Quote:
Originally Posted by BetterRed
Here's a different idea - but I don't know whether it's doable within the Google/Apple/Amazon walled garden 'ecosystems'.
Give CC away for free. At twelve monthly intervals have a look at the number of books stored on device, and invite user to make a contribution based on book count - e.g. $2 for up to 1,000, $5 for 1001-5000 and $8 for 5,000+. Sure, there'll be those that will decline the invitation.
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That is an interesting idea. As donate-ware it fits with free/pro versions and ad-supported versions. Needs thought..
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dopedangel
@Chaley I was thinking about your revenue stream and I don't think it is feasible for you to keep selling it only over the long term. The number of people that will use calibre companion is finite and you will hit the limit. Mobile apps have gone on to freemium models and you should think about it.
Most calibre companion users are heavy readers and ebook buyers. And you could leverage that with Amazon and other ebook store referrals. Allow the ability to notify and buy new ebooks of Authors and Series people have in their collections when they are released.
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Another interesting idea, but I suspect in the end not practical. Software such as mobile apps are explicitly forbidden to be part of Amazon's affiliate program, making the referral process rather cumbersome. We would need to do something like direct the user to a web site that "auto-customizes" itself to provide the right links into their store. This is a lot of work and not very convenient for the user.
Wild speculation: my guess is that over the next few years many special-purpose mobile apps like CC will become cloud-based, just as is happening with desktop apps. My son's company (MultiPie) is being asked by its clients about this idea, in effect building apps as very clever front ends to cloud servers. Going this direction will permit app developers/owners to use a subscription or usage-based model while making life very difficult for pirates. What is required is ubiquitous network access, something that we almost have today. Of course, Google & Co will need to work out how to make such apps easy to build and maintain using their infrastructure or they will lose their part of the app revenue stream. Some friends of mine with close connections to Google have speculated that Google's App Engine is being groomed for this job.