I think the iPhone app is a great idea, especially for bringing climbs with you. For those with very few climbs in their area – the NW US, for example – it doesn’t really make sense to pay $4 to view 1 route in my area. It seems to make sense to make the app free until there are enough routes to justify a fee. It would promote users trying out and adding more climbs.
I think bouldr is a great concept, but without a critical mass of routes, it’s not useful. More users = more routes!
I’m going to start working on a free version of the app just as soon as I’ve got the paid version into a state that I think is good enough to be called ‘finished’ – that is, with all of the features I want in it. Feedback from people who have actually invested a little money is, from my experience, worth much more than someone who hasn’t, so until I have everything done and stabilized, it’s going to remain paid-only.
I understand the point though – we definitely need to get more routes and problems added, and until we do, there isn’t going to be a decent incentive for those that live in areas sparse on information to pick up the app. Once I have the free version out, hopefully the number of submissions will increase. Time will tell!
I guess I’m not understanding what the difference in feedback mechanism between those that pay for the app and those that don’t. Will paid users only be able to provide feedback? What will the difference in feature set be between the two?
The feedback mechanism doesn’t change – it’s the signal to noise ratio that changes. Free users will be able to submit feedback in exactly the same way as paid-for app users.
I have found that those who are willing to pay to use something will be more specific with their feedback, provide more information and be more realistic. If I were to release a free version first, then try to build the paid version based on it’s feedback, then the good information would be lost in a sea of driveby user one-line reviews. By building the paid app first, I get feedback from people who are genuinely interested in using the app and are willing to put their money on the line (so to speak) for it.
I have some extra features to push out to Bouldr, and some more development work yet to do before I can begin extracting a feature set for the free version, but as soon as there is any information, I’ll be posting it to the blog.
I see your point, in that you can filter feedback.
I guess I can probably best explain what I was getting at by offering my personal perspective as I found bouldr.net.
I saw it mentioned somewhere, or came across it in a net search (yeah, sorry I don’t have more info on this, as I know it’s useful). I went to the app store, found it, and read the note about purchasing. I went to the web site, and said “wow, what a great idea”, but was dismayed to find only one sport route in my area. Regardless, I thought it would be great to write up local climbs and be able to take them with me, and figured that in the future others would do so in kind. On the other hand, it didn’t really make sense to pay for a database that has the potential to be very useful, but isn’t currently.
The crux is essentially that (to me) the value of the system is in the app, as without it I can find more information elsewhere, but paying for the app doesn’t make sense until there’s something there. Finally, until there are users of the app, there won’t be much there.
My approach would be to make the app free in the meantime to boost usage and filter feedback based on an internal member rating system, i.e. based on number of routes posted, member to member feedback, etc. When your database is significant, nobody will think twice about paying $4 for the app. Shoot, if there were a dozen problems catalogued for my area I’d gladly pay $5 for it.
The free version is on it’s way. I can’t really give a release date, but as soon as it’s done, I’ll put a blog post up and update Twitter and Facebook.
iPhone app
Hey all.
I think the iPhone app is a great idea, especially for bringing climbs with you. For those with very few climbs in their area – the NW US, for example – it doesn’t really make sense to pay $4 to view 1 route in my area. It seems to make sense to make the app free until there are enough routes to justify a fee. It would promote users trying out and adding more climbs.
I think bouldr is a great concept, but without a critical mass of routes, it’s not useful. More users = more routes!
Best,
Colin
ceestyle, January 02, 2010 03:08 5 Replies Feed
RE: iPhone app
Hi Colin,
I’m going to start working on a free version of the app just as soon as I’ve got the paid version into a state that I think is good enough to be called ‘finished’ – that is, with all of the features I want in it. Feedback from people who have actually invested a little money is, from my experience, worth much more than someone who hasn’t, so until I have everything done and stabilized, it’s going to remain paid-only.
I understand the point though – we definitely need to get more routes and problems added, and until we do, there isn’t going to be a decent incentive for those that live in areas sparse on information to pick up the app. Once I have the free version out, hopefully the number of submissions will increase. Time will tell!
Matt, January 02, 2010 13:17
RE: iPhone app
Matt,
I guess I’m not understanding what the difference in feedback mechanism between those that pay for the app and those that don’t. Will paid users only be able to provide feedback? What will the difference in feature set be between the two?
Thanks,
Colin
ceestyle, January 02, 2010 18:03
RE: iPhone app
The feedback mechanism doesn’t change – it’s the signal to noise ratio that changes. Free users will be able to submit feedback in exactly the same way as paid-for app users.
I have found that those who are willing to pay to use something will be more specific with their feedback, provide more information and be more realistic. If I were to release a free version first, then try to build the paid version based on it’s feedback, then the good information would be lost in a sea of driveby user one-line reviews. By building the paid app first, I get feedback from people who are genuinely interested in using the app and are willing to put their money on the line (so to speak) for it.
I have some extra features to push out to Bouldr, and some more development work yet to do before I can begin extracting a feature set for the free version, but as soon as there is any information, I’ll be posting it to the blog.
Matt, January 02, 2010 22:51
RE: iPhone app
Hey Matt.
I see your point, in that you can filter feedback.
I guess I can probably best explain what I was getting at by offering my personal perspective as I found bouldr.net.
I saw it mentioned somewhere, or came across it in a net search (yeah, sorry I don’t have more info on this, as I know it’s useful). I went to the app store, found it, and read the note about purchasing. I went to the web site, and said “wow, what a great idea”, but was dismayed to find only one sport route in my area. Regardless, I thought it would be great to write up local climbs and be able to take them with me, and figured that in the future others would do so in kind. On the other hand, it didn’t really make sense to pay for a database that has the potential to be very useful, but isn’t currently.
The crux is essentially that (to me) the value of the system is in the app, as without it I can find more information elsewhere, but paying for the app doesn’t make sense until there’s something there. Finally, until there are users of the app, there won’t be much there.
My approach would be to make the app free in the meantime to boost usage and filter feedback based on an internal member rating system, i.e. based on number of routes posted, member to member feedback, etc. When your database is significant, nobody will think twice about paying $4 for the app. Shoot, if there were a dozen problems catalogued for my area I’d gladly pay $5 for it.
Just my 2 cents.
Colin
ceestyle, January 04, 2010 19:50
RE: iPhone app
The free version is on it’s way. I can’t really give a release date, but as soon as it’s done, I’ll put a blog post up and update Twitter and Facebook.
Thanks for your feedback, Colin!
Matt, January 08, 2010 08:11