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Instapaper for Retina iPad

marco.org

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Re: Instapaper for Retina iPad

#31

Post by Tyrannosaurs »

gtufano wrote: post #19
OoTheNigerian wrote: post #14

Competition is good. Readability is certainly making him stepup. I still think ignoring android is a mistake (assuming he continues to do so in the future.). I foresee sharing happening within these read later apps and the size of the network matters.

I don't really know. Assuming that this is a free market, I think the fact that nobody stepped up on Android (with a noticeable success) is probably an indicator of the fact this could not be an error. More seriously (hoping we can have a quiet discussion about differences in market between iOS and Android): Instapaper makes (probably serious) money selling the app. Can you make (serious) money in Android without Ads…

Marco has implied that he makes a "six figure income" from it (on the Planet Money podcast) but has never given more details than that that I'm aware of.

My reading of a lot of the commercial Android developer pieces is not that it's impossible to make money on Android, just that where you have limited resources it tends to be the case that they can more profitably be utilised on iOS work. The issue for someone like Marco where it's just him is is less can you make money in Android (with or without ads, that's kind of secondary), more is working on an Android version going to bring him more money than putting that same effort into keeping Instapaper close to the top of the iOS pile.

Obviously if you're a company with several programmers and you're happy with that model then so long as the cost of building an Android version is less than money it brings in, it makes sense because you can just bring in someone else to do it without detracting from your other work. If you're a one man band (or similarly small outfit) with no interest in taking on and managing more people it might not.

Re: Instapaper for Retina iPad

#32

Post by leon_ »

OoTheNigerian wrote: post #14

Competition is good. Readability is certainly making him stepup. I still think ignoring android is a mistake (assuming he continues to do so in the future.). I foresee sharing happening within these read later apps and the size of the network matters.

As a one man shop he possibly just can't afford to support Android. First porting your existing Obj-C code to Java is a lot of work and then supporting all the android screen resolutions out there would mean he couldn't provide updates to the existing iOS apps.

Re: Instapaper for Retina iPad

#33

Post by Tyrannosaurs »

veidr wrote: post #23
OoTheNigerian wrote: post #14

Competition is good. Readability is certainly making him stepup. I still think ignoring android is a mistake (assuming he continues to do so in the future.). I foresee sharing happening within these read later apps and the size of the network matters.

As a user, I don't think the sharing aspect is all too important. I get links shared with me in many other ways, then I open them. If something looks interesting, then I add it to Instapaper.

In terms of Instapaper's sharing functionality the bit I really like is it's ability to produce an Instapaper formatted stream of articles linked to by people you follow on Twitter.

Sharing out I'm not so bothered about but a nicer way to consume links shared with you is cool.

Re: Instapaper for Retina iPad

#34

Post by mmahemoff »

c1sc0 wrote: post #29
hboon wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because the retina display makes it so much better for reading.

More beautiful, sure, but better ? I doubt it, my guess is it'll strain your eyes just as much as any other backlit display.

How is "more beautiful" not better? Instapaper's also one of the main reasons I'm considering an upgrade.

Re: Instapaper for Retina iPad

#35

Post by gnaffle »

c1sc0 wrote: post #29
hboon wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because the retina display makes it so much better for reading.

More beautiful, sure, but better ? I doubt it, my guess is it'll strain your eyes just as much as any other backlit display.

How can quadruple the resolution not be better for reading text? People who have compare it to looking at glossy print.

Re: Instapaper for Retina iPad

#36

Post by rdl »

c1sc0 wrote: post #29
hboon wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because the retina display makes it so much better for reading.

More beautiful, sure, but better ? I doubt it, my guess is it'll strain your eyes just as much as any other backlit display.

I've been relatively happy with the IPS panel in the iPad 1 not straining my eyes. My main gripe is that the brightness of the backlight doesn't go low enough -- in a dark room (i.e. in bed with no lights and someone else sleeping nearby), it would be nice to be able to use the iPad with very minimal backlight. E-Ink would require a book light (which is kind of lame). This seems to be one of the places where OLED would be superior.

It's frustrating that IPS LCD, OLED, and E-Ink all have such distinct advantages, so the idea of having a single device with the best screen in all contexts isn't really possible. I assume OLED will eventually be that.

Re: Instapaper for Retina iPad

#37

Post by tuananh »

Tyrannosaurs wrote: post #31
gtufano wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really know. Assuming that this is a free market, I think the fact that nobody stepped up on Android (with a noticeable success) is probably an indicator of the fact this could not be an error. More seriously (hoping we can have a quiet discussion about differences in market between iOS and Android): Instapaper makes (probably serious) money selling the app. Can you make (serious) money in Android without Ads…

Marco has implied that he makes a "six figure income" from it (on the Planet Money podcast) but has never given more details than that that I'm aware of. My reading of a lot of the commercial Android developer pieces is not that it's impossible to make money on Android, just that where you have limited resources it tends to be the case that they can more profitably be utilised on iOS work. The issue for someone like…

May I ask is that "six figure income" is per month?

Re: Instapaper for Retina iPad

#38

Post by tuananh »

hboon wrote: post #8
mds101 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't really make much sense. If reading articles is your main application for the device, why not buy the iPad 2 especially after the huge price drop?

Because the retina display makes it so much better for reading.

Retina vs E ink, which one is better for reading?

Re: Instapaper for Retina iPad

#39

Post by hboon »

tuananh wrote: post #38
hboon wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because the retina display makes it so much better for reading.

Retina vs E ink, which one is better for reading?

If it's purely text, it's subjective and perhaps more people will prefer e-ink. I don't mind either myself.

If it's articles with diagrams and colors or magazine layouts, with gloss and shine, nothing beats iPhone 4(s) and iPad 3's retina display.

Re: Instapaper for Retina iPad

#40

Post by rubergly »

OoTheNigerian wrote: post #14

Competition is good. Readability is certainly making him stepup. I still think ignoring android is a mistake (assuming he continues to do so in the future.). I foresee sharing happening within these read later apps and the size of the network matters.

It's a "mistake" from the perspective of users who wish it were on a platform they used, but it's not a mistake from the perspective of Marco, who is busy enough working on the iOS and server components of the service; an Android version wouldn't provide enough revenue to warrant an employee or contractor.

Is it a mistake for the developer of TextMate to not spread to Windows?

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