Would you be willing to pay more for a tablet version an Android launcher? Feature Expectations?

[claystoneinc]

Hi,

I am working with a team in Toronto building a new launcher and home screen replacement for Android ( http://goo.gl/yJtNk ) and we began developing the App as an tablet version and worked out the monetization of the product for tablet devices. After doing the math, we realized that the Android smartphone market was the place to be in order for us to hit our numbers (there are a significant greater number of Android smartphones being used).

I have been working with with the team to develop a pricing model for tablets and smartphones and I looked at the App Store at the pricing for iPad Apps vs. iPhone Apps. The Apps for iPad can sometimes be more expensive, if they offer an enhanced user experience and better features than the iPhone version.

Other popular and established launches include ADW Launcher and Go Launcher. I want to find a way to offer a better tablet experience as way to differentiate the launcher from the competition. There are no easy answers, but a better tablet experience could be a way for our app to stand out out.

Getting the pricing right is important because we have targets to hit, so we can to begin adding premium content features by working with content partners.

Two important questions that came out of all this are:

(1) Would people be willing to pay more for a tablet launcher (home screen replacement) of our launcher or would they expect the smartphone version to be the same prices as the Tablet version?


(2) If we did charge more for the tablet version, what would need to be better or enhanced for users to be willing to pay more for the tablet version?

Another way of asking the question could be: What would you do most on your Tablet as compared to your smartphone and how could this be enhanced by a better home screen?

Some thoughts I had were:

• Use the larger screen to display more information in a better way
• Offer more customization
• Add extra features specifically for the tablet version that work better on tablets (e.g. full size interactive maps for contacts)
• Innovate in the UI to present information in clearer, better way on the tablet (like the Twitter App for the iPad does, with it's cool tray drawers that you swipe to reveal)

Let me know what you think, and if you have any ideas about how to make a tablets Android launcher be of enough value to justify charging a premium price?

 

[ScorpDX]

define "more"

 

[cds0699]

I don't have a tablet yet, but plan to be getting one in the near future (Hi galaxy tab 10.1), and I personally would be willing to pay a lil more for the tablet application as long as it has some extra benefit/features that are desirable over the smartphone version, and optimized for a tablet. I like the thoughts you had, and will think it over and see if there's anything more I can come up with that I would rather have on a tablet over a smartphone.

Overall nice idea, it looks pretty good, and I'll give it a try on my phone.

 

[claystoneinc]

I don't have a tablet yet, but plan to be getting one in the near future (Hi galaxy tab 10.1), and I personally would be willing to pay a lil more for the tablet application as long as it has some extra benefit/features that are desirable over the smartphone version, and optimized for a tablet. I like the thoughts you had, and will think it over and see if there's anything more I can come up with that I would rather have on a tablet over a smartphone.

Overall nice idea, it looks pretty good, and I'll give it a try on my phone.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is a great device and I want to get my hands on one to do some testing-- performance is always a very important issue for the home screen experience as I have learned through the betas we have put out.

So extending the smartphone experience through a better use of the screen real estate seems to be a common piece of feedback.

Maybe another way of posing the question could be --

What would you do most on your Tablet as compared to your smartphone and how could this be enhanced by a better home screen?

 

[claystoneinc]

define "more"

Well that is a great point. The actual dollar amount is hard to quantify. We are looking at .50 to $1 more as options.

 

[ArmageddonX]

I want a Tablet I can send text messages from and use a Bluetooth headset to make phone calls with. If I could find a 10inch tablet that did that, I wouldn't need a phone anymore.

 

[claystoneinc]

I want a Tablet I can send text messages from and use a Bluetooth headset to make phone calls with. If I could find a 10inch tablet that did that, I wouldn't need a phone anymore.

I found a custom ROM for the Galaxy Tab a few months ago that enabled the phone capabilities. One of the devlopers in our office installed the ROM (it was a bit tedious to install) but we managed to make calls with a headset from the device. It may be possible on some devices to do this but you would have to install patched ROMs to do it.

 

[ArmageddonX]

Yeah I saw that on YouTube... strange that Samsung didn't include the feature in the US. It would be a HUGE selling point for me.

 

[Pitamakan]

Honestly, no.

I think there's definitely a market for alternative launchers for 2.2/2.3 devices ... but Honeycomb is mostly going to make those alternative launchers unnecessary and redundant.