Ask The Readers: Do You Pay For Ad Free Apps?
Ads are a necessary evil when it comes to free content on the internet. Everyone needs to make a living and pay the bills. Mobility Digest for example has a very low overhead because we do this for fun and are more “hobbyists”. But make no mistake it still costs money to maintain Mobility Digest. That’s why you see probably the less intrusive ad arrangement on our site than you do just about my other. I know a lot of our readers visit and have ad blockers which definitely hurt. But that’s not what I wanted to write about today. What I am wondering is how many of you would pay for an app that removed all ads, but was free if you could live with them? Case in point. Apple’s ridicules decision to exclude a calculator app from the iPad. Easily one of the dumbest things Apple does with the iPad, they force you to go to the App Store for something that should already be in iOS. There are a lot of calculator apps too. The most popular is calculator. You can download it free but the bottom of the app has a large and highly annoying ad at the bottom. Check it out:
This ad can be removed and you can gain some more skins to change the appearance of an app that no one should care too much about aesthetics as long as it works right?
So the question of the day that I would like to ask the readers is, would you buy a basic app to simply remove the annoying ad? I almost clicked the purchase button but it aggravated me so much this morning I decided to write about it instead and tell Apple they could cram it in their left ear and walk lopsided for all I care. Sound off, what do you all think on buying apps to remove ads?
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As a general rule, yes, I prefer to buy an app to not have ads.
If it is an app that will used frequently, I have purchased the ad free version.
Generally I opt to buy the non-ad version if; it’s a good app and the developer deserves it, and/or the ad is located in such a way that it either blocks useful space or can easily be accidentally tapped. Like when it’s right below a string of option buttons. Same for WinPhone or Win8. I also pay for apps that are offered ad free, but have a buy/contribute option, based on the first criteria above. I will leave ads showing for some seldom used apps if the ads are not in my way.
I have lots of apps. But by the end of the year, I probably average about $70-$99. So about .25 a day. Can you buy anything for two bits these days.
Oh, and I should add. I never have, nor will I ever use an ad blocker. I understand how things work and realize that “nothing” is free. If a website has ads that are overwhelming to the point where the site is nearly unviewable, I will either avoid it entirely or find an alternate means (like Weave) to view content. I guess that is sort of a form of ad blocking. But not as deliberate.
I just can’t get myself to purchase the calculator app. It makes me so mad that Apple did not include that on the iPad. For as hard as they are trying at enterprise, how can you not have a native calculator app when Microsoft tablets come with Office?
” how can you not have a native calculator app when Microsoft tablets come with Office?”
And a kick ass calculator app on Windows 8.1 I might add, which includes standard, scientific, and a converter for 10 common units of measure.
I generally stick with free apps, unless a paid version comes with extra functionality that I really need (or is really cool).
depends on the features of the free vs the paid. if it’s just to remove ads, probably not – the dev will probably get more from the ads than the $1 or so purchase.