Onlydarksets

Hi, thanks for the iTunes link to TaskData!

Some have said it seems pricey at 12.99, however you have to keep in mind the level of support I offer for the various Exchange versions/configurations for many of the business users that require this functionality.

Also one should consider the alternatives that require third party Outlook plugins, or accounts with random websites who may charge in the future. One of our competitors who advertises “Outlook sync” is charging 9.99 per year!

So I feel that 12.99 for all future updates and unlimited support is a great deal. Thanks again for the link, and great blog!

Phillip Zedalis

Thanks for your comments!

I should clarify my thoughts on the Task/Todo app genre (and I will update the post). I didn’t mean to imply only your product was overpriced – I think almost every Task app is overpriced.

I strongly believe that Task synchronization should be handled by ActiveSync – it’s built into the ActiveSync specification, and Windows Mobile has no trouble doing it. There’s no technical barrier, so this is a business decision by Apple that baffles me, especially since they want to make inroads into the enterprise.

However, wishes are most certainly not horses, so that leaves us with no in-built Task support. Within the myriad of add-on Task apps out there, I see four classes of products:
1. Those that sync with nothing.
2. Those that sync with the cloud.
3. Those that sync with Outlook (desktop client).
4. Those that sync with Exchange.

Ideally, the leader should set pricing for everyone. In this case, I would consider that to be the best products in the fourth category (of which there is currently one – TaskData). However, pricing was set by the earliest products, which were in the first category. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I think it has artificially raised the prices for all of the Task apps.

The first category (see about 200 apps) is worth no more than $1.99. I don’t care how many bells and whistles it has – if the data is stuck on the phone, the app is of marginal use.

The second category (see Appigo’s Todo) should be priced at $4.99. The power is not in the app – it’s in the cloud. The fact that a different third-party app (would that be “fourth-party”?) allows you to sync to Outlook (which can then sync to Exchange) isn’t a huge justification for its current pricing – for example, what if ToodledoSync ceases being developed?

The third category (see KeyTasks) should be priced at $6.99. Again, the power is in Outlook, and I think a premium is warranted for one-step syncing to your enterprise calendaring/messaging system (OK, it’s really two-step, since Outlook has to sync with Exchange, but that’s a zero cost process).

The fourth category (see, of course, TaskData) should be priced at $9.99. Here, the power is in the app – true one step syncing with Exchange.

So, that leaves you with two options:
1. Accept the current pricing levels, take your premium, and make fewer sales.
2. Price appropriately, increase sales, and force everyone else to adjust their pricing.

I don’t know the right answer – without access to sales data, it’s not possible to say which is correct, and even then it’s just forecasting. Long term, though, it’s usually option #2. I’m not saying you’ll double sales, but the increase in sales should offset the price difference (and then some). Of course, this is only an academic exercise for me – it’s your product.

Hi,
There is a new application to synchronize Exchange server tasks and notes.It’s called Tasks’n Notes and is available on AppStore at this url :

http://www.itunes.com/app/tasksnnotes

And this is the support url :

http://www.basisinformationtechnology.com/tasksnnotes

Keytasks sort of seems like it should be in the second category. It syncs iphone tasks outlook on the pc, but only via a cloud. It’s a two-step process, phone-cloud, cloud-pc, even before getting to exchange.

I have a ? And from this blog it sounds like you guys can help me . I do not have exchange , I work for myself , I am looking for a app that I can sync my task from my outlook on my pc to iPhone , and from my iPhone to my pc.

I now am writing all the things I need to do , when I am on the road in my iPhone notes or paper . Then when I am in my office / home I enter all my task. It is a pain and sometimes I loss paper and that means money.

I don’t care of the price of the app, pay anything!!! I loss more money when I miss or forget a important task, happen more than once.

Again I do not have exchange and I do not want it

Thank you if anyone can help

@Phillip Zedalis
You do not have great support. I send several requests for help and heard nothing from you. 52 other reviewers and myself have experienced the same issues. App does not work, will not sync, and you get no support from the developer. All for a grand price of $12.99.