Appmethod
Appmethod
If it's called "Free" and can be used only for 30 days it should be called "Trial".
The marketing for Appmethod Free SKU is very misleading.
(Yes I know there is a "free forever" Android support via C++ in this free version.)
If it's called "Free" and can be used only for 30 days it should be called "Trial".
The marketing for Appmethod Free SKU is very misleading.
(Yes I know there is a "free forever" Android support via C++ in this free version.)
The worst "community" version ever.
ReplyDeleteFred Ahrens Well it is free for 30 days. Honestly it is not us. Look at any "recent" mobile development tool and the word "trial" has disappeared. Look at any mobile service (BaaS) and they call their "trials" free edition, and say it is time limited or has some usage quota.
ReplyDeleteHow I hate marketing. I know, if you write "Free" people are at least going to look at it, and with "Trial" they are more likely to go away immediately, but I still hate it.
ReplyDeleteAnd bottom line is, you have to attract people that are willing to pay for their tools, people that are going to be scared of by words like "Trial", probably will never be your paying customers any way.
Marco Cantù Yes, others have similar misleading marketing. But why choose bad examples as a role model?
ReplyDeleteEmbarcadero would look much better if a selected part of a "Trial" version could be used "free forever". At least I see it always as some sort of a bonus if an expired trial version still provides some useful features after expiration.
Embarcadero should consider releasing "Express" editions with a limited feature set. Some sort of edition that could be used everywhere - especially in schools, universities without going through any special license negotiation. Currently - at least here in this area - Lazarus is taking away this important part of the market. And I guess Embarcadero doesn't want Lazarus currently being considered the Express edition of Embarcadero's offers - of course this is limited to Delphi in this case.
There are still so many young people out there who want to learn programming. Embarcadero doesn't offer anything for them to start this process. And having only 30 days isn't enough to initiate this process for newcomers. How cool would it be to give them a development tool that would allow them to program the first mini calculators for their own Android phones or iPhones (... and maybe later for Windows Phones)? Can you imagine how proud they would be if they could easily develop an app for their phones that just shows an "Hello Bob!" (or whatever name it is...) with a tap on a button on their phone?
This won't bring much profit in the short term. But with the right long term strategy this is a huge market of future developers.
I really love Delphi and it makes me really sad that I can't give any useful recommendation about how to start programming in Delphi for young ongoing developers. As soon as they start talking about Visual Studio Express and other free alternatives I'm out of this discussion.
... and I could imagine how it would go viral if the message would be spread that the C++ Android part in the "Trial" can be used free forever ...
ReplyDeleteFred Ahrens The Appmethod free/trial does turn into the "Free Forever C++ Android" edition after 30 days. Maybe the description is not clear, but we are doing exactly what you are suggesting.
ReplyDeleteFor the Express edition, this is a double edged sword. Past experience with the Turbo Delphi wasn't that good (it helped seeding but negatively affected the business).
As for a "free limited Delphi" this is still an open issues we are trying to address.
Marco Cantù Do you have plans for Free Forever Delphi Android edition?
ReplyDeleteRastislav Karaba Not at the moment. Maybe in the future. But it might as well have a different set of features.
ReplyDeleteMarco Cantù It would be nice to have Delphi version. Of Course I understand that it must have some limitations and should serve only to learning not for commercial use.
ReplyDeleteFree has a fairly clear meaning which this version does not fit. That sort of "marketing" tends to leave a bad taste.
ReplyDeleteIn the U.S., at least, you will not grow significant market share while the universities and community colleges continue to teach that Pascal is dead, and that jobs are in C++ and Java.
Some years ago, my brother had the experience of looking for Delphi developers for a rather large company. Good jobs, at high pay. They interviewed fresh uni grads who "didn't want Delphi on their resumes", people who had no work experience, and were offered over $100K to start. That's a serious hurdle to overcome.
Bill Meyer Jesus Christ, 100k! You should consider outsourcing that or something, I consider myself a decent Delphi programmer and I make 1/3 of that here in Brazil. I really envy your high productivity country.
ReplyDeleteBeside the marketing issues, Appmethod has a site and it takes just 30 seconds to figure out what you get, how much does it costs and what is free and what is not.
ReplyDeleteI've told some friends about the "free C++ compiler and visual IDE for Android" and raise some curiosity about it.
If I had told about a "trial", nobody would have answered that.
So, for me "free" is not misleading, but it's just right.
And if someone appreciates Appmethod and wants more, maybe even RAD Studio could benefit from that.
Delphi developers always have to complain: if Borland/CodeGear/Embarcadero are bare bones, they say "Please dude, do some marketing!", and when they do "Hey, the slogan is inaccurate"... :-)
I agree, why make the confusion? You should/could have a separated product called "AppMethod Free version for Android for C++" or something like that.
ReplyDelete