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I would like to try Anki on iOS but the developer has decided to offer it for a price of £17.50. Considering the web version is free and the desktop version is

by Osmium 13y ago

I would like to try Anki on iOS but the developer has decided to offer it for a price of £17.50. Considering the web version is free and the desktop version is open source, I'm not sure what's motivated this decision, and it leaves a bad taste. I'm all for developers being paid for their time, but considering this is an app of most use to students (of which I am one) I can say for sure that I'm never going to be able to pay that much for it...

icebraining 13y ago
It's only of use to students who can afford an iOS device. Probably a demographic with an higher income than the average student.
- Osmium 13y ago
  It's this idea that really bothers me, I think. I don't know if the developer subscribes to this idea or not, but whenever I see an iOS app priced way differently to it's counterparts on other platforms I suspect it's either motivated by this idea or otherwise some principled stance against Apple. In either case, it isn't nice as an individual to be singled out as a target for extra cash because of the platform you run on. Just because I use an iPhone doesn't mean I have more money than my peers (and in fact probably means I have less!). Even if that were true on aggregate, I still find it unpleasant, simply because there will be many exceptions.
  - icebraining 13y ago
    Just because I use an iPhone doesn't mean I have more money than my peers (and in fact probably means I have less!). Assuming the iPhone is yours, sure it does; at least, more money than a student who can't afford £17 for a learning tool. The iPhone itself is an asset that is worth money.
    - deleted 13y ago
      [deleted]
Blahah 13y ago
I'm the other developer of AnkiMobile along with Damien Elmes, creator of Anki. The iOS app is the sole source of income for Damien, who develops, hosts and supports the entire Anki ecosystem for free. At some point a few years ago, Anki was taking up so much of his time that he had to decide whether to quit his job or stop developing it. He chose to quit his job and make a paid iOS app. I think £17.50 is a reasonable price for such a complex app. Many people who own it use it for over an hour a day. If you think of it as less than ten cups of coffee, and consider that you would pay much more for a textbook, I think it's a good value investment for the educational return you get. If you really really cannot afford £17.50, you could always join the beta program next time there's a call for testers on the user group, or you can use the web version on your phone.
- nathan-wailes 13y ago
  I'm someone who has been using Anki for over a year now and I'd like to say that the value that I've gotten from Anki is equivalent to the value I'd normally need to pay $1000+ for with traditional modes of learning (books, courses, etc.). Even at $200 Anki would be a steal.
  - Osmium 13y ago
    The problem with expensive apps (just very generally speaking) is that Apple's App Store doesn't currently have a way to trial them. Even if an app is worth $200, there's no way to find that out beforehand. This is made worse by an awkward refund process and presumably a cost to the developer too with refunds. With regards to how you arrive at the $200 figure: for you, Anki is competing against "$1000+ for with traditional modes of learning", and so you feel it's worth up to $200. Well, it's also possible to frame it the opposite way, because for me Anki is competing against traditional (free) libraries and a $1 stack of flashcards, in which case it seems way overpriced to me. So I don't think that's a compelling argument either way.
    - Blahah 13y ago
      I agree with this criticism of the app store, and I don't really see a solution unless Apple introduces this feature.
rm445 13y ago
I agree that the price is a 'hump' that many people won't get over. But if the tool is useful, claiming it's too pricey for students can't be right. That price is less than your typical textbook. Sure, you're comparing the price to free on desktop, but I suspect you're also somewhat comparing it to typical app store prices. We've been educated that software for our mobile devices costs a nominal fee.

by Osmium 13y ago

icebraining 13y ago

It's only of use to students who can afford an iOS device. Probably a demographic with an higher income than the average student.

Osmium 13y ago
It's this idea that really bothers me, I think. I don't know if the developer subscribes to this idea or not, but whenever I see an iOS app priced way differently to it's counterparts on other platforms I suspect it's either motivated by this idea or otherwise some principled stance against Apple. In either case, it isn't nice as an individual to be singled out as a target for extra cash because of the platform you run on. Just because I use an iPhone doesn't mean I have more money than my peers (and in fact probably means I have less!). Even if that were true on aggregate, I still find it unpleasant, simply because there will be many exceptions.
- icebraining 13y ago
  Just because I use an iPhone doesn't mean I have more money than my peers (and in fact probably means I have less!). Assuming the iPhone is yours, sure it does; at least, more money than a student who can't afford £17 for a learning tool. The iPhone itself is an asset that is worth money.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]

Blahah 13y ago

I'm the other developer of AnkiMobile along with Damien Elmes, creator of Anki. The iOS app is the sole source of income for Damien, who develops, hosts and supports the entire Anki ecosystem for free. At some point a few years ago, Anki was taking up so much of his time that he had to decide whether to quit his job or stop developing it. He chose to quit his job and make a paid iOS app. I think £17.50 is a reasonable price for such a complex app. Many people who own it use it for over an hour a day. If you think of it as less than ten cups of coffee, and consider that you would pay much more for a textbook, I think it's a good value investment for the educational return you get. If you really really cannot afford £17.50, you could always join the beta program next time there's a call for testers on the user group, or you can use the web version on your phone.

nathan-wailes 13y ago
I'm someone who has been using Anki for over a year now and I'd like to say that the value that I've gotten from Anki is equivalent to the value I'd normally need to pay $1000+ for with traditional modes of learning (books, courses, etc.). Even at $200 Anki would be a steal.
- Osmium 13y ago
  The problem with expensive apps (just very generally speaking) is that Apple's App Store doesn't currently have a way to trial them. Even if an app is worth $200, there's no way to find that out beforehand. This is made worse by an awkward refund process and presumably a cost to the developer too with refunds. With regards to how you arrive at the $200 figure: for you, Anki is competing against "$1000+ for with traditional modes of learning", and so you feel it's worth up to $200. Well, it's also possible to frame it the opposite way, because for me Anki is competing against traditional (free) libraries and a $1 stack of flashcards, in which case it seems way overpriced to me. So I don't think that's a compelling argument either way.
  - Blahah 13y ago
    I agree with this criticism of the app store, and I don't really see a solution unless Apple introduces this feature.

rm445 13y ago

I agree that the price is a 'hump' that many people won't get over. But if the tool is useful, claiming it's too pricey for students can't be right. That price is less than your typical textbook. Sure, you're comparing the price to free on desktop, but I suspect you're also somewhat comparing it to typical app store prices. We've been educated that software for our mobile devices costs a nominal fee.