AW: App Software Warranty?

[Curry Kenworthy]

Tiemo Hollmann:

> Nowadays, with the new "app" paradigm on mobile phones and tablets the user
> has forgotten that these nice tiny little icons on their smartphones are
> also "software" with well-definied requirements and  and investment to be
> produced. And the OEMs like Apple with their automated system updates show
> the users a brave new world and pretend that the user hasn't to care about
> anything anymore. All bets are off. The user doesn't cares anymore about
> anything and just hits the button "install new system" and expects that
> everything runs smooth or even better as before.

 > In opposite to classical software, where I can sell a new version or
 > an update with costs for a new system version neither Apple nor
 > Google have implemented this possibility for me. There are no updates
 > with cost.

 > What are your thoughts about this subject?

It's designed to be truly perfect for Apple/Google. And supposedly 
"perfect" for the customer.

But not always for the developer. High standard, low price. With those 
system updates factored in and no upgrade fees, not the most 
"sustainable" model. We have to be creative to make it work.

And not always "perfect" for the customer. Dumbing things down can 
backfire. Apple changes OS more often than people change underwear, but 
users may not understand the implications.

Even on desktop computers, the auto update paradigm can be a trap. I 
unthinkingly agreed to a web browser update, and the new version 
requires so much memory that I can hardly multitask on this machine.

Here's a case study:

<http://blog.shiftyjelly.com/2012/08/17/paid-upgrades-on-ios-the-greedy-developer-guide/>

It concludes:

"There's no way to release a paid update on the iOS App Store, you have 
to release a new app....Apple will probably never support this, and it's 
time as developers we stopped this crazy 'race to the bottom free 
updates for ever' mentality, and start restoring the notion that 
developers also need to get paid, and there's no inherent weirdness or 
shame in that."

I've seen companies using new replacement apps, new other apps, new 
in-app purchases, and for some industries even subscription services. I 
hope you find a good solution for the paid upgrades!

Best wishes,

Curry Kenworthy

Custom Software Development
http://curryk.com/consulting/