I have a windows store app which I built about two years ago. I released it as a free app, but now I'm thinking about switching to a trial / paid model. After the trial expires, the app would return to the free functionality and the user could pay to upgrade
My question is, can I replace a free app with a paid one?
By replace I mean, change the existing app to require payment, and keep the reviews etc. Is this possible?
Yes. You will need to follow the normal update process. Your new update should have the paid/trial functionality and when you upload the new version you can set a price. You can find help here http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/windows/apps/hh694065.aspx. If you want existing users to buy the app then you can look at in app purchasing.
Related
I want to develop service for synchronising user specific data within installations of my app. For instance, I have in-app consumable purchase in my app, lets say credits for a game. I need these credits to be shared between both mobile and desktop version of the application. But if user has only mobile or only desktop version, it is waste of resources to store historical purchase records for synchronisation. Current credits amount should be enough.
Maybe not really good example but should do for illustration. So is possible to know if user has both platform versions or he has only mobile/desktop version? Is there any proper API I would touch for the information from sync service or from the app?
Thanks for answers in regards
So is possible to know if user has both platform versions or he has only mobile/desktop version?
There is no official existing API to meet your entire requirement directly, but you can handle it by yourself. Using AnalyticsVersionInfo class to get the type of device the application is running on, especially the AnalyticsVersionInfo.DeviceFamily property.
For different platform, you can decide how to sync up your records.
I don't know whether this question belongs to SO or UX (or Programmers.SE) but here it goes.
We have built a mobile app a couple of months back, which we intend to alter in some major ways (like authentication and security) in next release. We published it to AppStore/PlayStore and it has a download count between 5k-10k range.
Now the question is;
whether if we retire our current API rightaway and show current version users a popup which forces them to update the app (via stores)
or
create a new API under a different URL and maintain both APIs at the same time (in this case should we maintain it forever or should we set up an expiration date) ?
EDIT:
It'll be our first and possibly last update, since our app is a cordova based hybrid app, we intend to use silent cloud deployments without relying on app stores.
I would say - for a mobile application, forcing your users to upgrade straight away isn't a unreasonable expectation. The exception to that is if you have users on an older operating system (e.g. old iOS) that cannot upgrade. Then you might want to maintain a legacy API.
Can you give a legitimate reason why a reasonable user wouldn't be prepared to update your app?
I am creating an app with a Pro-feature which can be unlocked via in-app purchasing.
Is it possible to use the Windows Phone 8.1 Wallet API for creating a Voucher?
(As example for Reviewers or tester)
How can I ensure that the voucher can be used only by one person?
(maybe: can only be used for a particular LiveID)
Some recent changes here it seems. Microsoft now have a promo code system for Windows Phone, check this page : https://msdn.microsoft.com/library/windows/apps/mt297660.aspx
And it works for IAPs as well !
There isn't currently any voucher or promo-code system available for Windows Phone apps.
You could implement this yourself along with using the existing in-app purchase system. Check the code yourself and then enable the feature if either the code is present or if the in-app purchase was made.
Tying it to a login such as the LiveID would be a good way to lock it down to one person, especially if your app already has a login requirement. Another option would be to make the code one-use and then roam the unlocked status once it was set. That would let the first user to use the code use it on multiple devices so long as the app wasn't fully uninstalled or was used often enough to keep the roamed data alive.
Prepaid codes are frequent request on the Windows Platform Dev Feedback site. You can add your vote at http://wpdev.uservoice.com/forums/110705-dev-platform/suggestions/2118985-prepaid-codes-for-wp-apps-promo-codes-for-review
I am developing an windows phone 8 application and want to maintain two versions of my app - free and paid. So that my app appear in both free and paid app sections.
Since these two applications will have different Product IDs, is it possible to buy paid app from inside the free app.
I know that if we use Trial API of WindowsPhone, we can purchase paid version from app itself and can unlock the features using IsTrial of LicenseInformation. But in this case your app doesn't appear in free section.
I want to allow user to buy paid app from free version say by clicking BUYNOW button in app and get the free version replaced by paid one automatically.
This is the exact scenario that Microsoft wants to avoid. They don't want to see duplicate apps in the market because it destroys the consistent user experience. Instead, you need to either use the Trial Library or release it for free and put an in app purchase to remove ads or add functionality.
Your only option is to maintain 2 apps one that limits functionality using IsTrial and the other with an in app purchase.
Some people have suggested this isn't allowed, but I've yet to find anything in the requirements documentation that says you can't do this. There's also quite a lot of examples of apps already in the store doing this.
I need help with publishing an app me and my team developed. It currently is in beta phase and we need testers. We thought of publishing it in the store as an open free beta app and ask for people to download it and report their bugs. After all the testing bugs are fixed the app will go public as v1.0 but not as free. We do however want the people who originally downloaded it to get all the updates for free as a reward for their help of testing our help and never have to pay for the app. How can that be done?
As you probably know Beta App is different than 'Normal' App - so after finished test you need to publish new application (you can't change beta to normal).
What you are asking is called targeted distribution - you can hide App (you will need to submit one more App for that purpose) from users browsing the store, and send a link to those who you choose (Beta testers). But you cannot prevent such a situation when a beta tester send this link to other person. So you have to cosider it.
EDIT
You cannot do such a thing like in beta version - create a list of user that will be able to use it.
The other solution that comes to my mind - you can create 'Beta' App that is the same as Normal App and alow specific user to use it. The disadventage of this method is that Beta expires after 90 days.