A Question for the Subscribers...

[sublime]

I'd like to subscribe, but I'm not sure if it's worth it. Can I at least know what discounts are offered? I would not want to pay, and then find out that only the crappiest software is on discount, or software that I would never use. Two dollars a month is not expensive at all, but I wouldn't want to throw it away for nothing, know what I'm saying?

[JustinGTP]

Ok...

I am not a subscriber either, but I am in the process of getting ahold of my mums paypal :D

First of all, this is definately NOT throwing it away! You are paying to keep this site alive with our killer admin, Jason Dunn!

Secondly, you get a 20 dollar USD coupon for the excellent cases from VAJA.com - hmmm...leather!

Thirdly, you get all the nice options of being a subscriber, all the filtering options, the mobile edition, etc. (Varying among subscription level, of course)

Also, you can have the cool subscriber badge on or off, and you can turn ads on or off (Once again, different among subscription level)

Go here to find out more (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/subscribe.php)

:D

-Justin.

Oh, and do you see the new 30 percent off BONtime that Jason has just posted?? :D

[kabkbak]

there are many more but if you luve this site as much as the rest of
us it worth it just to help it survive :lol:
your fee will help sustian this site and enrole you in prize giveaways

30% Off BOnTime (Valid Until 12/31/2003)

25% Off Agenda Fusion 5
15% Off Palm Digital Media eBooks
25% Off Pocket Informant or Any Other WebIS Application (Valid Until 3/1/2004)
15% Off Any Resco Application
10% Off Pocket PC Techs Upgrades (No Expiration)
25% Off Any Two Peaks Application (Valid Until 1/1/2004)
15% Off Any Handango Purchase (2000 Uses)
you wont be disapointed

[dh]

A free PDA Mill game, discounts on Pocket Informant or Agenda Fusion, discounts on cases - there is a lot of good stuff and new offers are added every couple of weeks (or so!).

To be honest the discounts are nice but the key thing is to support the site. Also, if you use your PPC for web browsing, access to the mobile version of the forums is brilliant.

Personally I haven't taken advantage of many of the offers. Most of the discounts have been on products that I either have already or don't need. I did get my free version of Snails which is a very nice deal. I would say, look on the offers as a bonus if you can use them. It's well worth the price of the subscription without them.

[freakygreek]

By checking out the suscribe link you'll have a run-down of the diffrent levels and the free stuff/discounts that go along. Besides a $20 coupon towards Vaja cases ,does not apply towards lite suscription, you get entered automatically in all the contests. For discounts check the discount link where you'll find all valid discounts.

[sublime]

I feel bad saying this, but I'm still too new to the site to love it so much as you guys do, so keeping it alive is not my main motivation (though it may be in short time). I'm a very damn poor student, and I need to economize as much as I can...

As such, If I were to subscribe, it would be to the lite version, since $20 off a Vaja case would be the same as getting $20 off a house - its still too expensive. Same goes for the PPtechs upgrade. I'd love to have it, but it's still a lotta money for poor old me.

Snails is free? I wanted to buy that...so that would be 10 bucks off a $24/year subscription. Only $14 a year. Not bad, not bad...

15% off any Handango purchase? Does that mean off any purchase I make at the Handango website, or 15% off any Handango suite? If it's the former, then I'll wind up saving $3 on the Mastersoft Money program I was just thinking about buying, and $1.35 off the Valksoft Space Reclaimer I also planned on getting, so that would be $9.65 left over from the $24 I would have to pay. Looking better...

As for monthly draws for great stuff, that sounds like an awesome deal...only I never win at draws. Not once in my life have I won in one, and I am convinced that the gods that rule draw outcomes have doomed me to eternal damnation.

Agenda Fusion, Resco, and Pocket Informant are all big named apps, but I've used the trial versions of each and found none of them essential, only fancy.

Ah well, what the hell! I might as well subscribe. I'm sure I'll find that $10 come back to me in some later app I choose to buy!

Thanks for the help. I'll post again when I'm done subscribing...

[David Prahl]

Don't forget about the giveaways! Your chances of winning something are pretty good, and new contests are always showing up.

It's worth it!

[sublime]

Well, I just subscribed, as you can see. I've sent a request for a free copy of PDA Snails and hope to get that soon. I'm really nervous, though, and hope that I haven't wasted my money. I know I have to buy the two above mentioned apps (unless someone can suggest a better option for either), so I am only spending $10 for my membership, really.

Argh...I'll be ok. I'll just start posting regularly and everything will be ok.

[Thinkingmandavid]

Although I havent done it yet and am still thinking about it supporting the site is a GREAT idea.

[tospappy]

Though there are many places you can get the info that is available on this site (and I visit those daily as well), "thoughts" just seems to do the best job and offer more. I give up two cups of coffee or a couple of beers a month so to keep up with what's going on with PPC. IMHO, this is the best PPC site on the web and subscribing just seemed like the right thing to do.

[PetiteFlower]

If you think you'll use the mobile forums at all, that alone is worth it to me, at least for the cost of the lite membership. The discounts and free stuff are just a bonus :)

[tanalasta]

Wow! Didn't know you got so much for subscribing... tempted to myself now :) Just a couple of questions though... we get 15% software - where? And are we allowed to purchase anthelion as the free pdamill game? That'd be like way cool! Pity they don't make vaja cases for the toshiba e310 though... otherwise i'd have subscribed already.

[wocket]

If you bought a pocket pc magazine there is no way you would get the info that is on this site and even if you did it would be out of date.

The mobile forums are well worth subscribing to alone plus you could'nt ask for a better community.

Subscribing also tells the world that you support this site :D .

As for the discounts etc. I hav'nt used any of them yet, well except for the free pdamill app.

[mrkablooey]

I became a subscriber early on.... only makes sense to help support the site. I try to do that with all sites I spend a lot of time on. Didn't get a Vaja case, but I've used the Handango discounts on apps I've purchased recently. Also use the info here and enjoy reading the reviews. Pay the subscription and you'll forget about it soon enough, but be able to enjoy the benefits for the entire year. :D

[Thinkingmandavid]

Do those coupons ever expire, like for the vaja cas? all of them.

[Mike Temporale]

I think the Vaja coupon is good for 1 year from subscription date.

[Jeff Rutledge]

You may want to start a new poll. I'm sure the vast majority of subscribers will reply that it's worth it.

For me, I have received such value from this site over time that it was a no brainer. Plus the mobile forums rock!

[gai-jin]

As a very recent subscriber, I was advised by jason that the coupons expire at the end of this year.

Gai-jin

[Mike Temporale]

As a very recent subscriber, I was advised by jason that the coupons expire at the end of this year.

Gai-jin

The expiry date on my Vaja coupon is 6/23/2004. However, other coupons may expire at the end of this year. The 30% off BOnTime expires Dec 31/03, Pocket Informant expires 3/1/04, Two peaks expires 1/1/04. There are also a couple that look like they have already expired!

[Thinkingmandavid]

Well if they expirse this year, then Imight as well wait for the new year, 2004, so I will have more time to use mycoupon. I dont want to feel rushed in having to use it because I have a little bit more than 30 days. I dont want touse my vaja coupon until I get my next ppc. So that settles it for me. In this sense it is more effective to wait until the new year.

[Godsongz]

All the extra stuff, coupons and discounts and whatnot, is really secondary IMHO to supporting a fantastic resource like PPCT. Using this site, asking questions in the forums, keeping up with current news and reviews... all of this has helped me maximize my PPC investment, and enjoy it a heck of a lot more in the process.

[Thinkingmandavid]

that is good. we all so far enjoy the site and have learned a lot from it. while there are still some of us who may not have subscribed, it isnt about not appreciating the site, but a matter of money or opportunity.

[mrkablooey]

Well if they expirse this year, then Imight as well wait for the new year, 2004, so I will have more time to use mycoupon. I dont want to feel rushed in having to use it because I have a little bit more than 30 days. I dont want touse my vaja coupon until I get my next ppc. So that settles it for me. In this sense it is more effective to wait until the new year.

plus you've been a member for a year and a half so what's the rush to get it in for calendar year '03? :wink:

[Thinkingmandavid]

I dont know howlong they have offered becoming a subscriber. I remember it being referred to in a post so that is when i looked into it. Now that I have learned about it and am seriously thinking about it, I want to do it knowing I have plenty of time to use the coupons that are offered wiht it. Doesnt make sense to me to become a subscriber today and a little over a month have to use the coupons. The truth is I wont be ready or able to use the coupons so why bother?

If i wait until 04, then I have more time to see about the software nad take my time about it. I dont want to use the vaja coupon until I get anotehr ppc which isnt happening soon since I bought my e355 about three weeks ago.
My reason are good.

[kabkbak]

Well if they expirse this year, then Imight as well wait for the new year, 2004, so I will have more time to use mycoupon. I dont want to feel rushed in having to use it because I have a little bit more than 30 days. I dont want touse my vaja coupon until I get my next ppc. So that settles it for me. In this sense it is more effective to wait until the new year.

there will be new coupons :lol:

[Thinkingmandavid]

new coupons. are these going to be different ones?
I am on here looking for info about subscribing and I cant find it, how strange. maybe it is because I am tired, it is ten till midnight. mmmm

[MPSmith]

Does anyone know how many subscribers there are? Is there a way for me to tell on the site?

Thanks

[Thinkingmandavid]

MPSmith wrote
Does anyone know how many subscribers there are? Is there a way for me to tell on the site?

Thanks
wow, that is a good question. Jason is there anyway of finding out? I remember in one of my posts that I contributed to this site asking how many life time members this site has, the resposne was there was a lot.
Since there are different levels of subscribing, is there a way to know how many there are at each level? If nothing else as MPSmith wrote, Does anyone know how many subscribers there are? Is there a way for me to tell on the site?

Thanks

[joelevi]

How about an addition to the giveaways in the form of a free year-long subscription to PocketPCThoughts.com? :)

- Joe Levi, www.JoeLevi.com

[Spongebob]

I am new here, but that does sound like a good give away to me :mrgreen:
and it is the holiday season :D
so how about a subscription give away by santa :)

[sublime]

I, too, wanted to ask how many subscribers there are, just so I can know my chances in winning one of the draws.

[mrkablooey]

spongebob,
this is a great site to "subscribe" to. lots of great info and the info and discounts I've gotten from here have more than paid back the money I used to sub for the year.

[Jason Dunn]

wow, that is a good question. Jason is there anyway of finding out?

Nope. :mrgreen: I'm very open about most things to do with this site, but the exact number of subscribers is something I'd prefer to keep to a small group of people (the site team). Why? Well, let's say I tell you there are 100 subscribers. You do some math and say "Ok, Jason made $5000 there." The next time I talk about money matters on the site, like introducing a new form of advertising, I 100% guarantee someone will say "But you've made $5000 from subscriptions! Where did all that money go???" - I'm then put in the position of explaining my personal finances to people. Not a pretty picture. :|

It's just a rats nest I'd rather not go down...but I will say that less than 0.4% of all registered users are subscribers, if that helps any. :-)

UPDATE: Umm, errr...I mean 4%, not 0.4%. Math is not my strong suit. :oops: :lol:

[Vincent M Ferrari]

It's just a rats nest I'd rather not go down...but I will say that less than 0.4% of all registered users are subscribers, if that helps any. :-)

Wow... That's very surprising... I thought that number would be much higher...

[Jason Dunn]

Wow... That's very surprising... I thought that number would be much higher...

Well, I'd like it to be higher too, but overall I've been very humbled by the number of regular posters who have become subscribers - it makes me feel good to see all the little subscriber badges smiling back at me. It's a nice reminder that people appreciate the work that my team and I put into the site. :D

[PetiteFlower]

Remember that a good bunch of the registered users are people who signed up, posted once or twice, and never came back. I'd be more curious about the percentage of ACTIVE users who subscribed, I'd expect that to be much higher.

[dh]

It's just a rats nest I'd rather not go down...but I will say that less than 0.4% of all registered users are subscribers, if that helps any. :-)

Wow... That's very surprising... I thought that number would be much higher...
I also would have thought there were more than that. There are about 14,000 registered members so 0.4% would only be about 56 subscribers. I would have guessed there would be several hundreds, especially since it doesn't cost much and the discount offers are great. Our chances of winning in a subscribers only contest are pretty good.

One of the things I've noticed of late is that a few new members with only a fews posts are subscribing. That must be a good sign.

[Jason Dunn]

I also would have thought there were more than that. There are about 14,000 registered members so 0.4% would only be about 56 subscribers. I would have guessed there would be several hundreds, especially since it doesn't cost much and the discount offers are great.

Yeah, it's actually less than 4%, but that' much more than 0.4% - did I mention I barely passed high school math? :roll:

[Vincent M Ferrari]

Yeah, it's actually less than 4%, but that' much more than 0.4% - did I mention I barely passed high school math? :roll:

And yet somehow you manage to keep the most amazing handheld resources on the internet running... Goes to show exactly what I couldn't convince my parents of as a child: School math don't mean nothing :-)

[dh]

I also would have thought there were more than that. There are about 14,000 registered members so 0.4% would only be about 56 subscribers. I would have guessed there would be several hundreds, especially since it doesn't cost much and the discount offers are great.

Yeah, it's actually less than 4%, but that' much more than 0.4% - did I mention I barely passed high school math? :roll:
That's closer to what I would have guessed. Hopefully this comes close to paying the basic costs, but I guess PPCT still needs those advertisers.

[pocketpcfox]

Though there are many places you can get the info that is available on this site (and I visit those daily as well), "thoughts" just seems to do the best job and offer more. I give up two cups of coffee or a couple of beers a month so to keep up with what's going on with PPC. IMHO, this is the best PPC site on the web and subscribing just seemed like the right thing to do.


Ah ha! But I'd have to say that the forums on PPCThoughts really are comprehensive and reliable... more than the others.

[Vincent M Ferrari]

Ah ha! But I'd have to say that the forums on PPCThoughts really are comprehensive and reliable... more than the others.

That was the deal maker for me. Comprehensive in that there are a wide variety of very knowledgeable opinions here.

But reliable even moreso because when you post a question, you have a very good chance of not only getting an answer, but getting one in a reasonable amount of time.

Many sites I've posted questions on usually respond with the sound of crickets chirping. That, to me, is a huge turnoff. :roll:

[mrkablooey]

Well, I'd like it to be higher too, but overall I've been very humbled by the number of regular posters who have become subscribers - it makes me feel good to see all the little subscriber badges smiling back at me. It's a nice reminder that people appreciate the work that my team and I put into the site. :D

why doesn't YOUR avatar say "I'm a subscriber!" under it!?!? :lol:

[Jason Dunn]

why doesn't YOUR avatar say "I'm a subscriber!" under it!?!? :lol:

Because that would be a little silly, don't you think? ;-) None of the review team, news team, or moderators have the badge because they received their subscriber benefits for free (those that are displaying it have paid for it). It's really important to me that it remains a paying subscriber benefit, or it won't mean much. ;-)

[shawnc]

I feel bad saying this, but I'm still too new to the site to love it so much as you guys do, so keeping it alive is not my main motivation (though it may be in short time). I'm a very damn poor student, and I need to economize as much as I can...

Don't feel bad about being honest. Most of us have been in your situation at some point in our lives. I'm glad to see you were able to scrap up the bucks to join. I think you'll find it money well spent. My guess is that regardless of the discounts you take advantage of, you WILL come to love this site as much as the rest of us :wink: I am fortunate enough that at this point in my life the discounts were not a factor for me. I subscribed simply to support the site because I've gotten so much from the site over the past 2 years.

Though there are many places you can get the info that is available on this site (and I visit those daily as well), "thoughts" just seems to do the best job and offer more.

There is no question that Jason and his staff do a fantastic job but the community here is also top-notch. Most of the members here are VERY helpful and continue to extend themselves with technical help and humor.

Just to make a quick point. I just purchased a 4155 and decided to visit a different forum for the 1st time in over 6 months (my enthusiasm got the better of me :lol: ). I stopped over at BH and was AMAZED at the rudeness exhibited in the very 1st post I read. It was a few senior members who were tired of talking about a particular issue and simply lambasted someone for asking for help.

Things like that simply don't happen here (at least I haven't seen it in quite some time). My point? It's not just the staff, but the members as well.

[Vincent M Ferrari]

It's not just the staff, but the members as well.

It sure does seem like some other forum ops need to be reminded of that from time to time, doesn't it?

That's why I like it here the best...

[Thinkingmandavid]

Jason Dunn wrote
Nope. I'm very open about most things to do with this site, but the exact number of subscribers is something I'd prefer to keep to a small group of people (the site team). Why? Well, let's say I tell you there are 100 subscribers. You do some math and say "Ok, Jason made $5000 there." The next time I talk about money matters on the site, like introducing a new form of advertising, I 100% guarantee someone will say "But you've made $5000 from subscriptions! Where did all that money go???" - I'm then put in the position of explaining my personal finances to people. Not a pretty picture.

I had not thought about it from that angle, it is a good point.
vincenzosi wrote

But reliable even moreso because when you post a question, you have a very good chance of not only getting an answer, but getting one in a reasonable amount of time.
I have noticed that as well, and for the most part there seems to always be someone online. In fact, in my opinion there is a few of US that are on here on a regular basis and help the site to look good. WE are here encouraging other memebers and keeping up with the latest articles.
WE are regular posters and you will see OUR names on a regular basis :D

[sjmcloughlin]

Well just to let you know that this week I was a winner on PPCT and initially I joined up because I wanted to help the site out and now that I was a contest winner that was a nice Christmas bonus. :)

[senfeng]

Usually it takes me about 300 posts or so until I actually subscribe to a site. I don't know why, but I subscribed after a maybe a week or two after registering. Personally, I did it for the articles. I thought, "WOW. I can alter the screen config to get more articles AND win some prizes!" The price was VERY inexpensive so I thought I'd try it out.

I didn't even realize that members got discounts on software! I usually shop at PocketGear because browsing the site is a heck of a lot easier than Handango, but... discounts are very nice. I just bought some Conduit software and some other stuff that I would normally never pick up (too pricey), so I'm a very HAPPY CAMPER; happy with my membership and with the new Apps - which I now realize are well worth the price.

-Senfeng

[mrkablooey]

like senfeng, I often wait a bit, but did not with PPCThoughts. It has been well worth the money. :)