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list of apps going from free to paid?

A

afbuckeye

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 29, 2007
57
0
USA
I was wondering if people think it would be a good idea to keep a running list of apps that are free for a limited time and will be changed to paid apps, or if anybody knows of such a list.

I think it would be nice to know some of the apps that have already gone from free to paid as well as keeping track of current apps that will eventually no longer be free. I know sometimes I wish I would have gotten a certain app while it was free and I'm sure there are others thinking the same thing.

I can try to keep an updated list of these apps and maybe we can get this as a sticky.

Post apps you know of that are free for a while and those that used to be free.
 
C

Cyclone Chris

macrumors regular
Jul 14, 2008
175
0
My question is that if you already purchased an app that was free, and the developer decided to charge for it later on.... will any updates cost you?

For Example:

Simplify Media is free for the first 100,000 iphone users. What happens once an update comes out?

Will it still be free or will they charge you?
 
A

ayasin

macrumors 6502
Jun 26, 2008
318
0
If you have ever downloaded an app you get the updates for free irrespective of whether the price changes or if you remove it from your phone/computer. Apple may change this policy in the future but that's how it is now.
 
SnowLeopard2008

SnowLeopard2008

macrumors 604
Jul 4, 2008
6,772
18
Silicon Valley
Yea, I forgot which app, but I got it for free, and my friend who just got a touch and wanted the same app, said it was not free anymore. but i just updated that app and bam!, i still got the updates. it's really not fair if they make you pay for it, if you got it free and it later became a paid app, why not just charge for it in the beginning if we were gonna pay in the end?
 
A

ayasin

macrumors 6502
Jun 26, 2008
318
0
It's a game some devs are playing to try to get higher in the "Top Apps" list. If you switch your download stats don't get cleared so you jump to the top of the list. For example Super Monkey Ball was top app for quite a while and last month sold about 300000 copies. The number 2 app on the top free apps has around 70,000 per day. Not too hard at that rate to hit top paid 25 apps and stay there for a while.
 
S

stevearm

macrumors 6502a
Nov 15, 2007
992
91
SnowLeopard2008 said:
Yea, I forgot which app, but I got it for free, and my friend who just got a touch and wanted the same app, said it was not free anymore. but i just updated that app and bam!, i still got the updates. it's really not fair if they make you pay for it, if you got it free and it later became a paid app, why not just charge for it in the beginning if we were gonna pay in the end?
Click to expand...


http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=e...business&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title
 
N

Niiro13

macrumors 68000
Feb 12, 2008
1,719
0
Illinois
Cyclone Chris said:
My question is that if you already purchased an app that was free, and the developer decided to charge for it later on.... will any updates cost you?

For Example:

Simplify Media is free for the first 100,000 iphone users. What happens once an update comes out?

Will it still be free or will they charge you?
Click to expand...

Updates and redownloads will be free...(cont'd)

ayasin said:
If you have ever downloaded an app you get the updates for free irrespective of whether the price changes or if you remove it from your phone/computer. Apple may change this policy in the future but that's how it is now.
Click to expand...

Unless the developer relists the application...
 
A

afbuckeye

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 29, 2007
57
0
USA
So back to the original plan of this thread, lol. I don't know many off of the top of my head but can think of three apps.

Break Classic and Jirbo Break both started free and are now 99 cents. Simplify Media is currently free but only for the first 100,000.

Does anybody know of anymore? If there is enough interest, I'll create a new thread and keep it updated.
 
A

afbuckeye

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 29, 2007
57
0
USA
Do most of these apps have within the info that they will be changed to a paid app and are free for a limited time? or are developers just randomly changing them?
 
N

Niiro13

macrumors 68000
Feb 12, 2008
1,719
0
Illinois
afbuckeye said:
Do most of these apps have within the info that they will be changed to a paid app and are free for a limited time? or are developers just randomly changing them?
Click to expand...

There are a few like SimplifyMedia that said so (and this other Wallet application I believe...the developer posted on these forums that it was free for some time).

But the majority of them are changing it without notice.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
A

aerospace

macrumors 6502a
Jun 26, 2007
661
0
greed gets most of them. create an app for fun, turns out it gets thousands of downloads, make it paid and the $ starts flowing. how can you resist?

free gets lots of downloads, word of mouth that your app is worth it, then when it goes paid your high on the top paid list even if you just went from free to paid and have yet to sell one for $, plus it has good reviews, and word of mouth from current users pushing it to retain a certain amount of downloads, likely much less than before though.

drop from top 50, make it free for another week and repeat process....
 
L

Lucca

macrumors newbie
Jul 15, 2008
12
0
aerospace said:
greed gets most of them. create an app for fun, turns out it gets thousands of downloads, make it paid and the $ starts flowing. how can you resist?

free gets lots of downloads, word of mouth that your app is worth it, then when it goes paid your high on the top paid list even if you just went from free to paid and have yet to sell one for $, plus it has good reviews, and word of mouth from current users pushing it to retain a certain amount of downloads, likely much less than before though.

drop from top 50, make it free for another week and repeat process....
Click to expand...

Well, since the app store doesn't really have sales, I can see why people do this.

Really, folks, developing apps is not exactly a cost-free thing. To get persnickety about a developer charging for an app to cover the costs of developing it is silly. (Note: I know you didn't quite mean this, but I've seen it this mentality from some people in other posts and threads.) I do agree that the whole 'top spot from free to paid!' needs to be fixed NOW, but if I was a developer and my application was popular, you would bet I'd charge for it. It's a business, after all. I would have to support myself.

I wouldn't mind a model that has you TRY the application for free, but if you like the app then updates will cost you. It's similar to a trial version of software you'd get on your computer. If you don't want to pay, then that's totally cool! Just don't update or delete it from your iphone/touch.

Now I have issues when developers charge high prices on applications that clearly should be .99 cents or less based on quality and what it can do, but you can't quite tell that because there's no demo to try.
 
I

islandsnow

macrumors member
Feb 14, 2008
37
0
msmith2112 said:
Tip is now .99
Click to expand...

what? damn it, i downloaded it when it was free. and thought it would stay free so i deleted it while i tried checkplease. lesson learned, if its free, then just manually sync all my apps without deleting it vs syncing all applications.
 
H

hawk1226

macrumors member
Jan 8, 2008
55
0
SnowLeopard2008 said:
well i was saying logically, why make it free in the first place if I was gonna be forced to pay? this isnt some business scheme, its a dirty trick.
Click to expand...
Its not a dirty trick and it is all about a business scheme. Offering an app as free is one method of advertising it. I wouldn't have downloaded simplify media if it weren't free at the time. But i did, tried it, liked it alot and have since told people about it and when the developer decides to charge for it, he should have a pretty nice following. As someone else said, its also a way for their app to get to the top of the paid list, so...if a developer intends to charge for an app, it is effective to offer it free for a limited time.
 
Bear Hunter

Bear Hunter

macrumors 6502a
Aug 10, 2008
598
0
islandsnow said:
what? damn it, i downloaded it when it was free. and thought it would stay free so i deleted it while i tried checkplease. lesson learned, if its free, then just manually sync all my apps without deleting it vs syncing all applications.
Click to expand...

You can redownload it again for free.
 
I

iFerd

macrumors 6502a
Jul 20, 2007
927
0
TipCalc (not Tip Calc - note the space) went from free to 99 cents.

reMovem (formerly JawBreaker) added a 99 cent version with additional play modes, but the original remains free.

This latter way of doing things - providing a lite version and a full-featured pay version - is a reasonable way of allowing free trials in a system that doesn't otherwise do that. About as close to shareware as we will be able to see under the current App Store.
 
Solver

Solver

macrumors 65816
Jan 6, 2004
1,223
3,200
USA
Expando

Was free. Now the #2 paid app @ $1.99

Note that many of the comments say that this should be a paid app.
 
TuffLuffJimmy

TuffLuffJimmy

macrumors G3
Apr 6, 2007
9,022
136
Portland, OR
I heart control was free for about an hour when the app store first opened. I think it was a glitch since it's running for like $35 now. I got it when it free ;)
 
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