I believe some time in the last couple of days, Apple flicked the switch and has allowed people to start purchasing iPad apps ahead of the formal release of the iPad hardware. Also, universal versions of applications that work across the iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad have been released and become apparent in iTunes 9.1 (which has subsequently been released to allow connectivity and synchronisation with the iPad).
As I have been browsing the Internet today, it has become apparent to me that some software designers are going to charge for their HD or XL versions of their iPhone applications and forgo bundling them as a universal app. One such example is Firemint, the makers of Flight Control and Real Racing.
Before I get going, I’m aware that iPhone apps should work fine on the iPad with the option to scale up the app to fill the screen. Also, I have not gotten my hands on the iPad versions of these apps so I cannot evaluate whether or not such a move is warranted. I also know that I have the option of not supporting such activity by holding on to my hard-earned cash.
My main gripe is that people who have forked out for the iPod Touch/iPhone versions of apps have to fork out full price for the iPad version if they want it. Sure, Flight Control is AU$1.19 which is less than the cost of a can of soft drink but Flight Control HD is $5.99 which seems to offer much the same with a few more maps (which really can’t be that hard to create), a different way to draw flight paths and “high quality” graphics (these are cartoons).
If Firemint really has to charge existing users for the HD version of Flight Control, I reckon it should be more generous by at least offering a discount by means of an in-app purchase through its classic apps. Otherwise, this seems like a money grab with little regard for its customers.
What I do expect is that if someone is going to charge me three times the cost of the original app that ran on previous hardware (and still runs on the new hardware) I’d be wanting a significant difference between the old and the new versions (and I’m not talking about the number of pixels or objects on-screen). It’d be like buying Microsoft Office 2007 for a computer for $200 and then buying Microsoft Office 2010 for a brand new computer for $600 with an incremental increase in functionality when the old software would work just fine on either.
At the end of the day, I know this stuff costs about as much as one would expect to pay for lunch these days and for some it might not be such a big deal. The costs do add up nonetheless and I would call on software designers, including Firemint, to be more considerate with their pricing.
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