I'll probably buy this because it is the best feed reader app out there, but not very pleased with being charged again - which I assume will also be done to the mac app!!...
[1]: I think this will become even more apparent over the next few years. Buy once for 99c, get lifetime updates is no sustainable business model.
But instead, they kind of half-supported feedbin et al in the iPhone app and then there was radio silence... And in the meantime, with zero information, I wasted money buying a bunch of other reader apps... Which I would not have done if I'd known they were coming up with this.
Feels like they were not transparent and, well, wholesome about their plans or vision.
The real issue is there is a mindset of unlimited free upgrades in iTunes that app developers are benefiting from at the first purchase. Reeder got a bunch of buyers who most likely assumed free updates for life and were not told otherwise. Charging for updates is fine, but some backlash is going to come due to the fact you benefited from the status quo while not participating in the status quo.
Commerce is not charity. That does not change just because the developer is self-employed.
You may say that's because I'm a developer too (though not indipendent), but I feel the same way about other fields, I like to buy my clothes in small stores instead of malls or eat at a local restaurant instead of a chain.
Usually my experience is better with smaller operations but in this specific case I think the Reeder author hasn't communicated very well and should have been more transparent from the beginning. Still, for the reasons above, I'm less likely to be really pissed at him than I would be to some large company that did the same.
You can always use the online Google Reader, which has a great free of charge model just as you like it -- oh, wait, actually you can't. Because they closed it down for not making them any money!
>which I assume will also be done to the mac app
Why, did the Mac app appeared magically complete from the heavens? As I understand it, it too took time, effort and money from the developer, which needs to be compensated separately from the time and effort that went into the iOS app.
Seriously, are the people making these comments professional developers, or 16 year old kids?
I think releasing a new full-price version should have been communicated far more smoothly.
But mostly I was responding to the comment that it was the only way to get payed for the developer.