I think you’ve done your best, many are not aware of the costs that a company has to sustain, especially in your situation that until a few days ago you offered your services for free. I personally approve of this change and are more than happy to pay for a service that is already at a great level and that can only get better, listen to users is your strength, but give it due importance, at the end user always want everything for free …
Understand the work you’ve put into the cloud - however you will understand that there are those of us who prefer to host ourselves. If my heating system goes off - I have only myself to blame and can quickly fix anything locally - if I have the whole house controlled by a remote server and that goes down - I have no service agreement - no claim back - nothing - I just have to take your word that your service - no matter how good - will stay there for the life of the product (which could be several years) and not go down. Like others I’ve heard the 99.9% claims of many ISPs and none of that helps when it is not working and there is ZILCH you can do about it. If my external internet were to go down (which it does at least in the UK but I suspect everywhere else) I would be entirely stuffed until it came back up.
So for those demonstrating - playing - having fun etc or unable to host their own server - that is stunning - but for me - I want everything to continue to work at least internally without relying on others.
I’ve not said anything either way on the App store - I will wait to see how developments come - promised improvements and additions. Up to now I’m happier than I was yesterday.
I would make a note, I have deleted a series of widgets that I had entered before the payment system, I noticed that I have received 150% of energy, basically a gauge that costs me 200 returns 300, if I try to add new costs 300 instead of 200.
Hi, I think you would be just fine by using Blynk at schools or the events you mention.
Many children today play games in their tablets and phones and they might be spending money already on them. For instance, my kid comes asking from time to time if he can buy this skin or that pot of gold for one dollar every now and then.
Even if one does not want to buy anything in Blynk, I think one can do most of their experiments with what Blynk gives for free (like in most of kids games) and buy stuff that’s really really needed (like in most of kids games).
Overall I like the way to pay for Blynk you guys implemented!
it was a bit confusing the analogy with energy at the beginning, since I initially thought the more I use them the more energy they will drain. But no, so far the way I understand this is that for adding this extra button it will cost me 200 energy units, and sharing it would cost me 1k units.
I have to admit that I felt a little bit proud yesterday when I was able to buy 2000 units of Blynk energy from the android store so I could share my project with my family at the bargain price of 1k energy units
Again, I hope this works for you guys (the blynk team) and continues to work with 99% of the makers that are part of your community.
Gustavo.
I tend to agree with you. With this new model the purpose of demonstrating and getting kids excited about IoT is probably pretty doable and I’m thinking the guys at Blynk will develop a sort of Educational license (that would really be a no brainer if you ask me). I can see an education license as something with a bit more energy and a limitation to local servers only.
When I first found this app/program, I was excited at the thought of using my phone/computer to do stuff with my raspberry Pi without having to write tons of code as I don’t know much code yet. A big part of the attraction was that it was all free. I haven’t used the app for a few weeks and I just got back on it today and I discover this new energy concept of paying for widgets. Absolute deal breaker for me. Like a lot of people have said, when experimenting you delete and replace widgets a lot and with this new system you essentially now have to pay if you do extensive experimenting. Not impressed. I’m sticking with Cayenne IOT. Really liked Blynk but you guys ruined it for me.
I didn’t even think to check the reviews (I just added one). If anyone needs a laugh, crack open a cold one and read those reviews!!! Someone actually used the word blackmail… I don’t think they know what that word means.
Someone else wrote, “Really good until I had to start paying.” Was that a review for Blynk or Moving Out of My Parents House?
first off i want to say that i love blynk! i use it for tons of little projects and i am all for you making money. now i am on IOS so im not 100% sure on how this works until i play with it myself, i could have it all wrong but just thought i should leave some feedback. the idea of blynk energy is great but needs some refinements. because i am constantly adding and removing widgets i think there should be a sort of grace period where it doesn’t charge you any energy or at reduced cost for a set amount of time.
Dear Blynk Team,
I’m an enthusiastic user and, as a lot of Blynkers, I’m ready to pay to support your hard and valuable job.
But I strongly believe that the payment method that you have implemented is not the best, as already declared by other people of this community.
When I realize the user interface of a new project, I seek the optimal solution through a process of successive approximation, choosing a combination of widget and looking at the overall aspect, then I change them not one but one thousand times and then I call a peer review and change again the U.I. And, when the critical design review occurs, anything could change again.
With your payment system, instead, this extensive use of your product will be totally discouraged
if only 80% of Energy is returned back on widget removal. People will realize just a prototype, working
but ugly, because beauty and perfection will be object of money.
Imagine a Blynker that will show such a “working but ugly” prototype to a friend or a to teacher
or to another maker. The review of the project and, unavoidably, of your creature could be not very positive.
At the end of my message I would ask you to consider, in parallel to energy system, another type of
payment based on a policy of annual or monthly - all inclusive - fixed fee. It could be very appreciated by all the Blynkers that, like me, love to realize “working and beautiful” projects.