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scrapple

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 23, 2004
191
5
Whats the deal on apps you already bought? Has apple announced anything?
I dont want to have to buy my slingbox $29 app again, just to have it on the ipad. I can see a 99 cents addon fee if you already own the apps, I can handle that, but full price again?
 
no, unless it offered considerably redesigned features and interface at a good price. Scaling up some graphics isn't what I am going to be paying for. And I think apple will make sure we don't because that would piss everyone off.
 
It's been stated several times before, even in the Presentation by Scott Forstall (not sure of the spelling) that your existing apps can just be installed and run. Just like the same app can be installed on an iPhone and an iPod at the same time. In fact, we have 5 iPhones and 2 iPod touches in our household and need to only buy one copy of each app since they're all synced to the same Mac.

If you want new iPad-specific versions of apps you may already have (if such a version is made), well then those will cost you.

From what I've read about the iPhone OS developers tools, a developer will be able to offer a single app version that includes specific iPad code and specific iPhone/iPod code if he chooses.
 
In the app-store economy, things will start off expensive and then get dirt cheap. I expect iPad-specific apps (not just scaled up) to cost $10-15 easily at launch. I see some developers simply scaling up their apps and charging a bunch to start, but competition will bring those prices down within a few months. Eventually many developers will utilize universal apps, which allow the sharing of a codebase between iPhone and iPad optimized apps. The downside I see to this is universal apps increase the size of the app no matter what. So iPhone owner's apps would increase in size and take up more space. Same for iPad owners who don't need the (probably only marginally bigger) iPhone code in their app that they will never use (well unless they have an iPhone). In app purchases could probably be used to unlock universal app content on iPad for existing iPhone apps loaded onto the device. If developers wanted to keep the download size small for iPhone owners (since there is a 20mb download limit over 3g), they would have to release seperate apps. Since they would not want to give away an iPad app for free (as they can't tell if you've purchased the iPhone one or not already) or sell it for less than their iPhone version, it would probably cost as much (and probably more) than the iPhone app.

As for buying a second time, there are several apps I would gladly pay for again: Sketchbook Mobile, Labyrinth 2, The Weather Channel Max, 2Do, Tweetie, Distant Suns, VNC, NOVA, Band, and Plants vs Zombies come to mind to start with.
 
In the app-store economy, things will start off expensive and then get dirt cheap. I expect iPad-specific apps (not just scaled up) to cost $10-15 easily at launch. I see some developers simply scaling up their apps and charging a bunch to start, but competition will bring those prices down within a few months.

This sounds likely. But Apple may have already created a kind of $10 ceiling by pricing the iWork apps at $9.99 each. These are pretty sophisticated, iPad-specific apps and are not mere upscaled ports from the iPhone. It seems to me that this creates a kind of instant yardstick -- is this $15 app really 50% more valuable than Pages?

So maybe even at the start, our perception of what is "expensive" will be more like $8-10 than $10-15.
 
In the app-store economy, things will start off expensive and then get dirt cheap. I expect iPad-specific apps (not just scaled up) to cost $10-15 easily at launch. I see some developers simply scaling up their apps and charging a bunch to start, but competition will bring those prices down within a few months.


I don't know about this exactly. I see it in a somewhat different way.

I think there's enough out there in the ether to make it pretty clear that many devs "get it" - understanding that a simple scale up is not going to do the trick. It's not that I don't think some devs won't try this, it's that I don't believe those apps will ever command a premium price. I think pricing for that kind of stuff will plummet extremely rapidly.

On the other hand, real iPad specific apps, those with increased functionality, value add, etc. over what could ever be achieved in an iPhone version, will land in that $7-15 range and probably stay there, particularly for more complex productivity apps. I don't foresee the longterm price collapse that's happened in the iPhone app store thus far for iPad apps which are thoughtfully designed and provide a real benefit.

Said another way, I think "real" iPad apps will command the same type of pricing as do iPhone apps that have branding behind them (certain games, etc.) - the ones that live in the $5-10 range.

I could very well be wrong of course :)
 
Well, I'd rather not pay for it again. If I can't have my apps on both devices I might just pick and choose which apps I want on each one. But, if I were forced to pay twice to have apps on both, I'd probably do that . . . if it's something I find invaluable. It would be nice to only have to pay small additional fee to have it installed on both. Guess we'll have to wait and see on the 3rd :rolleyes:
 
Well, I'd rather not pay for it again...Guess we'll have to wait and see on the 3rd :rolleyes:

As is known by all except you and the OP you can use your Apps on all your Apple devices (as long as it's *compatible). So now you don't have to wait because now you know.

Obviously you cant use the "Dial my Girlfriend" App on the iPad.
 
If you want new iPad-specific versions of apps you may already have (if such a version is made), well then those will cost you.

I think your right. I assume it's just like wanting to buy a game for PS3 that you already have on PSP. Same game, same company, different product. It will cost you.
 
I'm going to take my old DVD's back to the store and demand Blu-ray versions for free because I already paid for the movies once. *facepalm.gif*
 
I'm going to take my old DVD's back to the store and demand Blu-ray versions for free because I already paid for the movies once. *facepalm.gif*

Lol, ease up. While your post states a good point, the OP wasn't demanding anything, simply asking.
 
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