11-12-2003, 03:10 AM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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What Is The Acceptable Price Range For Pocket PC Software
Earlier this week, SoftMaker started selling their popular $49.95 TextMaker package at a rock bottom $11.11 each as part of a promotion. You can read more about it in the TextMaker thread. They had originally intended to sell 1,111 copies but at this price, they blew through that in two hours and added another 1,111 to the mix. If they cut it off there, they will clear $24,686.42. Not bad for a day's work, eh? 
So this once again begs the question, what is the appropriate price for software. No one has ever questioned the capabilities of TextMaker. It is simply the mobile word processing program, regardless of the device or operating system. However, some have questioned paying nearly $50 for it. Obviously the $11.11 price is a special sale and is really too low for a program like this, at least in my opinion. So, where do you fall on this issue? What would you consider paying for full featured applications? I'm not talking about utilities, I mean apps like Pocket Informant, Pocket MindMap, Agenda Fusion, TextMaker or Pocket Artist. And yes, some of my ranges overlap, by design.
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11-12-2003, 04:07 AM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 9
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The real item worth noting, is whether a ppc software application is more porfitable when it is highpriced with low volume of sales, or low priced with a higher volume of sales. Personally i think that ppc software should favour the lower price scheme, as a pda is a secondary means of computing and software produced for it shouldn't be the same price as desktop applications. Hexacto has recently dropped the price, on many of there games (and has been trying to find out where games best sell, through the many promotions they have had lately). For Hexacto, through this move of lowering its prices can see that higher profits can be ascertained with lower prices substaintiated by much higher turnover. What do you think.... Anyone.....
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11-12-2003, 04:14 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 89
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First of all, I applaud SoftMaker. This was a great thing to do. Even their sale prices at $35 are very good, for what you're getting. I also applaud Xen Games for their pricing.
There's just no happy middle ground though, why so few apps at $15? Things are too often priced above the implse buy level.
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11-12-2003, 04:16 AM
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Theorist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 301
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Obviously some software is worth the asking price but with PPC software I find this to be rare. There are tons of good programs out there but they all seem to start at $19.99 or $24.99. It's hard to justify that money for a limited graphics/gameplay game on the PocketPC when most of the PS2 games I buy are in this price range (I rarely buy new releases).
The only thing that I can figure is the price is needed to support a developmental team on fewer sales that a computer program or console game would generate. The market tends to balance itself out naturally so maybe it's not that much, it just seems to be.
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11-12-2003, 04:28 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 461
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I think software pricing must go along with its funcionality and power. For example, I have never thought TextMaker is overpriced at $49.95, if we consider that it gives the power of a full word processing program. I'm sure many of it's advanced features are never used by many customers...just like it happens with MS Word. Consider also it goes way beyond PocketWord's limits.
FYI, there are CAD programs for PPC that cost MORE than some devices. If someone needs that, then the price will be right. For people that need not so much, there are less expensive programs with less features but that probably fit them fine anyway. It's just like the PocketWord vs TextMaker thing.
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11-12-2003, 04:38 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 350
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The limit varies with me based on the software's value to me. TextMaker is a great case in point. Awesome software, and $49.95 isn't really that bad of a price for what it does. I've always *wanted* it, but I didn't *need* it bad enough to pay that price. I don't do a lot of word processing on my PPC, if I did, I would have been more inclined to pay the higher price. There are some other pieces of software, especially some games, at a much lower price, that I feel the same way about.
Did I buy TextMaker on sale? You bet I did! I'm glad SoftMaker did the sale. So I hope I didn't sound negative on it.
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11-12-2003, 04:48 AM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,049
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I would never have bought textmaker at 49.99, but this deal was too good to pass up , so of course I bought it yesterday and downloaded today Now about that keyboard for my ppc 8)
__________________
"Do not try. Do or Do Not. There is no try"Yoda, Empire Strikes Back
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11-12-2003, 04:48 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 372
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The question cannot be answerable in itself. It heavily relies on the financial status of the PPC owner. At the moment, I am a dirt poor college student, and consider $25 the maximum I would ever pay for the most super duper program ever ever ever. However, if I were working full time and had a steady income, my opinion would surely be different.
As a result, I think this question asks the limits of one's financial means, rather than the worth/utility of the software.
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11-12-2003, 04:50 AM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 15,171
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Prevost
I think software pricing must go along with its funcionality and power.
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Agreed. If I found a tool that made me 100% more efficient, I'd be willing to pay hundreds of dollars for it, because I'd make it up in a fraction of the time. I guess my PDA falls in that category as a whole, but I wouldn't limit it to just hardware.
(For the record, I haven't found such a program on a PDA. Yet.)
--janak
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11-12-2003, 05:11 AM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,049
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so then the question is relative.
some say the worht, the worth it has to different people so different opinons of the worth.
some say the worth in money, maybe it has to do with how much money you make now, or maybe th worth in how much it affects your life or how much you get out of the software, or you perceive yourself getting out of the software.
__________________
"Do not try. Do or Do Not. There is no try"Yoda, Empire Strikes Back
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