TUAW has posted an interview with Brent Simmons, the developer of the popular RSS application NetNewsWire. If you’ve been browsing the App Store you may have noticed that NWW for iPad was out on the launch day, and from what Simmons says, it’s been a very successful launch.
“The iPad app, within five days, made us more money than the iPhone app has in its existence over the last six months or something. And it’s only priced double, $9.99 versus $4.99. So, that says a few things. One, I think it’s a better app, our app on the iPad. And being there on day one is huge, since everyone’s looking for apps. But, yeah, even with a much smaller user base so far, it’s just done so well.
- What was your thinking behind the pricing?
Well initially, on the announcement, the iWork apps were priced at $9.99, and we thought well, that sounds like a reasonable line in the sand, so we went with $9.99 for an introductory price, and we’ll go up to $14.99. My hope is that people will, and so far my hope is born out, that people will pay the bigger price on the iPad because they’re getting a bigger, better thing than the iPhone. That said, there’s always that race to the bottom, and it can happen here, too. I hope that we, and other developers, stand our ground, and I hope that we’re successful with these prices.”
Interesting that the iPad app, in less than a week of existence, make all that money. The interview also covers the problems of designing for a bigger screen, website-specific applications and more. Check it out. [Link]
