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What do you all think of our graphing calculator app, Grafly (http://grafly.com http://grafly.com)? Is it worth $9.99? We think it is, in that there's nothing l

by cpr 18y ago

What do you all think of our graphing calculator app, Grafly (http://grafly.com http://grafly.com)? Is it worth $9.99? We think it is, in that there's nothing like it on any other platform at any price. Like all the "please rate my web site" posts, I'm interested in what HN denizens think. Thanks.

markessien 18y ago
It looks cool, but only for a particular small market. Have you figured out how to reach the relevant market yet?
- cpr 18y ago
  Not yet; that's what we're working on. The initial response was strong, but, like most apps, sunk quickly into the morass as the AppStore became overwhelmed with lots of silly little apps.
jgrahamc 18y ago
What's the market size for physical graphing calculators?
potatolicious 18y ago
I'm sorry to say, but I don't perceive it to be useful at all. I'm probably in your target demographic - college student in engineering, and I have to tell you that anyone who's going to be doing any sort of work with graphing calculators would prefer to buy one than use their iPhone. Here's why: - Physical buttons: when you're chewing through problems you absolutely MUST have physical buttons with tactile feedback. Like the calculator app on the iPhone (the default one) the buttons are way too small to even begin operating quickly. - Battery life. My exams are often 3-4 hours long, and an iPhone would not be allowed as a legal calculator. Even if it were, the iPhone would have trouble holding a charge through the entire exam. I just don't see much of a market for it. At a lower price point maybe - I see this app as being useful for possibly one-off equations, but nobody who needs this sort of software will use this app as their primary graphing calculator. Now, what I would gladly pay for is a graphing calculator software that comes with a USB keypad. I have my graphing calculator with me always, but sometimes it's slow and the screen sucks. It would be wonderful to have the friendly physical user interface of the calculator and the power of the PC.
- cpr 18y ago
  Thanks for that feedback! The physical buttons argument is a good one. I don't think the battery life issue is a real one--when you're not actively calculating a new graph, the app is doing very little. I suppose we should actually benchmark using it for 3-4 hours at a time. Can't argue about legal calculators. Though saying "friendly [physical] UI" seems like an oxymoron to me--physical graphing calculators have some of the worst graphics I've ever seen.

by cpr 18y ago

markessien 18y ago

It looks cool, but only for a particular small market. Have you figured out how to reach the relevant market yet?

cpr 18y ago
Not yet; that's what we're working on. The initial response was strong, but, like most apps, sunk quickly into the morass as the AppStore became overwhelmed with lots of silly little apps.

jgrahamc 18y ago

What's the market size for physical graphing calculators?

potatolicious 18y ago

I'm sorry to say, but I don't perceive it to be useful at all. I'm probably in your target demographic - college student in engineering, and I have to tell you that anyone who's going to be doing any sort of work with graphing calculators would prefer to buy one than use their iPhone. Here's why: - Physical buttons: when you're chewing through problems you absolutely MUST have physical buttons with tactile feedback. Like the calculator app on the iPhone (the default one) the buttons are way too small to even begin operating quickly. - Battery life. My exams are often 3-4 hours long, and an iPhone would not be allowed as a legal calculator. Even if it were, the iPhone would have trouble holding a charge through the entire exam. I just don't see much of a market for it. At a lower price point maybe - I see this app as being useful for possibly one-off equations, but nobody who needs this sort of software will use this app as their primary graphing calculator. Now, what I would gladly pay for is a graphing calculator software that comes with a USB keypad. I have my graphing calculator with me always, but sometimes it's slow and the screen sucks. It would be wonderful to have the friendly physical user interface of the calculator and the power of the PC.

cpr 18y ago
Thanks for that feedback! The physical buttons argument is a good one. I don't think the battery life issue is a real one--when you're not actively calculating a new graph, the app is doing very little. I suppose we should actually benchmark using it for 3-4 hours at a time. Can't argue about legal calculators. Though saying "friendly [physical] UI" seems like an oxymoron to me--physical graphing calculators have some of the worst graphics I've ever seen.