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Originally Posted by AnemicOak
Maybe to much work, but what about an ad supported version and also a pay version that gets rid of the ads and maybe offers more shelf styles or something.
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Another thing we have discussed.
This is a very tough one. The non-ad-supported version would certainly continue to be pirated, and it isn't clear if a) the ads would actually make us any money, and b) whether people would upgrade. In addition, there is a real cost in maintaining an ad-supported version, and there are VAT/tax issues. We keep going in circles on this.
Putting aside that some people will not pay for an app under almost any circumstance, it seems that the problem to solve is to get past the "If I pay for it and don't like it, then I am out the money" barrier. We have an extremely liberal refund policy (basically ask for it and you get it), but people don't seem to notice it, or perhaps to believe us. Both are understandable. In the end, having the policy doesn't seem to solve the problem.
We have considered making a free "trial version" that permits a very limited number of books on the device, perhaps 5 or 10. Other than that it would be fully functional. It would permit people to see if the app works (connects, etc) and whether it is useful to them. For some number of people it would even satisfy their needs. It would have no effect on piracy, because the pirates can already steal the complete version. Maintenance costs are reduced because the apps are really 99.9% the same. The only downsides we can see are the additional uncompensated support costs and the inevitable 1-star reviews that will come from the small book limit. We are still thinking about this.
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On another note, any chance we'll ever see the Amazon version (currently 3.2.6) getting updated around the same time as the Play version (currently 3.3.1)?
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V3.3.1 was released to Amazon yesterday. I don't know how long their process takes, but it shouldn't be more than a few days.