Forum: General Topics
Forums / General Topics / How about a 'Lite' version of TMJ
| Subject: | How about a 'Lite' version of TMJ | |
itsane 8:35 | Hi Stephen, It has been sometime since I visited tmj site and was a bit surprised to see that the software has gone paid. I do agree that you are completely justified for charging for a piece of (good) software that you have made, but as some have pointed, this might be a high price for some/many people. May I suggest that you also have a 'lite' version of the software - eg. in my last one year of usage, the main thing I use it for is track recording, routing (by using the recorder track to find my way back.. - no live routing), waypoint addition etc. and being able to import/export all of these to local file. Perhaps, you can release a version where all the online access (upload/download of route/track/waypoints) is disabled (so no traffic for your site), no vector map support too and then we can buy it either for an year (with access to all new lite versions released in the year) or a lifetime buy with no free upgrades. This model might help a lot of us to get back the software we all love... Regards, Aneesh | |
macpanda 19:15 Location: Phone Model: | Surely the software is Lite until you pay for it. It still functions if you choose not to pay for it. Recently, cycling for 5 hours gave a track of 1200 track points in the full version. The Basic version gives (I think) 100 track points, so you'd still get a fair track. I think this is probably reasonable for free software. There's other commercial software available that doesn't even give you this for free - I've tried quite a few. This is a polished piece of software, and if we want that quality we should expect to pay for it. However, if you don't want to pay for it, use the Basic version - I don't think it's crippled anywhere as much as it could be. Paul | |
itsane 11:42 | Hi Paul, I don't think you fully understood my mail - I can pay for it, but frankly, find Euro 18/year high. And reading the forum, I think there must be a lot of us who think the same... Instead, if there is a cheaper 'paid' but 'lite' version (one time buy or yearly as I mentioned earlier") then it will encourage a lot of us to buy. By preventing the uploading of data to tmj site in the lite version, a part of cost incurred by Stephen could be cut, without affecting the functionality of software for a lot of users who don't use the online part of it - and that saving could be passed on to the interested buyer... As for the current free version, its very restricted - I cannot save tracks to files, cannot use a previously saved track as a route to guide me and 100 track-points at a time is usually too low for all practical purposes - but as someone rightly said earlier, if Stephen put too many features in the free version then not many will buy the paid one - hence my suggestion for the lite version. Stephen, let me know what you think of the idea... Regards, Aneesh | |
Stephen 19:32 Location: Phone Model: | Hi Aneesh, Thanks for the suggestion, its not a bad idea, and is in fact something that I considered when deciding on the pricing structure. Its true that the website integration and vector maps do account for a proportion of the subscription, so it is possible that a completely off-line version would allow me to reduce the cost. However there are other factors that I have to bear in mind, not least the added complexity of maintaining what would then be three different versions of the software, which wouldn't even offer 'progressively' better functionality. Ultimately I guess I have to accept that I can't please everybody all of the time, but having said that, I do agree that the Lite version could have some potential, and will bear it in mind for the future when reviewing the pricing structure... Cheers, Stephen | |
itsane 4:49 | Hi Stephen, You are right - ultimately, you have to feel convinced about the effort of maintaining multiple paid/free versions. I would be on the lookout for any changes in pricing structures in the future - till then, free version is what I will have on my mobile :) Anyways, thanks for the experience till now - there is no doubt that it had been one of the most well-made/useful software amongst all the free GPS tracking softwares I have used ! And all the best for your company... Regards, Aneesh | |
Novalis 12:26 | Hi, I would definitely appreciate a lite version, sine I only use the tracking function for geotagging. The nice thing here is the map integration function with maporganizer. I would not mind paying for the software. Once. But not for the 'per year' licence model. kind regards Novalis | |
Boberros 14:03 | Exactly. Such Nokia Sports Tracker is for free. Of course it doesn't have so deep configuration, but is for free. TMJ would be for free too. Personally I would use only track recording, exporting, map view ect without any Live View ect. Currently I am wondering... should I buy TMJ or not. One year paying model is not too good... price of app is a bit high but on second side there is no other application... so monopoly rulez :D | |
shchenka 15:05 | One way to reduce the price tag could be to have more users ... so maybe promote TMJ among your peers ? We've had a voluntary fee model for TMJ before and it did not work out, since most of us did not care to pay for what you can get for free. Sigh. | |
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