal binary that is free to existing customers, I'll most likely be picking that up.
I think a lot of developers are going to come to the realization that many (if not close to all of us) who own both devices will not be buying two separate versions of an app. If you want my money then you need to make a universal app that works on both. Not release the iPhone/iPod touch version for 99c then expect me to pay $9.99 for the iPad version because its "HD". It's ridiculous that EA is trying to charge $14.99 for Need for Speed Shift when the game itself isn't even worth the $6.99 for the iPhone version. And to top it off, they're offering nothing in the iPad version other than higher resolution graphics. There is no reason that couldn't have been made a universal binary that would work on both with the app rendering the graphics at a higher resolution by default on the iPad. None of the assets in the game appear to have changed, it just renders natively at 1024x768 instead of 480x320. Real Racing HD offers a skinning feature, but thats not worth double the price either. Same game, same assets, just higher native rendering resolution. What a rip.
I never did buy IM+. I always used the free version. But since they're doing the RIGHT thing and releasing a universal binary that is free to existing customers, I'll most likely be picking that up.