As probably a relatively light user of DT storing invoices, code dev articles PDF’s and bookmarks I would likely pay for a subscription for DTTG. For me its about convenience rather than features. Parity between MacOS and iOS I think would be near impossible given the breadth of the Mac version.
The ability to include indexed files and smart groups in DTTG would pretty much cement my commitment. I did try moving notes to Drafts (which I use everyday) but having the notes and the reference material in one place is for me a much better situation.
Do I expect a "fully featured DTTG? no, would I expect it to take a leap forward and embrace modern iPad features? yes. I doubt many would ever consider DTTG as a viable standalone app, given the alternatives, but paired with a Mac version its still the best option out there.
As a developer it is getting harder and harder to exist on new business, so other models need to be considered. For software, subscription models seem logical,however they are a contract with the user, you pay we will keep it moving forward transparently and regularly.
My two cents on DTTG. I bought it to have mobile access to my research. It auto syncing for the most part when i hook the iPad to MacBook added more value. Text, media, etc., as is, even more so. Overall, $15 well spent.
Happily no, lol. I’m not a fan of subscriptions but never say never. I like DTTG a lot and think maybe there is even more potential with this current version.
I’m using a trial of Devonagent. It has surprised me by leading me to 2 of the 4 holy grails i’ve been looking for awhile now in my research. I won’t buy it before the next update, hate paying twice as i feel a new version is imminent, but then again, if it leads me to the two other grails I’ve been looking for, i’d be sold.
I would pay a 30-40 € for full version or one year of new feature updates (or maybe even more if mobile app would be more on par with desktop) .
About $25 /year subscription I would really hesitate. I don’t like subscription idea.
(Not only me, people from iA Writer don’t like it too, and they wrote why the subscriptions aren’t good idea for all https://ia.net/topics/subscription-or-no-subscription)
I happily paid for desktop Devonthink3 and then after several months I updated it to Pro version (fortunately developers propose a discount for student).
If developers need to introduce subcription model I would prefer Agenda model (you pay once and you have new features for a year, then you need to pay again) or another in which you could have either subscription or standalone app for price of ~2years or even more if yearly subscription cost is cheap,example of that approach is iA Writer). But developers are free people, they will do what they want (and what apple allows )
Apparently Apple really “encourage” developers to using subscription model (due to better promotion of subscription-based apps, and better cut for developers - Apple takes only 15% cut in the subscription model after a year). So I could understood developers who want to adapt this model, but the developers should too understood users who want to support app but who don’t like the subscription model.
I’m not opposed to subscriptions, and pay for several. I’d be curious if the Mac version would then go subscription, too, and one price would cover all the apps. It would seem odd to have a mix of up-front and subscription, because the anti-subscription users would feel hooked in because they already bought the Mac version, and might feel like someone is holding them over the barrel, as abandoning DEVONthink might not be an option after the cost of the Mac versions. Of course, if the Mac went subscription, what happens to the users who’ve already bought it?
I guess this is all speculation at this point, and I’m sure I’m not contemplating all the possibilities. I just wanted to point out that, at first blush, it would seem very odd to have different buying options on different platforms.
While app purchases on iOS can be shared with family members (if the author enables it, I assume), in-app purchases cannot, and most subscriptions seem to be based on this mechanism. I find this more painful than the actual subscription itself.
As to subscriptions in general - I probably would be most interested in using software from sustainably operating companies. Esp. for a tool that has been as important for my daily workflows as DT/DTTG.
The go/no-go criteria for buying into a subscription with such a tool would be the availability of a perpetual license, or a guaranteed continued use even if at a limited feature set (e.g. a read-only mode), should the subscription not be renewed.
I happily pay for my Fantastical license, and would pay for an iA Writer license (just because this app has been mentioned), because these apps are mere frontends to data accessible by public standards (markdown files using the file system, CalDav). Should I choose not to continue the subscription, I am free to use any other frontend, with the same data, no harm done.
Apps storing important data in a proprietary database format are a different story. Having to pay on an ongoing basis to access my data is something I am not as comfortable with.
Should DTTG (or DT, even though Bluefrog said it wouldn’t happen in the near future) go subscription-based, I sincerely hope that there will be an option that would allow me continued access my to data, should I not want to continue paying - or not be able to, because Apple might kick the app off the App Store, Devonthink go out of business or discontinue the app, etc.
Just another 2c, based entirely on rumours and hearsay.
This has been my largest concern for subscribing into these types of software like Notion, Roam, and Evernote. Even when data export is possible without paying, it’s a huge hassle to move platforms. Most of the time many (meta) data are lost during transitions.
If DTTG moves to subscription, I would really like a family sharing option, please (using the new iOS 14 feature.) I would only be sharing it with one other user.
You can always get to your data in DEVONThink. It’s not held hostage in any way. TO verify all you have to do is make sure DT does not have one of your databases ope. (I usually shut DT down when I want to look) then navigate to the place you store your databasees and do a show package contents. All the things you have imported are in there in folders by type of item unde the Files.noindex folder.
Obviously indexed files are already outside the DT internal system so you haven’t lost them.
What changes would you find suitable for making DEVONthink To Go a good standalone app?
My wishlist:
would be nice to have to have new kind of foldable sidebar on IpadOS (possibility to see databases, folder in databases and documents in the same time, Reeder is a really good example of that
better pdf viewing capabilities (right foldable sidebar with view of annotations, highlights and/or chapters, like in PDF Expert or even better - Highlights app - with view of notes, then the DTTG could become a really good pdf reader
This part was referring to DTTG, esp. when used as a stand-alone tool (“What changes would you find suitable for making DEVONthink To Go a good standalone app?”): “DEVONthink To Go is a database and gives access through the file provider extension mechanism.”
My apologies if I did not make this sufficiently clear.
The general idea should still hold for DT, as for me a lot of value is in the meta-data associated with the files, which I presume to be held in dtMeta and/or dtMetaStore files.
Wait a minute. I’m currently testing out DEVONthink as a replacement for Evernote and just about to spend $200 on it, which is some of the most expensive software I would have ever purchased. Having a mobile companion app is an absolutely basic requirement for my use-case. Are you saying that $200 will not cover mobile access, but that I will be required to pay an additional subscription just for that?
Have to pay separately for mobile version + again $$$ for in app purchase just to annotate etc, which still buggy which cost me more $ to purchase PDF expert separately just to annotate properly.
Before (and still now) there was one time purchase for around $15 + 8$ pdf annotating.
In the near future we don’t know because developers don’t say anything until a new version of the app will appear in Apple Store (but they don’t debunk gossips about iOS subscription, they debunked gossip about MacOS app going sub immediately )
BTW There is Black Friday 25% discount so you will either pay 25$ or 50$ less.
To clarify, I did purchase the current DTTG years ago but never used it because the UX didn’t hold up to Evernote. But we all know how that app is changing, which is why I’m looking for alternatives.
I actually don’t mind a one-time purchase for a companion app as a further access channel. For instance, I have purchased all three versions of Things (Mac, iPhone, iPad) and do so gladly. So I’m totally ok with how they handled it so far. I also wouldn’t be too bothered about buying an app and then paying a subscription fee for advanced features that would cover the developers’ ongoing costs (e.g. cloud computing fees) + X.
What bothers me is the idea of needing an ongoing subscription to access my own data and add a few things like web clips and PDFs on the go, on top of a pretty significant base cost for the Mac app, plus the cloud storage I also pay for.
It’s here where it would be really helpful if the developers could make a statement about their intentions, so that we could make informed purchasing decisions.
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