Why do people buy paid apps when free ones offers same/better features?

[madsquabbles]

i know this is a bit OT but i find it kinda odd that dev's will charge by the resolution on some apps. i don't recall any specific examples but, the "HD" version is sometimes nothing more than the same program pulling different textures or coded to scale. granted some are full remixes instead of res'ed up versions.

what if apple and ms started charging by the resolution?

on the other hand i always laugh a little when some cries about $10 being too much for a game/program. makes you wonder if they've ever bought a program for their pc/mac.

i have very few free apps as most that i've used have been for trial purposes. the paid apps i've bought have no real competition on the free side.

 

[wytey]

i know this is a bit OT but i find it kinda odd that dev's will charge by the resolution on some apps. i don't recall any specific examples but, the "HD" version is sometimes nothing more than the same program pulling different textures or coded to scale. granted some are full remixes instead of res'ed up versions.

what if apple and ms started charging by the resolution?

on the other hand i always laugh a little when some cries about $10 being too much for a game/program. makes you wonder if they've ever bought a program for their pc/mac.

i have very few free apps as most that i've used have been for trial purposes. the paid apps i've bought have no real competition on the free side.

not to mention that you can upscale the iphone app on the iPad natively

 

[col.bris]

If some one buys nintendo ds and then pays $30 $40 or more for a game and does not like it it is expensive If I decide to spend $3 or $5 on a game or App it frankly is a small price to pay. I have purchased many apps and in a most cases I am more than happy with the results.
I find some of the free apps have poor design and in the case of games boring. I believe you get what you pay for and considering I am sharing all purchases on 3 devices it is excellent value

 

[wytey]

there are some free apps which are really good, but in general, the paid apps are not only better, but also have better support if you have issues or problems

 

[mobi1]

It would be a help if you gave particular examples of a free app being better or equal to paid one.

Everyone's requirement is unique, so my observation may not tally with someone else, so apologies in advance.

I use following apps for various tasks and I found them very good and when I read the description of some paid apps, I did wonder why people buy them.

Here is my favorite list


Sketchbook Express - very powerful sketch app (I do understand Sketchbook Pro offers more but some other paid apps doesn't seem offer comparable free features).

Adobe Ideas - my 2nd favorite, quite good

Simplenote/Plain text/Notekata - there are many paid text editors!

Team Viewer HD - why someone needs paid Logme in?

Terra web, atomic lite - why someone needs a paid browser (when you get Safari too for free)?

Springpad - works fine offline. But Evernote works only for premium customers!

Gotasks, wunderlist, Neatlist, Jotlist - works beautifully. Why one needs to pay for a todo list?? (Springpad and free outliners can also offer todo list) GoTasks/Jotlist offer nested lists as well. Jot list can even do a summation of amounts!

Idea Sketch - so cool for flowcharts.

Sundry notes - text, sketch/draw, record audio, multiple pages etc. Quite good for note taking

Flipboard, Zite, Pulse etc. - wonderful news/magazines. What paid ones do better?

Tune in radio - yes, they have a paid version too but free one is wonderful

I'm leaving games altogether because that's completely different segment.

 

[Sam Dean]

Paid apps are very cheap. Considering that the iPad replaces my laptop (my laptop has become my desktop!) this works out well. In the past, I would be using my laptop to do the sort of stuff my iPad now does, and buying expensive software. So I'm actually SAVING money!

Air Video means I don't need any video programs again on my laptop.

 

[SingingSabre]

But I don't get why people buy a stylus when fingers come for free. They're better, feel better, and you never forget where you left it.. I know I read folk have issues with fingermarks on the screen - but you can't see them when it's on, can you?

I know a ton of digital artists and all of them use a stylus for sketching and things like that. It's the difference between drawing and finger painting.

I stink at drawing, though. However, I'm great at manipulating light. Luckily, Photoshop doesn't have a full-fledged iPad version, so I'll stick with my desktop for photo editing.

 

[Pingles]

As a hobbyist Illustrator I took quite a while to transition the control of my lines when moving to my finger from a pen/stylus. You really do have to re-teach yourself after years of aligning points with your hand in pen-holding stance.

 

[Czevski]

So far free apps have fulfilled my needs. I am long-time retired so Zite, Flipboard, etc. + news apps (CNN, PBS, etc. all free) give me lots to read. And app versions of my subscription magazines are currently free. My favorite card games (by jiuzhangTech) and Sudoku are free. And I try free versions of all kinds of apps - games, photography, apps for great-grandchildren, video apps. I even check out books from my library through Overture. Someday I may need to buy Angry birds!

 

[Kin Lau]

Adobe Ideas - my 2nd favorite, quite good

This is not free anymore.

 

[Czevski]

Sorry, the library app is Overdrive.

 

[Mountainbikermark]

Reviews are not always the way to tell about the value of an app. The more a person pays for an app, the more criticism they will express about its failures. A free app that is so-so, can be higher rated because the user has nothing invested in it.

Interesting point, Seadog. but would you really over-rate a free app that was so-so? I think I wouldn't even bother rating it at all.

the thing I don't like about reviews is the sense of urgency that reviews and ratings need to be obtained. Eg. Flipboard - I only had the app a day and the next day I was asked to rate it. I mean, it looked all right but how do I know if it's any good after just a day?

(I hate those reviews for cameras on amazon where you get some bod giving it 5 stars and saying, I've had this camera three days and I'm sooo excited, it's absolutely brilliant! I secretly hope it breaks down on the seventh day).

there should be a law which says sellers can't ask for and customers can't submit reviews until at least a month after the sale. then objectivity will prevail.

Same with Phonescoop. Somebody does a review on a phone they just took out of the box but it's the best phone they've ever owned. My favorite was some poster that gave her enV2 a bad review because it broke when she threw it against the wall for the third time.
I saw it on another thread somewhere but agree with what they wrote . They don't bother with reviews except from this forum. I don't pay a lot of attention to most reviews on the apps in their store/market because they are incomplete at best for the most part. They might as well not post a comment if all they can write is it's the best or it sucks with no elaboration


Support Our Troops!
This post was Tapatalk approved
Sent from my iPad

 

[sjleworthy]

But I don't get why people buy a stylus when fingers come for free. They're better, feel better, and you never forget where you left it.. I know I read folk have issues with fingermarks on the screen - but you can't see them when it's on, can you?

good discussion topic, mobi.

some digital artists prefer the 'feel' of a stylus in their hand. i certainly do. much more akin to proper painting with a brush in my hand. also, it's more precise and controllable than my fat stubby fingers.

for general browsing and use i use my stumps of course, but for freehand note taking, smaller detail work, drawing etc etc i use a stylus. infact, i have a few for different purposes. (im looking at a Bamboo stylus next) much like an artist collects his favorite brushes.

we're all different.

 

[Kaykaykay]

I have about 100 apps, mostly free. I'm not against paying, but only if I can't find what I want for free. The ones I use most frequently and like best are free, as it turns out.

 

[ian russell]

some digital artists prefer the 'feel' of a stylus in their hand. i certainly do. much more akin to proper painting with a brush in my hand. also, it's more precise and controllable than my fat stubby fingers.

for general browsing and use i use my stumps of course, but for freehand note taking, smaller detail work, drawing etc etc i use a stylus. infact, i have a few for different purposes. (im looking at a Bamboo stylus next) much like an artist collects his favorite brushes.

we're all different.

Have you seen the Nomad brush? A bit pricey, especially when you add shipping from US to UK. But they have a nice long uniform handle and no pocket clip thing.

I mean, in traditional painting you might use a combination of brush, finger, blade, rag and whatever else. You're right, we're all different, otherwise it'd be boring.