

Wolfram Alpha's iPhone app now only costs $1.99 - gfodor
http://blog.wolframalpha.com/2010/03/31/a-new-focus-on-ubiquity/

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emanuer
Could someone please explain me why I should buy the app?
<http://m.wolframalpha.com> seems to be exactly the same thing. The only
reason for buying the app I see, is supporting WolframAlpha. Please tell me if
I am wrong.

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eisenkr
The app has created custom keyboards for typing mathematical formulas. Makes
for a much better experience.

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melling
And this is not an April Fool's joke. The app store hadn't updated for me when
I first saw this. Then the actual buy screen still said $49.99. Now I can't
buy it because it's being modified in the store. Sometimes Hacker News is too
quick with the news. :-)

I imagine this app is at worth at least the price of a cup of coffee.

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kvs
I wonder whether earlier pricing ($49) was chosen to only have serious users
before opening up the app to everyone. Perhaps an effective method to recruit
beta testers who care.

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ABrandt
My guess is that they were trying to skim off as much revenue from the
potential customer pool as possible. If you charge $49 and only get 100
takers, you still make more than if you had 1000 paying $1.99. I know there's
different thresholds to consider, but this is a fairly common pricing
strategy. Remember Apple's original $599 iPhone?

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bmalicoat
Wolfram, like Apple with the iPhone, are offering a rebate for those unhappy
about the price change.

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iuguy
This is still $1.99 too expensive if the goal is uptake.

