This is going to be a very bitter, “sour grapes” rant that has nothing to do with Pokemon. But I know many of you will lend me a sympathetic ear
Anyway, here’s the deal. For the past few months, I’ve been pouring my heart and soul (and several thousand dollars) into the development of an upgraded iPhone/iPad app for my company.
We first released the app in 2011, which contains several free drawing tutorials, but it hadn’t been updated since then.
Over the years, the old app has done quite well, getting hundreds of positive reviews and always staying in Apple’s Top 200 chart for Books apps. But it really was time for an upgrade, especially to make the app compatible with the latest iPhone and iPad models.
Earlier this week, the upgraded app finally went live on the iTunes app store. Hooray! Or so I thought.
But immediately, somebody gave it a 1-star review complaining that the app is not compatible with the first-generation iPad! Apple doesn’t even let us develop for the first-generation iPad anymore. Yet they don’t stop reviewers from trashing it for that very reason. It makes no sense!
So now, the app sits in the store with a single, one-star review. Which means anyone discovering it for the first time will think it is a piece of crap.
Sometimes I wonder why I even bother doing what I do.
No, Everyone with Apple products please download and give 5 star reviews to help out @japanime. It is not his fault that some people never update their equipment and then bitch because an updated app does not work on it.
Except that would be unethical, and something I would never do. I’d rather spend money on making great books and apps, and then having people recognize their quality.
I actually don’t mind when people give us valid criticism. The original app had several low reviews that I appreciated, because they offered valid criticism and feedback that helped us make an even better app. Same with the books we publish — when we see a bad review, we consider what the reviewer has to say and try to make the book better.
But in this particular case, as @omahanime correctly points out, the reviewer is criticizing us for something that is beyond our control. That’s totally unfair.
just have to hope that people read that one review. I am sure the app is still great since they person is only upset he cant use it fully but who uses a ipad 1 I mean get with the times
Sorry to hear that dude, Did you outsource the work? or hire a contractor? Did you consider not allowing users with IOS 5-6 at the time to even see the app on their local version of the gen 1 ipad, if their device wasn’t compatible with an OS that didn’t support your app? I’m not too familiar with apples play store since I’ve only worked on apps for android, and for androids you can manipulate what the user can or cannot see in the store if their device is out of date or lacks the tech specs to support an app. I would imagine Apple would have the same business model. This kinda thing is implemented to deter issues like that from happening.
To your point yes I agree, it blows big baby chunks when folks can willy nilly just leave a bad review for an app they can’t use because their ipad is a million years old. And sucks even more balls since Apple doesn’t allow for dev work on models running IO6. If you want to pick my brain you know where to find me.
Yeah apple is really crap. Enough said. They want to close you in to there Wall gardens so you can’t do anything unless its on there terms. People, just dont buy Apple Products… Instead go buy one of these shirts:
I’ve got to respectfully disagree. I’ve used Apple products for the past two decades, and have almost always found them to be superior in every way to the alternatives manufactured by other companies.
My company was built on a 1997 PowerBook 2400c that still runs today! I also have a 4-year-old iPhone (the 4s model) that can run the latest version of iOS.
All this isn’t to say that I am anti-Windows or anti-Android. Both of those platforms have their merits as well. But “open” (in the case of Android) doesn’t always equate with “better.”
I hate apple and I hope they burn to the ground for there crimes against humanity. Its truely a personal thing for me lol. I also believe opensource is the future and should be supported 100%, one of the reasons why it isn’t is because it doesnt come on the products people buy. GO LINUX.
I do understand being reliant upon something because its easier or works better for you though… Its fun to learn new things though and have a challenge.
Oh, and Glenn, i really feel what you mean about the compatibility of apps on different platforms. It is really scary and i am sorry people have left you bad feedback.
If it is minor changes to your script to make it work on the older ipad’s, you can probably get it done through freelancer.com
you advertise your project and people will do changes for you very cheap. just an idea, as im sure you’ve invested tons into it.
Glenn, that sucks and I’m so sorry that that’s turned around negatively for you at the moment. I wish they could remove ratings like that as it doesn’t prove any resourcefulness at all to anyone who could look at it.
Would you by any chance be able to post a link or something for us to give it a look at? I’d be interested in seeing the app myself.
Crimes against humanity? C’mon, that’s wandering off into tin-hat territory.
Thanks for the tip, but I’ve already got a professional engineer working on it here in Japan. (My role is to oversee the project.) There was no problem with the initial build — the complaints (there are now two) are from people who are trying to make the app run on devices for which it wasn’t built.
