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Wanted to know everyone’s opinion about this.
Because of MagicalPad’s distributed content model (notebooks, tasks, meta-data, files, etc.) sync via iCloud was just impossible. Dropbox’s API was little more flexible, but still have issues.
What is everyone’s take on a magicalpad built Sync server side which will provide exactly what users need for accurate and fast sync, but will endure development cost and most importantly considerable amount of data traffic and storage for users (which is not free for MP).
The question is would you pay for such sync something like $1.99 a month example?
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Personally, I shy away from services that require a monthly fee for cloud syncing. It’s not so much the money, as the principle. I don’t like the idea that my data lives on a third party server, under someone else’s control, and that I have to pay a monthly fee to maintain it. If it was a one-time lifetime fee, that would be different.
Let’s consider what other companies are doing:
Things: Free cloud sync for life. This is a proprietary sync that they built, own and operate. Clearly they’re making enough money from product sales that they’re not concerned about levying a per-user charge for syncing. They market the free sync as a feature of investing in their product and it does make for a good selling point.
OmniFocus – Free cloud sync for life, BUT their sync server is open source, so you can install it on your own server if you like. To me, this is the ideal scenario. I like the idea of installing it on my own server, but since its free, I’ve never been motivated enough to do so. Still, it’s great to know that it’s an option and for many people who are working in a corporate environment, this would be their ONLY option, as many companies don’t allow employees to store company data on third party servers. If you wanted to charge a monthly fee, but also offered users the option to install on their own servers, that would be fine with me.
EverNote – $5/mo, BUT their product is free, so their entire business model is subscription based.
In conclusion, I think you should build your own sync, because as you correctly point out, off-the-shelf sync solutions are rarely ideal for this type of application. The great thing about Things sync is that it’s rock solid and instantaneous. If you make a change on your iPhone, before you can even look up at your Mac, the change is already there and vice versa. This would not be possible using something like Dropbox or iCloud.
In terms of the pricing model, if it’s not going to be free, I’d prefer to pay a one-time fee for lifetime sync, rather than committing to an ongoing monthly expense. And I’d definitely like the ability to install it on my own server.
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I’m glad you joined the community Brad. Many people will tend to agree with you. This is definitely something top of mind.
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As an evernote user, and seeing that their synch between a huge range of devices is solid, and that they have many business customers, I’d wonder if it would make sense to use evernote via APIs for synching magical pad data. The free version of ever note’s service might be sufficient.
That being said, since you’re Apple platforms only, my instinct would be to dig into what’s going on with iCloud synch, since that’s Apple’s native mechanism. I’d have to wonder if there might be a way to rethink your use if iCloud such that it could fit into their APIs model?
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I’m not sure why your app has a problem cos I’m using the free version of Evernote and it syncs beautifully across devices. Have never encountered a single problem in using it for at least 3 yrs. Don’t see why MagicalPad users should pay for a decent sync when it seems like this was part of the app’s core feature, not an add-on. btw other than the sync problem, I love your app.
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I wonder what is going on with these problems.
I almost made the mistake of starting a new page on my iPad, only to remember it would be lost during the sync. So I used Pages instead to make a list.
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I would actually pay for this, but it seems I’m in the minority. I paid 12$ for your app (I only use the iPad version) because it seemed like a fine replacement for the glitchy one I had been using (Mindjet, which also had HUGE sync problems). I need a great app that allows me to take notes quickly in the form of mind maps. One that doesn’t glitch out on me in the middle of a class. Optimal sync is a must for me. In law school, I cannot afford to lose three hours of notes ever again like it happened over and over last year. For a perfect app, I would pay up to 75$.
Your app may be more costly than other iPad apps, but it is still a very reasonable price in my eye. From what I’ve seen so far, I would have paid much more than I did, so if you were to up the price to add perfect sync, I would definitely pay for it, whether it is a monthly fee or an initial payment.
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