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| Re: Roland Ranfft [message #18611 is a reply to message #18610] |
Mon, 28 August 2023 18:21   |
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Jenneke
Messages: 1934
Registered: May 2013
Location: Netherlands
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Gruen Authority |
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It is confirmed he died june 15th. It is still uncertainwhat will happen with the website.
Info on the uhrforum:
https://uhrforum.de/threads/ranfft-uhrwerkseite-offline.5477 91/page-4#post-8334208
Gary wrote on Mon, 28 August 2023 19:26Sounds like he is still here with us...?
Chatterbox
Hi Folks,
apparently I was dead as a doornail since months, but only apparently. I'm running fairly again, enough to reanimate my watch activities again. It will take some time for all divisions, but it will be successful finally.
That chatterbox text has been there for months and months. It isnt a new text.
You can only waste time if you forget to enjoy it - Loesje
[Updated on: Mon, 28 August 2023 18:39] Report message to a moderator |
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| Re: Roland Ranfft [message #19289 is a reply to message #19278] |
Sat, 15 February 2025 21:45 |
deni2s
Messages: 5
Registered: February 2025
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Gruen Apprentice |
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Jenneke wrote on Wed, 12 February 2025 22:31I mentioned your app to a few watch collectors/tinkerers. Who have broad collections. Got two reactions:
- shame there isnt an Andriod version to try
- too expensive subscription for the filters
Thanks, that's a good feedback, even if it sounds like there is nothing positive in it.
- about Android - I know people are missing out - there are a lot of requests (same with my other apps) unfortunately I don't see that happening in near future.
As a workaround I can only suggest buy any iPhone/iPad released on 2018 or after - they are not so expensive, can find one easily for like 80 euros. App is running also on newer Macs.
- about subscription - how do those people calculate how much are those features worth? The price per month of one of two coffees is too expensive for watch collectors with broad collections, seriously? I can say that buying subscription price is much cheaper than spending time and money looking for all that info in old catalogues. Plus there were several months spent making all that data searchable, people should appreciate the effort. There are more features/data coming for subscribers (and non-subscribers too). And there is always 2 weeks free trial period for anyone.
You know, making an app like this is not an easy task, and making data not just reliable (as opposed to other well known free databases around), but also searchable - a lot of effort was spent (months), and more effort will be spent to improve that data constantly in future. I don't know how many subscribers would I need to cover the effort spent, but currently this app is running on pure enthusiasm. Basically I made it for myself, because I wanted to easily identify the movements so I can easily find parts for them. Of corse the more people will be using it, the more movements will be identified and more parts available - more vintage watches will survive or have another life.
This app might not be the most popular one, but at least I affirm that it has the most accurate and vetted data in it compared to other databases, with hundreds of mistakes and omissions corrected (of corse that's hard to notice if you check one or two movements out of 10k+). And no one is forced to pay for subscriptions - already improved data is available for free.
[Updated on: Sat, 15 February 2025 22:53] Report message to a moderator |
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| Re: Roland Ranfft [message #19305 is a reply to message #19289] |
Tue, 18 February 2025 21:52 |
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Jenneke
Messages: 1934
Registered: May 2013
Location: Netherlands
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Gruen Authority |
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Quote:about Android - I know people are missing out - there are a lot of requests (same with my other apps) unfortunately I don't see that happening in near future.
Sorry to hear. Those Android people generally dislike Apple products. 🤣
I understand why you priced it this way, dont get me wrong. Time isnt free.
Quote:about subscription - how do those people calculate how much are those features worth? The price per month of one of two coffees is too expensive for watch collectors with broad collections, seriously?.
Since I am not your target group (bc I only collect Gruen watches), I can only make some assumptions.
I would compare it to other apps and take in account how much I would use it. Like Tomtom navigation 22 dollar a year or Spotify 11 dollar monthly. Or the old rannft website (free with ads). Or posting it on a forum for help id-ing.
I could see watchmakers focused on vintage repair pay the subscription because they would use it regularly. The broad collectors you could see as collecting cheap vintage watches from obscure brands. The time spent on research could just be part of the fun/hobby.
Anyway, I hope you will do well with your app.
You can only waste time if you forget to enjoy it - Loesje
[Updated on: Tue, 18 February 2025 21:52] Report message to a moderator |
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| Re: Roland Ranfft [message #19314 is a reply to message #19305] |
Fri, 21 February 2025 17:18 |
deni2s
Messages: 5
Registered: February 2025
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Gruen Apprentice |
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I see your point and was considering a lot of things.
Let's ignore the paid features for now. Even in free plan the app has more to offer than old ranfft website - the information is updated, there are mistakes corrected, omissions filled, there are no ads at all. You can quickly search for movements by name, you can add interesting ones to your favorites list. The U.S. import codes list is the most precise and complete one around. I am not sure if I mentioned it earlier, but I have invested a lot in old catalogues and books, which are not easily to find, so there will be more calibers and information added which is basically not found anywhere else.
If you need to use advanced search filters as occasional broad collector - fine, you have two weeks free trial period, just do your searches and cancel subscription - it's easy to do from the app.
I understand that at the moment some users might not see a big value in subscription - that's totally fine. Some are subscribing just to support the work I am doing, some are early adopters. There will be more value in future, I don't want to promise anything, but the plan is to increase the returned value without increasing subscription price (no one likes price increases). The app is constantly updated (there have already been 5 updates since first release on the February 4th). Due to popular demand next app update will introduce first technical data sheets for selected calibers, and there are more features planned (already waiting for Apple review, so might be released in hours).
Few words about Android - even if device on average is cheaper than Apple devices, that might be one of the reasons why the development for it is much more expensive. There is more work involved for less money - you need to support a wide range of devices from different manufacturers, a lot of them are low end devices, Android devices are not getting updates as good as Apple devices, also I would have to worry more about performance, security and privacy. And it's a fact that android device users are less willing to pay for subscriptions/apps.
About vintage Gruens... I know the app currently can't compete with specific information found in the forums dedicated to specific themes. But I have some ideas about that and I am working on that. Filling the generic information gaps in the app (adding information about more calibers) is just the first step, so I would suggest to keep an eye on it (and I think I have some Gruen movements catalogue too if I am not mistaken, so there will be updates on that front too at some point).
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