Why should I pay for kids apps?
I’ve been mulling over a blog post on the price of kids apps for a few weeks, but haven’t had a chance to get my thoughts down on paper. Hopefully over the summer, the chance to write a longer post will come. In the meantime, I’ve been thinking along these lines –
A quote:
“Filling your $500 iPad with freebie apps is like setting up a huge fish tank but skimping on the fish.”
Warren Buckleitner,
Editor of the Children’s Technology Review
in the Boston Daily, 15.6.2012
And some pictures:
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THIS OR… |
THIS? |
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Which will last longer…and do you agree with me that it is worth paying for apps?
I agree with you (despite not having an iPad (much to my constant disappointment) and therefore only using apps with my boys on a iPhone / iPod) and love the visual way that you have presented your question. as it is exactly the way I make decisions. I admit that I do sometimes hesitate when discovering that an app isn’t free and take a reasonable amount of time thinking about whether or not to purchase it. Then I stop, think for a minute, and use the justifications you’ve outlined above. My elder son, in particular, gets a lot of enjoyment from the Nosy Crow apps we have, the Ministry of Letters one and various others. I have also noticed that certainly with the story book-based apps, he is definitely learning from them and is asking questions about them. A couple of pounds is hardly too much to ask for that, especially considering the time, effort and talent that has gone into producing them. We wouldn’t expect to get high quality books or games for free, so why should we expect the same from apps? Thanks for starting a really interesting discussion with this post!
Yes, exactly, I do find it odd that people are reluctant to pay for something which is clearly not free to produce. I imagine if you had to buy apps on disk or tape like in Ye Olden Days of computing, there would be fewer complaints. I love to get something for free of course, and do snap up apps when on sale, but I find that apps which are permanently free are generally of far lesser quality than paid-for apps. We bought the Three Little Pigs a year ago and still read it regularly now.
agree completely. but think you totally justified in buying that Twirl and Flake to photograph, a necessary sacrifice in the cause of visual impact. Obviously.
Yes Polly, how I do suffer for my blog… 🙂 To give the other side of the debate, a close friend said to me on Twitter she prefers free apps, and sees it as investing in an expensive iPad to then have access to free content. I can see what she is saying, but for me when it’s not Apple making the apps it is difficult to see how that investment would go into the app side of things.
And by the way, on the subject of my photos, I’m not saying Peppa Pig is a Bad Thing. Her photo is representing kids’ toy magazines in general, which I find really expensive for what they are.
You make such a good point. I know I can be a bit guilty of looking at the cost of some and umming and ahhing about whether to click on the Buy it button. It’s just more about the inability to really sample it before you buy, rather than the comparative small price. Which is why your blog is great – there are definitely some Apps I’m going to chance my pennies on now. Hungry Crows’ Three Litle Pigs is a big hit in this house too!
That’s a very good point, it’s not like flicking through a book in a bookshop. I do like it if developers have made a demo video to showcase the app. This can definitely sway my decision to buy – or not to buy – an app.