Imageline -What to do if their apps do not work on your device

6/16/2015

So there is news on FL studio Mobile front that looks good but something came up in the conversation on the forum that for me is a pretty weird and awful way to treat your customers.
Here it is from the conversation...

Transcription as the image is a little bit hard to read but want to include it so you do not think that I make this up:

Musical Android:

How will it function as a VST?
Will you release a VST that can load the Mobile projects and vice versa?
In either case it does look good and having posted many a harsh words on my blog about FL Studio Mobile it will be nice to take them all back if it is as good as the Screenshot seems to indicate!

(And congratulation on the Groovemachine even though maybe a very bad practice is to declare the minimum requirements that low on both Groove machine and FL Studio Mobile and no demo to try...
Yes they may load on the minimum requirements but that is about it!
Shame on you!)

Adminstrator -

It will load as a VST (actually FL Studio native plugin most likely) and be identical to the App, because it IS the app. This means you can move projects with 100% compatibility in both directions.

Musical Android wrote:Shame on you!

We feel no shame, we always deliver far more than people get anywhere else (even if it's eventually).
And you will eventually own a device that can handle it (Apps have lifetime free updates). Same is true for FL Studio and PCs.

Regards Scott

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Think that it is deplorable to sell a product knowingly not working and excuse it with that someday it will work for you!
This is the kind of things that turn me of a company forever and astounded at the attitude.
Luckily enough we have a lot of niceness in form of small independent developers that do not lie straight to your face about their apps!

4 Comments

Scott Fisher

6/17/2015 08:17:47 am

If an app fails to work on your device, contact the relevant app store and ask for a refund. As an Android or iOS customer you need to make use of these provisions and understand that they are there for your protection. There is no reason to shout victim here.

We do our best to bug-fix and support devices, but one of the issues with Android is the sheer number of them and we can't test them all. At no point have we ever said to people, you are on your own.

With respect to minimum requirements, this is not something that bears any relationship to particular devices, it's set by the Google Play store based on OS version compatibility. We DO limit GMM to tablets (for good reason) and a minimum OS, but that's it. How your particular device runs our App is completely unknown to us. This is the nature of Android development. If someone show me where we have misrepresented minimum system requirements that would be useful? The fact is, even the latest hardware may also fail to work as advertised, stutter and fall over. We just don't know until someone tries the App.

Regards Scott

Frank Malm

6/17/2015 09:18:33 am

First of all it is impossible to ask for refund as the downloads are longer than fifteen minutes and that is the limit to refund so maybe a demo without saving or similar is in order?

Second the minimum for FL Studio Mobile is put at Android 2.3.3 and tell me any device, any at all that run FL Studio Mobile at those specifications, also even if there is any device that can run it at 3.2 meaning more than that the application opens and not much more than that.
You know that there is no device strong enough at 2.3.3 (and maybe there is one or two devices that can run it at 3.2 but am not too sure about that either).
Imageline have spent years developing the application and have been testing it during that time... and sometime before release there was a decision made what minimum requirements to list and at that time Imageline knew that no device with 2.3.3 would really work.
Would also like to see a list of devices that can run Groove Machine on Android 3.2. I mean you must at least know one or two devices right?
Or there is no testing of different devices at all and instead Imageline just blindly follow some Google general guideline?
C'mon!
It is also weird to blame Google for this as there is not any other developers (with much lesser resources than Imageline) that have no problems with setting a good minimum specification and most of the more demanding apps have demos to try first to see that the app works properly or to the customers satisfaction.

Why do you not have this?

In either case please give a list of some devices that can run the minimum specifications more or less satisfactory and prove me wrong.

Frank

6/18/2015 02:58:45 pm

Musical Android wrote: It i not easy to have time to test an application when you have a fifteen minute grace period and the app have a very large download... and it is does sound intriguing with Google letting you refund some time after that in special cases. Would actually like to know how you go about doing that and how special the case has to be?

Scott: The grace period is 2 hours, more than enough time to test an App.

Musical Android wrote: Then would also like to know any device at all that can run FL studio Mobile on Android 2.3.3. I mean Imageline must have had at least one device with 2.3.3 to try it on?

Scott: The performance of the actual device is not known. While it probably correlates with OS version, to some point, we just don't know how any particular device will perform. Last time I checked the Google Play store, GMM is listed as 'compatible' with about 7000 devices.

Musical Android wrote: The easiest being to list the minimum requirements higher. There would be a slight loss of sales on paper but the company name would be less tarnished and in the end gain more loyal customers that would not be turned off after a bad experience and maybe make more money in future sales?

Scott: The only setting we have is OS version. We can also ban particular models. So where would you recommend we set the OS limit? Wherever it is, someone somewhere will have a device that does not function correctly. I can assure you, none of the settings we chose were in bad faith. If anything, I think we went with the defaults based on Googles advice. EDIT: I just checked and the minimum OS version is set to Android 3.2. Where did you see 2.3.3?

Musical Android wrote: The least that can be done is to in the Play Store description warn people saying that on the lower specifications the app may not perform well.

Scott: Sure we can do that. And I just did. “RECOMMENDED HARDWARE: We recommend a minimum screen size of 7 inches with this App. It is designed for tablets. Please note the number of instruments and effects you will be able to run without glitches will depend on your device and its CPU power.”

Musical Android wrote: Is it so hard for Imageline to implement any of these things when there is no problems for other developers?

Scott: How do you know other developers are avoiding these issues? It's not clear that there are systemic 'issues'. If you have problems with your device please post the details in the GMM forum. I can't find any thread from you there yet? EDIT: Indeed I see you have made 4 posts so far and none are about any problems with GMM, and yet you claim we are deliberately misleading users or don't support users with issues on your blog? Don't you think that's a little unfair?

Regards Scott

6/18/2015 04:40:29 pm

As mentioned yesterday on the Imageline forum I can not complain anymore as I was not aware that Google had extended the grace period to 2 hours.
Which give people a chance to find out if their device works or not.
But...
My main points still stand if this was not the case.
It is all very simple-
Please tell me one device- Just one device please that can run FL studio Mobile on Android 2.3.3 more or less okay.
And granted there may be devices that can run GMM on 3.2 and you must have tested that what device did you use?

Imageline Scott wrote-

Scott: The only setting we have is OS version. We can also ban particular models. So where would you recommend we set the OS limit? Wherever it is, someone somewhere will have a device that does not function correctly. I can assure you, none of the settings we chose were in bad faith. If anything, I think we went with the defaults based on Googles advice. EDIT: I just checked and the minimum OS version is set to Android 3.2. Where did you see 2.3.3?

In the Play Store for FL Studio Mobile it is listed as 2.3.3!
I know you try to sidetrack the whole thing to be about Groove Machine which probably have some devices (would still like to see you mention one or two) while I have been pretty clear that my main gripe have been about FL Studio Mobile.

And again there is hardly no other developers that have a problem listing minimum Android OS that are realistic!

So please again it is very simple give at least one device that can run FL Studio Mobile at with Android 2.3.3 and one or two that can run GMM at 3.2.
The it is Google do not fly so well as Imageline must have tested their apps on some devices at minimum specifications like any other developer that make the more advanced music apps for Android.

Please.

But like I said in the beginning as the grace period is now two hours I can not complain anymore even though it is not because Imageline did anything about it.

Please if you are going to respond again give straight answers-
Which devices have Imageline tested that FL Studio Mobile works on at minimum specs and do not start with the GMM again and Google routine again!

Imageline -What to do if their apps do not work on your device

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