I don’t usually write reviews of products I haven’t tried (in fact, I’m frequently annoyed by those who do), but iTrans stubborn refusal to lower the price on their NYC product has been sticking in my craw a bit, and I have to throw my $.02 in the ring with others who have exhorted them to do so. I have to say that iTrans seems to be a little confused on the psychology and science of setting price points for software. Consider just these 3 factors:
1. Similar Products in the iTrans portfolio: iTrans makes this product for several other cities, but none of them are as expensive as the NYC version. Are they banking on the “everything is more expensive in NYC” mentality? Well, that would be downright silly (and I’m sure they know that New Yorkers reject that sentiment outright, and will actively push back when they encounter it). The fact is, we look at it and say “Why do the DC people get theirs for $5? I’m certainly not paying twice as much as them!“ Instead, I would guess that their argument is that the NYC version is more complex and demanded more development cost and resources on their end. While this may be true, we all know that the profit margin on software is pretty close to 100%, since there are no manufacturing or ongoing distribution costs. Lower the cost to compete with your other products, and you’ll make up the initial dev costs in sales volume pretty quickly. This is basic lemonade-stand economics.
2. Competition: There are other products competing with yours in the AppStore, and while they may not currently be as good as yours, the more people buy them (because they are cheaper), the more money they will have to sink in to development and they will quickly become better than yours – and sink you.
3. Market: Look at where people are spending their money in the AppStore. Do a quick sort by “most popular” in any category and you’ll see that most people are downloading apps that range in price between free and $4.99, with rare exceptions. The more the store becomes flooded with apps, the more this is going to drive these prices down even further. Most of the best apps I have on my iPhone were actually *free*, and released as part of a value-added strategy – extensions of larger, richer web based products. If iTrans doesn’t get on the boat soon, it won’t be long before HopStop or some similar company comes along with a better, cheaper product and deals the final, fatal blow.
Me: Tom Tenney: producer, performer, writer, community & social media professional, and student. As a result of wearing so many hats (and watching so much TV), I spend a lot of time thinking about the complex relationships between all of these things - art, culture, media, education… I am also a Sr. Producer of Community and Social Networking at VH1, and the founder of Toxic Pop, a weekly newsletter and online community for NYC performance artists.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Update: I also posted this review to the iTunes App Store, and less than 48 hours later, iTrans lowered the price from $9.99 to $4.99. Although I’m certain the change wasn’t because of my review alone, I like to think that maybe I mighta had just a tiny bit to do with it
Good one Tom. I prefer CityTransit. All the maps and alerts plus it uses GPS to locate stations and map directions from where you are. Great if you are exploring an unfamiliar area and the only person you can ask for directions looks like a combination of Phil Spector and Charles Mansion. Also, ExitStrategy is a great app. Helps you decide which part of the train to get on based on where you want to exit your destination station.