Comments embedded below and still can't wait to buy this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chaley
We have looked hard at this, over and over. We always end up with the same three thoughts.
1) There aren't very many places where functionality can be limited and still be useful. That leads to the problem that if the base (free) functionality isn't reasonably complete, we will get zillions of 1-star reviews complaining about it. These reviews will do much more harm than not having a limited-function free version.
One possibility, although not sure of practicality, would be to limit the number of books that can be synced. Something like 5 would be enough to test and validate functionality, but not enough that your target audience wouldn't want to pay up.
2) Having a free version that *does* have enough functionality to avoid the negative reviews will turn the paid version into donate-ware. That is not a place we want to be. My son, who is developing the android half of this system, makes his living doing android programming. At this point he can't afford to give away his time.
Business realities always have to be a factor and these are valid points.
3) This isn't an app that someone will drive by, see, and try. A person who tries it has a specific problem for which this app is a solution, and there is a good chance that the user will know in advance from the description whether it solves the problem. Furthermore, the app is easy to test within the refund period, which provides a 'sort-of' try before you buy.
Despite my suggestion on a way to limit the app, I think your point is very valid. This is a very specific app with a very specific target audience. It's not likely to attract "drive by" adopters. The refund mechanism is probably sufficient and your suggested price point is low enough to not be a barrier to purchase. I think the bottom line is that if a user needs this, they will buy it and a limited free version might not have much market .
This is reader app integration. Calibre directly modifies the book database on Sony readers, some Kobo readers, and indirectly the database in iTunes. Our app would need to understand how to do the same thing: directly update the reader app's database or whatever it has that is equivalent, or using any automation interface the reader app might have.
Aldiko has a database that is reasonably simple, which is why it was mentioned as a possibility. We don't know yet what other possibilities we might have. I have spent a little time looking at FBReader's files and haven't yet found anything that would allow us to update a book's metadata apart from updating the book.
Dwanthy's point about modify-epub is a good one. In addition, calibre automatically updates metadata to the extent that it can when a book is sent to the device. For epubs, normally calibre can do a lot, especially when combined with plugboards. Unfortunately neither of these choices permit updating metadata without resending the book, but we can't do anything about that unless we can modify the information that reader app keeps.
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