Of course, their graphing calculator comparison neglects the fact that graphing calculators are only priced so high because they have a captive audience, like college textbooks. You can't effectively compete with TI for graphing calculators because school districts outlaw competition.
With the exception of solving integrals, diff eqs, or other CAS things, is Wolfram Alpha particularly useful when you'd have google at your disposal? I would think no, but that's just my experience.
I think they priced the iphone app high so people will think their free web version is a bargain and actually worth using. "Hey, I can get it for free on their website!" Even though they weren't using it at all before.
This is another example of a company trying to price software like its a physical product.<p>The justification for the price is laughable; just because it contains more features than an unrelated product (for which it is not even a feasible replacement) is not going to convince someone to pay for an iPhone app 25-50x the normal going price.<p>I'm venturing a guess here by saying that a good portion of the market for graphing calculators is comprised of high school and college students, and I don't know of one teacher who would allow an iPhone during a calculus or physics test.
I have a feeling this is all a publicity stunt. The hype has pretty much died down. What better way to get people talking about your Service and your iPhone app (beside apple rejecting it) than to grossly overprice it (see "I am rich" app)? At least you get to see if people will actually pay for it and the free press.<p>Edit: I'm pretty sure they'll lower the price, which in turn will trigger more press. Seems to me a good marketing ploy, but how far can you go before you dilute your brand message?
At least for students, a graphing calculator on an iphone won't be much use, since most teachers probably won't let students whip out an iPhone on a test.<p>TIs are standardized and profs know what it can and can't do. No professor is going let students whip out arbitrary applications to aide them on a test, especially one that can almost solve word problems.
<i>A note on price — it is listed at $49.99, which is basically less than 1/2 the price of a graphing calculator with inferior functionality in comparison, which is how the company came to that number.</i><p>That's a bit disingenuous, considering that the hardware doesn't come free.
Right. Because who could build a successful company selling soft that can do some math priced at thousands of dollars? Isn't the math free?<p>People who would buy nice mobile interface for wolfram alpha are not the same people that buy "paper toss".
I find it humorous that the Tech Crunch author notes a typo while creating a few of his own, e.g., by spelling "default" incorrectly. One who notes a typo should to not to create one of their own, if only to save face.
$50 isn't much for professionals who pay hundreds of dollars for reference manuals ... or are on location in NE Turkey without laptop Mathematica access.<p>I'm guess W intends an access lite for later.<p>For decades, most tech products coming on the market start out high-priced (HD TV's for a recent one). Why should Wolfram look like it's low-balling? They know you've got a $200+ phone and are paying $1K a year to use it. Mathematica isn't cheap either: how much will the App cut into sales?