As a former software developer just getting into writing my first (Android)
app then perhaps I might comment.
Apps have changed the face of the software industry. In the days of PCs
(and Macs as well I guess, although I have never had one) software was in
general either free, pirated or quite expensive. With the advent of a new
model for software and for its distribution we have become used to apps
being either free (in which case they usually make money via adverts) or
incredibly cheap. In either case the developers rely on volume of downloads
- although I suspect that many are disappointed as there are just so many
apps around.
Unfortunately for us, birding apps do take a lot of work and (I assume)
have to pay a fair bit to license the images and calls they use (I cannot
recall how much I paid for my set of BOCA Bird Call CDs but it was I think
over $200, and a friend recently bought a Fred van Gessel set of calls that
was I recall about $60). We also have the issue that there is a fairly
small market for such things I guess. So I think we should be amazed at the
fact that we can get a set of calls (which used to cost over $200 and now
perhaps cost $60) with all the other things thrown in for a fairly
reasonable sum of money.
Yes it is dearer than the book (and again we are used to eBooks being
cheaper than paper ones) but there is a hell of a lot more in a birding app
than in the book.
Anyway - no-one is forcing it on us. People will make their own minds up
what they spend their money on. Software is a funny game to price - the
cost of initially producing it is usually large but the costs of an
individual copy/distribution are (excluding retailers' markups) almost
zero. So whereas for many goods you can set a price based on the cost of
producing an item plus a profit that is not the case with software - you
have to make some form of guess as to how many you will sell in order to
recoup your costs. Get it too wrong and the market will let you know!
On 30 November 2013 08:23, David Stowe <> wrote:
> Carl I don't think you have read my response or Peter's comments
> correctly. There was never any discussion or comparison of the difficulty
> of writing it in the first place - only a comparison of how much work is
> needed to change it from printed form to digital form.
>
> Cheers
> David
>
> On 29/11/2013, at 10:52 PM, Carl Clifford <> wrote:
>
> > David,
> >
> > I think most authors of fiction would take you to task over your
> downplaying the difficulty of writing a novel. James Joyce was happy to be
> able to produce one sentence in a day. Many authors would tell you that
> writing a novel is like giving birth to an elephant, sideways. Writing a
> field guide, in electronic or paper format is basically the assembly of
> existing data and illustrations by a crew. Not exactly the same as writing
> literature.
> >
> > Carl Clifford
> >
> >> On 29 Nov 2013, at 21:23, David Stowe <>
> wrote:
> >>
> >> Personally i can't believe the Morcombe app is so cheap especially with
> the calls. Who else spent hundreds of dollars collecting the BOCA CD set?!
> >>
> >> Also there is so much more development work/cost that goes into an app
> compared to the printed book. You can't honestly compare a novel with this
> app? There is zero added functionality to a novel -essentially its simply a
> "scan" of the printed version.
> >>
> >> Go and buy an ebook from CSIRO publishing for another example - ones i
> have looked at were the same cost as the printed book without any added
> functionality and no printing cost.
> >>
> >> Cheers,
> >> David Stowe
> >>
> >>
> >>> On 29/11/2013, at 4:09 PM, Peter Shute <> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> True, but the Morcombe app is, I think, half the price, has more in it
> than a paper field guide, and so far the updates have been free.
> >>>
> >>> I don't know how much it costs to distribute an app via Apple, etc,
> but there's no shop front paying rent, no transport costs, no printing
> costs. The electronic version of a typical novel is usually a lot less than
> the printed version.
> >>>
> >>> Perhaps the Morcombe app is under priced, I don't know.
> >>>
> >>> Peter Shute
> >>>
> >>> Sent from my iPad
> >>>
> >>>> On 29 Nov 2013, at 2:58 pm, "Arthur & Denise" <>
> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> Thanks for the video guide Marc.
> >>>>
> >>>> It amazes me that so many people consider the price of this app as
> excessive. You get so much more than a book field guide with updates
> provided. To update a book you need to wait until a new version is produced
> and then pay at least the same as your original purchase price. For me, the
> convenience of having multiple guides available on a lightweight device and
> updated regularly at no further cost, is more than worth the initial outlay.
> >>>>
> >>>> Arthur Carew
> >>>> ===============================
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