German dictionary

[Shun]

Despite all the upcoming updates to the app, will the new paid German dictionary also come out by this summer? Thanks!

 

[mikelove]

There are three different ones now, but yes, should all be available this summer

 

[Shun]

Wow, perfect!

 

[魏波德]

any news on this one??

 

[mikelove]

Still working on it.

 

[魏波德]

ok, keep up the good work and great support, mike! thanks for making learning chinese easier for all of us!

 

[ausgang]

Still working on the german dictionary?

 

[mikelove]

Yes - bunch of new dictionary releases are held up a bit waiting on an iOS+website update that will overhaul the way we sell dictionaries, though at some point we'll decide that we're losing more money by waiting than we would by selling them with the old system.

 

[Shun]

Hi Mike, thanks for the info. What if you sold them at a higher price with the old system for those who would be willing to pay, then sell them through the web at the lower price for those who are willing to wait? I would be in the former category.

 

[mikelove]

It's not about that, it's about doing a better job of demoing them in-app - we think we lose a lot of sales because our demo versions suck. If someone learns about + tries the dictionary in our old app and doesn't buy it they probably aren't going to try it a second time once we update the app.

 

[Shun]

I see! Didn't consider this aspect.

 

[ausgang]

The german dict(s) are ready, but you are waiting for some iOS + Website updates. Did I get you right?

 

[mikelove]

No, we haven't finished them yet - we haven't been in a hurry because we would like to have those upgrades ready too since we think the dictionaries will sell a lot better with those upgrades.

iOS users are responsible for 75% of our sales overall and an even higher share of add-on dictionary sales - we wouldn't be able to offer nearly as many dictionaries if we sold only Android apps - so even if you're an Android user, getting iOS users to give us more money ultimately means better dictionaries for you too. An unsuccessful release of these new dictionaries makes it very hard for us to financially justify licensing + releasing any more, so it's worth the time to get it right.

 

[ausgang]

Thansk for your detailed response. I understand the economical background.

 

[Wan]

Is there a release date for the German dictionaries yet, or maybe a way of pre-ordering and getting preliminary versions? In Android, I mean? I have Christmas in mind

 

[mikelove]

No, given our checkered history with release dates we don't accept preorders - don't want to have people pay for something and then end up waiting longer than they expected to receive it.