81 replies to this topic

[snark]

Is there any way to remove the new AS app banner from the bottom of each story, or perhaps move it to the right hand frame?

As someone who doesn't have an iPhone, it's just a bright ugly annoying advertising thing at the bottom of each page.

[Racer Joe]

As someone who does have an iPhone, I am not happy forking out more money for a bloody app after I have paid for the online subscription and the e copy of the mag. Enough money to Haymarket.

[jhodges]

As someone who does have an iPhone, I am not happy forking out more money for a bloody app after I have paid for the online subscription and the e copy of the mag. Enough money to Haymarket.

Agreed 100%

[Murdoch]

Didn't realize there was a charge for it (on top of the subscription)! Sod that, I actually asked if they were going to bring out for the Android operating system (as its only IPhone friendly at the mo), but I won't be paying anymore money out, I can quite easily live without it.

[Lights]

Once I read about it I immediately wondered whether they would bring out an app for Android as well, but even though the price is this low, it's sadly not worth paying for. I can reach the normal website just fine with my phone browser.

[jcbc3]

Once I read about it I immediately wondered whether they would bring out an app for Android as well, but even though the price is this low, it's sadly not worth paying for. I can reach the normal website just fine with my phone browser.

lol - that was my own immediate reaction. Why?

[andyblackmore]

Agreed 100%

x2 when series and some other sites already have free news apps + I can reach Autosport via the web, why would I, a Plus subsriber who also subscribes to the digital magazine spend even more money. I wont be renewing come next year

[Gilles4Ever]

Once I read about it I immediately wondered whether they would bring out an app for Android as well, but even though the price is this low, it's sadly not worth paying for. I can reach the normal website just fine with my phone browser.

NobleF1
For those asking, iOS devices were prioritised as they are the most popular way the site is accessed. If it's a success, Android may follow

[Lights]

NobleF1
For those asking, iOS devices were prioritised as they are the most popular way the site is accessed. If it's a success, Android may follow

Ah! Thanks, that actually sounds quite logical. At the moment Android is still way smaller.

[four1]

Just want to say thanks Autosport for creating the APP.

I have had an iPhone for quite some time and downloaded many free APP's. This will be the first time that I will pay for one (and be happy about it).

[Buttoneer]

NobleF1
For those asking, iOS devices were prioritised as they are the most popular way the site is accessed. If it's a success, Android may follow

Of course the charge may limit the success

[Dudley]

Yeah, it's almost amusing to have what is basically a slightly organised view of the website (which works absolutely fine on an iphone anyway) to be charged for but borderline insulting that those who still sub have to.

[Supersleeper]

Of course the charge may limit the success

$6 here in Australia - sure it's aimed at those with a passion for the sport and a disposable income, but from the "sell" in the app description - it doesn't appear to do anything differently to the browser. Not sure why I'd pay for something I can already get for free.
Sure apps cost an appreciable amount of money to create and develop and need to be paid for, but they've got to have an original or creative purpose - this app - from it's description - doesn't. Looks like a "me too" approach.
I'd be happy to buy the app if it was innovative and could compile a whole host of information (over a F1 weekend for example - all FIA reports, times, decisions etc.). If it saves me time finding things on the net - then I'd buy it, but as a different way to see the same website.... well.

[Buttoneer]

The finance models for iPhone apps are pretty flexible these days. It would be possible to develop a free app which gave access to the free parts of the site, a paid app which gave access to premium parts of the site, and an in-app subscription for either the 'plus' features or the downloadable magazine.

I reckon a version which gave me the mag on a sub would be something worth having, especially if it was made iPad compatible.

[JForce]

I also went to download it, till I realised I'd have to pay $7 for it here in NZ.

As a subscriber I want the app for free. I'd almost think it should be part of the sub.

[tkulla]

The finance models for iPhone apps are pretty flexible these days. It would be possible to develop a free app which gave access to the free parts of the site, a paid app which gave access to premium parts of the site, and an in-app subscription for either the 'plus' features or the downloadable magazine.

I reckon a version which gave me the mag on a sub would be something worth having, especially if it was made iPad compatible.

I read the digital version of the mag on Goodreader on my iPad and love it. It's my Thursday morning ritual. I subscribe to other mags through Zinio and it's pretty much the same experience.

$5 here in the U.S. for the Autosport app. As much as I love Autosport (I'm a plus subscriber as well as the digital edition of the magazine) that's just nuts. I'd pay $2 for the convenience of it but $5 is just taking advantage of our passion and it dampens my opinion of Autosport in general. It's odd because I find the digital version of the mag to be quite reasonable - maybe they hired whoever made the decision to market the official F1 app for $35.

[kar]

To be fair here though it's $99 to get the app certified plus the development cost of the application itself as well.

[tkulla]

To be fair here though it's $99 to get the app certified plus the development cost of the application itself as well.

Which is why I don't expect it to be free. But $5 seems excessive.

[Buttoneer]

To be fair here though it's $99 to get the app certified plus the development cost of the application itself as well.

If you can get people to download the app in the first place (free) and then get them to sign up for a subscription to get the additional parts of the app (which hopefully they are impressed with) your upside is potentially that much greater. OK, there will be loads who try it and drop it, but I suspect it will get a wider audience as a free app and certainly greater potential for long term income.

I wonder if a marketing analysis was done to ascertain the right approach?

[kar]

If you can get people to download the app in the first place (free) and then get them to sign up for a subscription to get the additional parts of the app (which hopefully they are impressed with) your upside is potentially that much greater. OK, there will be loads who try it and drop it, but I suspect it will get a wider audience as a free app and certainly greater potential for long term income.

I wonder if a marketing analysis was done to ascertain the right approach?

That would be a better approach. But like anything figuring out pricing is tough. Also, and I think this is the main issue, Apple are VERY VERY difficult to deal with when it comes to approving apps with subscription elements.

I'm not sure how relevant this is to the haymarket/autosport but they could quickly fall under the eye of sauron. Interesting seeing how Sports Illustrated are struggling too.

http://www.macrumors...cription-plans/

Personally, I don't think apps which, really, are not much more than website replacements are a great idea or worthwhile investment in time.

[jcbc3]

The more I read about Apple the more happy I am that I don't own any of their products.

Too bad the spouse and kids are 'believers'.

[se7en_24]

Having reflected on this and seen the pictures demonstrating the app I don't see the problem here. As a few people complaining have pointed out themselves you can still get all the content for free anyway so what us the problem? Haymarket are offering you the choice of paying for a delivery method tailored to your device if you wish to do so. For those that don't want to pay for the app nothing changes, for those who are glad of the time and money that has been spent producing it there is a way to reward/reimburse the effort and encourage similar future development.

The best analogy I can think of is a football season ticket holder moaning that you don't get the end of season DVD for free, as you've already paid to watch that season and why should you pay again to watch it in a different format (a DVD)?

Now please release an Android version.;)

Edited by se7en_24, 30 July 2010 - 15:26.

[Racer Joe]

There is no problem.

It is merely an opinion expressed - to be shared, agreed with, diagreed with or ignored.

Perhaps Autosport would appreciate some feedback from some of its customers.

[bira]

As far as I can tell, it's not possible to distinguish between subscribers and non-subscribers with regards to the app. Haymarket can either give it for free to all, or sell it at a fixed price to all. This is because it is sold via iTunes and therefore Haymarket cannot adjust pricing per customer.

In any event, I don't think this needs to be free just because Autosport also sells subscriptions: these are two different products. The service offered here is the selling of software and NOT content, which is what the Autosport+ subscription covers.

[se7en_24]

There is no problem.

It is merely an opinion expressed - to be shared, agreed with, diagreed with or ignored.

Yes and I chose to disagree and expressed my own opinion. The decision to charge for the app is obviously a problem to some people if they aren't happy or find it 'borderline insulting'.

Edited by se7en_24, 01 August 2010 - 11:33.

[Racer Joe]

As far as I can tell, it's not possible to distinguish between subscribers and non-subscribers with regards to the app. Haymarket can either give it for free to all, or sell it at a fixed price to all. This is because it is sold via iTunes and therefore Haymarket cannot adjust pricing per customer.

In any event, I don't think this needs to be free just because Autosport also sells subscriptions: these are two different products. The service offered here is the selling of software and NOT content, which is what the Autosport+ subscription covers.

I don't disagree with you on that. I don't believe anything needs to be free.

My question is how many people would be willing to pay for the asking price given what it actually offers. Would it be more beneficial to use the app as a free tool to improve userfriendliness?

Personally it makes very little difference whether I have a dedicated app on my iphone and my ipad - both have My Autosport as default homepage in all the browsers.

Edited by Racer Joe, 01 August 2010 - 11:35.

[bira]

I don't disagree with you on that. I don't believe anything needs to be free.

My question is how many people would be willing to pay for the asking price given what it actually offers. Would it be more beneficial to use the app as a free tool to improve userfriendliness?

Personally it makes very little difference whether I have a dedicated app on my iphone and my ipad - both have My Autosport as default homepage in all the browsers.

To clarify, my post was more in regards to comments made by Dudley, JForce and the likes, who seem to believe the app should fall under the subscription fees. I was merely opining that a) it's not possible to distinguish between a subscriber who downloads an app and a non-subscriber who does so; and b) that software is not part of a content-paid service. It isn't part of it in pretty much any other magazine either, btw.

[FonzCam]

My main objection is that when I subscribed to plus I was promised an 'Ad-Free Environment' and I feel that should include adverts for Autosport's own products.

I have an iPhone but won't be getting the app as it doesn't add any compelling features. What I would love to see is an upgraded version of the palm site. Something with slightly better page layout and navigation with larger (clickable) images. That way any smartphone or tablet regardless of OS could view the content with an interface designed for small screens and low bandwidth requirements.

[dank]

My main objection is that when I subscribed to plus I was promised an 'Ad-Free Environment' and I feel that should include adverts for Autosport's own products.

I have an iPhone but won't be getting the app as it doesn't add any compelling features. What I would love to see is an upgraded version of the palm site. Something with slightly better page layout and navigation with larger (clickable) images. That way any smartphone or tablet regardless of OS could view the content with an interface designed for small screens and low bandwidth requirements.

It's not really that annoying though, is it? A banner at the bottom of each article, which I presume will only be there for the first few weeks of the app's life?

A bit like Castrol Rankings really; if it brings in money and keeps Autosport in business, then it's a small price to pay. Or not, as the case may be.

[JimFosterAutosport]

Guys - just want to say thanks for all the feedback, good and bad. It's certainly been a learning experience for us, whichever way you look at it! Especially me, being seven weeks into the job.

To keep you informed, we are investigating the possibility of apps on both the Android and iPad, plus improving the digital issue facility on the iPad (including the option to buy individual digital issues). Will keep you up to date on these over the coming weeks/months. Developing an app for Android devices will depend on how much mobile traffic grows from them. At present, we get 4-5 times more traffic from i-devices, so it makes more sense to develop applications for them first.

Keep the feedback coming. We do read it all and we do take note, even if it might not seem like it at times!

Also we appreciate all your support greatly.

All the best for the moment

Jim

[bira]

I find the font in the app much too small. There's a Settings option for the app, choosing font size from "small" (in fact miniscule), "normal" (in fact tiny) and "large" (in fact small). Given the size of the screen and the density of the text in the app, I would expect the ability to actually use larger font. There isn't even an option to zoom within the app, and therefore so far, I've found it quite impossible to actually read articles or reports there.

[Mat]

Agreed, font size option would be good. See New York Times app for good implementation of font size settings.

I have had the Autosport App for awhile and it is very cool. Well done guys.

Please, please, please look at iPad version!

[slideways]

Hi Jim. I am a long term fan of the sport, and Atlas/Autosport subscriber (and not a cheap bastard™).

I really like the app. I found the text size and layout good, and it's very easy to find and read content compared to safari. I'd like to see a twitter tab, similar to what James Allen has recently done, maybe restricted to just the autosport feed, a select few journos, and the official driver and teams accounts.

Pros:

• Ability to multitask straight to Autosport instead of tabs and load times in Safari.
• No resizing, Safari is really painful in terms of viewing pics, resizing for different text, pressing links etc.
• The swiping news reader picture thing is pure awesomeness. Instead of only having it on the main page and setting the category filters via the settings, you should put this in every category, filtered just to those stories.
• Gallery is great. Much easier to navigate and view than in Safari, thumbnails and pictures sized nicely.
• Results section is great.
• Live is great.

Cons:

• The plus articles are difficult to find, you sometimes need to flip through every category to check which ones are worth reading.
• Can't save pictures or high res pictures in the gallery (can in safari).
• Only shows current news/articles and can't look through archived content, in any section. Very disappointing.
• No live forum in the live section.
• No forums.
• No FORIX.

[slideways]

And as a total F1 addict, being able to multitask on iOS4 between this and the live timing app, when in a meeting or on a plane during a session is awesome. Easily worth the cost of a bottle of water in an airport.;)

[JimFosterAutosport]

Thanks for the feedback guys - duly noted.

Any iPhone 4 users out there having any trouble? We are currently developing an upgrade for this phone which should eradicate all problems and turn the low-res images / icons into high res. With any luck!!!



I will look at the font-size issue with our developer and see where we go with it.

Best wishes

Jim

[Gilles4Ever]

Any news of when we could possibly expect an Android version?

Edit: Just the the digital edition thread

We're developing an Android app at the moment, which like the iPhone app will be £2.99

[snark]

Back to the original query, I notice the "NEW!" banner ad is still around, bright and garish as always, still with no option to turn it off or move it to a less annoying position on the page...

[JimFosterAutosport]

Re Android App: it's on its way. Being developed as we speak, though no firm ETA as I write this (these things are notoriously tricky to pin down).

Re App advert: Snark, will get it changed so we can have a bright garish one plugging the new Android version.

Only kidding! I'll take what you say on board and try and get something more subtle there next time.....

J

[snark]

Thanks Jim, I appreciate the feedback.

BTW, I'll probably buy the Android version when it's out.

[manicman89]

The finance models for iPhone apps are pretty flexible these days. It would be possible to develop a free app which gave access to the free parts of the site, a paid app which gave access to premium parts of the site, and an in-app subscription for either the 'plus' features or the downloadable magazine.

I reckon a version which gave me the mag on a sub would be something worth having, especially if it was made iPad compatible.

to be fair the app is distributed through apple, So how would iTunes know that we are subscribers to Autosport content. However I would have thought the cost would weigh up any future development on the devices like it running on an Android, BB or iPad.
It's like saying we should get newspaper content for free and not paying the journalists who get the information for us. Perhaps.

£2.99 or whatever it cost is not expensive chaps considering we own phones that are £400 it's not exactly like we have a tight wallets (Generalisation not aimed at anyone in particular)

Edited by manicman89, 21 November 2010 - 00:42.

[Gilles4Ever]

Any news on when we can expect the Android version?

[JimFosterAutosport]

Hi Giles

It's in development now. Should be released (hopefully) in time for the 2011 F1 season, so late Feb or March. It all depends on how many bugs we have to fix in the back end...

Pricing strategy yet to be decided but we will probably go down the same route as the iPhone app, as in, provide an ad-free environment but charge for it.

Hope that's okay. I'll pass more information on as and when I get it (regarding release date and pricing).

Best wishes

Jim

[Maldwyn]

Is there likely to be an iPad version of the app in the future, and could this incorporate a means of downloading/viewing the digital version of the magazine?

[CaptainJackSparrow]

Is there likely to be an iPad version of the app in the future, and could this incorporate a means of downloading/viewing the digital version of the magazine?

+1, I'd love an iPad app, a customised app of the site would be great.

[JimFosterAutosport]

Hi guys

No immediate plans for an iPad app version of the site. But we do have plans in the pipeline for an iPad-friendly version of the digital issue...

More in due course.

Best wishes

Jim

[Buttoneer]

Jim,

I notice that the news in the app doesn't currently show data on any tables which appear as part of the news stories. For example, we see the test report but none of the times. I hope this is fixable for the season otherwise it will fail to show qualifying times/results etc.

[kar]

Do you guys offer an in-app subscription mechanism to access the subscriber only content?

[dank]

Do you guys offer an in-app subscription mechanism to access the subscriber only content?

The version I've fiddled about with has access to the Plus section, if that's what you're referring to?

[kar]

The version I've fiddled about with has access to the Plus section, if that's what you're referring to?

Yeah. But it was a veiled reference to Apple's change of it's ts&cs regarding subscription content and apple's cut of it. I wondered if that would effect the viability of Haymarket maintaining its iOS app.

[Timstr11]

Any news on when we can expect the Android version?

I'm amazed at how Android is being ignored while its use is growing so significantly.

Any news on an Android app for those of us who refuse to jump on the Apple bandwagon?

Edited by Timstr11, 26 February 2011 - 15:20.