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Comment by cschmidt | Hacker News Reader

I think your comment highlights a difference between the Android and iOS communities. Android users just want free software, while iOS users don't mind paying for quality. Guess which platform ends up with the slickest software, with the most spit and polish. Developers find paying customers on iOS, so that's where the develop.

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> Android users just want free software, while iOS users don't mind paying for quality.

that seems like a gross generalization. Having had and used both android and iOS I never saw that behavior in myself or others.

I have to agree with OP, i don't understand the excitement over this SSH client, interface included. A shell prompt is one of the oldest interfaces. iOS can support 3D graphics rendering and gaming and panic is selling a $5 SSH prompt. Seems bizarre.

Sure, maybe I'm over generalizing. However, I keep reading stories about how it is hard to make money in Android, like this one....

Doom Creator Says Android Not Profitable http://www.mobiledia.com/news/87020.html

The excitement is not just over "an SSH client". Knowing that Panic engineered and designed it is a huge selling point. They've been known for years to make some of the best software for OS X. This is their first venture into iOS and they don't disappoint.

I will (and actually did) gladly pay $5 for software that is designed well and works very well.

There is next to no software I can think of where a $5 price point would be bizarre. How can a $5 SSH client even begin to be bizarre?

Being able to ssh into a server while on the road with nothing more than an iPad is a feature that has value to some people (like me, for example). For an app that is really useful, the difference between $5 and free is negligible. I just paid more for my coffee than I did for Prompt, and I didn't think about that twice either.

You drink expensive coffee.

Frankfurt, Germany. It's expensive but low quality ;-)

Actually, I believe in this case iOS users are paying because they're conditioned to pay. I don't think the quality argument for this ssh client really holds water.

Maybe Android users are just more discerning in who they give their money to?

"I don't think the quality argument for this ssh client really holds water."

Wow, that's incredibly untrue. Quality (and price) is a factor in absolutely everything that's for sale in any industry anywhere on earth. Price and quality.

"Maybe Android users are just more discerning in who they give their money to?"

Panic is known for their sub-standard software?

You know there are many cheaper and free ssh clients for iOS, right?

Free ssh client for iOS? Do you have an example? I'm genuinely interested, but haven't found one.

ZaTelnet. The terrible name seems to keep it from ever being popular.

I used zatelnet before buying Panic's app. It was absolutely horrendous.

Technically minded Android users develop good software (like ConnectBot) for themselves, and then share it with the like minded community for free as in beer and free as in freedom.

That's what annoys me about the iOS ecosystem, there is a marketplace, not a community.

That's what annoys me about the iOS ecosystem, there is a marketplace, not a community.

This will come as a great surprise to Mac and iOS users everywhere.

As a linux user I'm accostomed to talking to a person when I want to get a utility, it's usually a link on someone's blog. However for OSX, all software is sold by companies. I usually have to pay $10 (only $10! they tell me) to a company. It's much less personal and disconnected.

I don't know, many of those "companies" are one or two person operations. I haven't had that experience.

Yes they are small companies, but they are companies none the less. They reply to emails in the royal we, they have business names etc. I much prefer when I email a person.

That's why Android is the better OS in my opinion. iOS wouldn't even let me copy an app that I wrote myself to my own device, it's just incredibly restrictive. That said, I did finally cave and buy an iPad after trying out and being disappointed by several other tablets (Linux and Android based ones). But no matter what OS, I don't mind paying five bucks for a decent utility and I would have paid for ConnectBot as well, which incidentally I use on my phone.

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