HanDBase Related News Update!

[ddhsoftwareadmin]

Hi Patrick,

Thanks for your input on this. It's an interesting model and kind of matches what a lot of Mac desktop apps do (like Parallels, Screenflow, etc, do). As a user I do get a bit frustrated by it- hate having to repurchase the app and this is usually at a discount from the full price (though still pretty expensive). So the user part of me would hate this sort of model, and the business side of me would enjoy it - hard to reconcile the two!


I've been working on an alternative solution to generate recurring revenue for HanDBase- hope to have something more concrete to share in about a week.

[jimgrant1]

Dave - thanks for the update.

I've been an avid HanDBase user for several years (Windows and iOS). I have looked at other list managers / database programs and none comes close. I would gladly pay a subscription fee to keep it alive and enhancements coming.

I just checked the price of HanDBase at the iTunes App Store. It is $9.99. With $1.99 and $2.99 apps out there, maybe a lot of potential customers do not buy, because of the $9.99 price tag. Maybe some combination of a lower purchase price and a subscription fee would generate more income for you. --- You would need to try some variations to find the "sweet spot".

[ddhsoftwareadmin]

Dave - thanks for the update.

I've been an avid HanDBase user for several years (Windows and iOS). I have looked at other list managers / database programs and none comes close. I would gladly pay a subscription fee to keep it alive and enhancements coming.

Thanks Jim for the kind words- glad to hear it's still a great option for people interested in an app like this!

I just checked the price of HanDBase at the iTunes App Store. It is $9.99. With $1.99 and $2.99 apps out there, maybe a lot of potential customers do not buy, because of the $9.99 price tag. Maybe some combination of a lower purchase price and a subscription fee would generate more income for you. --- You would need to try some variations to find the "sweet spot".

Thanks for your thoughts on this as well. A few times over the past few years I ran a sale of 50% off for a few weeks to gauge the price and see the effects. If sales didn't go up > 2x, the price change didn't make sense. Not only did they not go up > 2x, they didn't go up at all, other than an initial few days due to the newsworthiness of the sale price. So effectively my income halved during that time!

I personally feel confident that at 1.99 I'd sell more copies than at 9.99 or even 4.99, but not sure it would make up the difference. I honestly believe that most users won't pay more than 0.00 for an app these days- there are many to choose from at that price and the idea of paying for an app at all has become hard to swallow. I'm hoping to try something ad-supported for those that feel this way- we'll see how this goes!

[pahiker]

Honestly, a subscription would be lost on me. Unlike other here who use this as part of a business, my usage is primarily personal, so a subscription would be an undue expense. I would like to suggest a different method, if I might.

I work heavily with a graphics package that I have owned for better than 20 years now. The owner of the package resides in Denmark, I believe, and releases new versions on a two-tiered system. Minor updates / bug fixes are free. Major updates are released at full prices for new purchasers, and at a discount (20-30% off) to current owners. Obviously you must be at the current major version to get the free minor updates. Now, while I haven't purchased every major release (some new features just weren't useful to me) by-and-large I have purchased 90% of them. To me, this seems like a better opportunity for non-business owners like myself.

My 2-cents worth.

[tmcclosk]

Thanks for all your work, Dave. I used HDB on palm years ago, and now on Android and iPad. I was using it again recently on the desktop and noted a bug in the report function, so was checking support to see if there might be further information. I started with the posts in this thread, and understand why there might not be a fix available.
No telling what will come, but all the best to you and your family.

If things wind down for android, would you consider donating the code to the Free Software Foundation? I don't know if you might get a tax break in doing so, but it might give one of your "babies" a chance to continue to grow and change, and it might bring other business to you, like "casting your bread upon the water."
From a personal standpoint, I think we are getting way overloaded with ads and marketing. If you don't have to go that route, rejoice!

Thanks again. I will be buying the bike app.

[GJHmf]

I honestly believe that most users won't pay more than 0.00 for an app these days- there are many to choose from at that price and the idea of paying for an app at all has become hard to swallow. I'm hoping to try something ad-supported for those that feel this way- we'll see how this goes!

This is true. The price someone is willing to spend on an app is directly proportional to how much they're willing to spend on a device. Owners of high-end devices won't blink, but budget device users (most Android owners, sadly) won't - and these free-app-loving users are less likely to be buying productivity software anyway.

While HanDBase is essential for my own daily use, and has been for over 10 years, you have a narrow audience - and I certainly don't envy you with your headache.

Not being an app developer (just an app tester), investing adding a kick of paint (material design?) but keeping the underlying mechanics might appeal to some. Although I do appreciate this would involve a lot of effort for questionable gain.

Above all else. Do keep up the good work.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[wwwalton]

I too have been a HandBase user since PalmOS days => PPC ==> Desktop ==> Android ==> iOS (iPhone & iPad). I had a need for a set of tables so I revisited databases for iOS (my main environment), spent the last 2 days web and AppStore; tried various ones, NOTHING simply came close to a device resident database with the functionality of HandBase. My concern was that DDH would go the route many other products went in that they are no longer kept current and all my previous HandBase tables would be useless with newer iOS releases.

I really hate the subscription approach though I understand the need for recurring revenue. I would vote for Patrick's suggestion. Small incremental costs for added function feature. My expectation would be in the range from $2-$6 depending on level of added function /feature. These kinds of costs for software useful to me are acceptable. If a yearly subscription was deemed needed, then so be it but the expectation would be somewhere around %20 of initial product cost.

I again thank you for all your efforts over the years and your responsiveness to issues/questions.
-walt

[jaymiles]

It is a shame that so many good app designers/developers are leaving the business or going to the subscription base service. I am not a fan of subscription base service and told myself I would never use them for apps. I have evolved on the issue, but the app needs to be extremely useful. I currently subscribe to two Officesuite and Report Plus. I would subscribe to your product as well if it was offered.

There are some app developers that offers both subscription based service and one-time pay. I will describe the app Moneywiz because I most familiar with the apps pay options. MoneyWiz offer a weekly and yearly (cheaper) subscription options. With either of the subscription option, subscribers receive minor and major updates for free; the app includes iPhone, iPad, Windows and Mac versions; and special banking features not included in the one-time purchase. The one-time purchase includes iPhone and iPad apps only. Windows and Mac versions are an additional purchase each. One-time includes all minor updates for free and a discount on major updates, which are schedule every year and previous version is supported for 6 month after major updates. One-time purchase users are notified, when a major update is coming out and the sale period, which is extremely short.

Now for some constructive criticisms.

I have been using your app and window base software for over 5 years. When I first saw your app in the app store, I went to your website. The site looked out-of-date. If it was not for your forum and the response after a left a message, I would have move on to another app. I image many have. The second criticism, which is also a compliment, is your app has not had a major update (features and appearance) since I purchased it. That said, your app is still the most function rich universal database in the app store. However, the graphics look mid 90's. There are a lot of flashy database apps in the apps store that have one or two nice features (iCloud sync, over the air sync, barcode data input from the internet, updated visualization charts and graphs, etc...). I hypothesize that if the app graphics are updated and the price was cut by a third sale may increase.

I hope you are able to continue to support this app and makes some money. I believe there are many loyal users who will continue to support your app if you transition to another buying model.

good luck,
Jay

[ddhsoftwareadmin]

Hi Jay,

Thanks for your post and honest input. I agree that the website has a dated look to it- it's been updated here and there over the last decade but only one complete redesign and that was a few years back. On the app itself, I don't personally find it looking dated, especially with the dark scheme. Since iOS7, the app design hasn't really evolved too much- definitely not officially, and so the app seems to have aged well from that last redesign. Maybe I'm wrong on that- I do know that when apps were all skeuomorphic in nature, HanDBase sold a lot better with it's desktop and file cabinet look than it does now with a minimalistic look. There just isn't as much separating apps design wise that you can see in a screenshot!

re: price, I have not done a sale in a few years, but each time I've done it in the past, the sales increased only marginally for a week and then fell to the same levels as before. Since I was charging less for the app it meant less overall income, so it always dissuaded me from a permanent price decrease. That said, I have been thinking about all people have suggested here and have some plans to try something entirely different- a free ad-supported version, with a paid unlock for full featureset and no ads. A price reduction on the main app, and an optional subscription for new features. Still working out the details but hope to give this a try in the near future. If I can generate some interest and income, it can justify a redesign of the app and/or website.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

[bluesdaddy2]

I too find this a VERY important app for my wife's business and many of my own purposes. I would do whatever it takes to keep it alive and running on the iPhone OS platform. Please keep it going.

Thanks