Amy and I are pleased to release the KnittingHelp.com Video Reference iPhone App (also will work on iPod Touch and iPads). :cheering: It took us nearly 11 months and countless hours to get this project done. Phew! The app is a video reference containing every video from this website, organized and categorized for quick access. The videos are stored on the phone, so there is no waiting for the videos to download. This means you can access the videos offline from anywhere. Basically it’s a pocket version of all the videos on this website, all for $4.99.
And you can download the app either by going here:
Or searching iTunes (on your computer or iPhone/Ipod) for KnittingHelp.
We will be adding a quick search and knitting abbreviations to a future release of the app which will be a free upgrade to anyone who has already purchased the app.
Anyone who does download the app, please please pretty please take a moment to give us a review and rating in the app store. This will help the app gain some visibility in the app store (currently it’s at the bottom of the list for knitting).
For those on Android phones, we are exploring the option of making an Android version. It does take a lot of work and time to make these apps, so we’re not certain. We first want to see how this one fairs, as well as take a bit of a break! :mrgreen:
This sounds great! I’d love to be able to always have all of your videos available wherever I am. Unfortunately I use a Blackberry rather than the iPhone. :pout:
Hopefully all of the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad users out there will give this a try so that there might be some possibility of there being a KH app for the Blackberry in the future! :knitting:
I’d love to make a version for every possible smartphone, but probably not feasible. Maintaining a half dozen different versions of the app for various devices would be quite a chore. I will be exploring the possibility of doing an universal version that would work for all smartphones. Things are relatively new in this domain, so I am not 100% positive what it entails.
I’ve got the new app on my iPod and it’s AWESOME! It’s great having all the videos and more information available wherever I am and without having to have a connection to WiFi! Thanks Sheldon and Amy!
I realize that it’s impossible to make so many different versions … the idea of a universal app might be a good one to explore in the future, depending on what all is involved.
Regardless of that, all that you do here on KH is much appreciated by all of us … we’re very lucky to have you as a resource!
Maybe this will be a reason to reconsider the iPad … :think:
The ipad is super. I love mine. The KH app is officially an iPhone/iPod Touch app, but it will work on the iPad too. It’s just not formatted to take advantage of the large screen of the iPad.
I’m not sure what the currency exchange is … perhaps it is more expensive in the UK than it is in North America, but you have to remember that it’s only a one time fee to purchase and download the application. Once you’ve downloaded it, you have it to use as a resource as often as you like.
Applications like this time and money to create and maintain … they can’t all be offered for free. In my experience, when you pay a few dollars for an app you end up with a way better product than those that you’re able to get for free.
In my opinion it’s worth it, but everyone is different … and it depends on how much you’re going to end up using the product, too.
The website videos are free, well sort of. We have advertisers (and sell things in order store) which enable us to keep the videos free. This website after all is our livelihood. The knittinghelp.com app, has no advertisers. It took us 11 months to create the app, not to mention the value of the video content which was created earlier (the videos are included with the app, just like if you bought a DVD). There were also fees paid to Apple to join their developer program. Apple also takes 30% of all sales. I have calculated how much we have made from this app, and it’s about 25 cents per hour of work (not including the video filming/editing). That should hopefully increase as the app continues to sell.
Sure some apps can sell for 99 cents and do well. These are typically app firms that produce a lot of apps, or apps that have large market appeal and sell vast quantities. They make their margins on quantity. A knitting app is only going to appeal to a very small number of iPhone/iPod owner. In order to be worth our efforts, we have to charge for this app. We set a figure that we think is very reason for what people are getting. A pocket version of KH, with no ads, which works anywhere. Most knitting DVD’s cost $20 - $40, and I’m sure that most people who buy this app will use it more frequently than a DVD.
That’s a good point. I checked to make sure the exchange wasn’t making it prohibitively more expensive. It looks like the price equates to $4.70, so it’s actually on sale in the UK.
It’s absolutely worth it IMO. I have an iPod w/o cell connection and when I’m at my knitting group or on vacation I can take KH with me which is amazing. I do have free apps, but the paid ones usually are worth it in being ad free and in content.
I love it!!! Well worth every penny. I used it almost as soon as I finished downloading. Thank you Sheldon and Amy. I am telling all my knitty/iphone friends.
Got it! Haven’t finished exploring it (obviously! It’s a LOT of stuff), but love what I’ve seen so far. I imagine I’ll be using this a good bit. Much easier than running to the computer.
Thanks everyone for the positive feedback! :cheering: The was a huge undertaking for us, and we are happy with the response thus far. I am already working on improving the app and making it even more useful (ex: adding the glossary/abbreviations, search, etc.). So you can expect to see that sometime after the holidays. Any updates will be free for those who have already bought the app.
If you have bought the app, [B]please take a moment tovisit the app store and leave a review[/B] and rating for the app. Apart from really enjoying reading all the reviews, your review help other people find the app, and decide whether if the app is a good fit for them.
I read the posts and completely understand your position, Sheldon. I do have an Android phone and will probably stick with that (Verizon). I just thought that I’d chime in and say I’m horribly jealous of the iPhone users who get to use the app! I would also pay in a heart beat for an Android version, and that’s saying something because so far I have used nothing but free apps. As of right now, I would purchase only 2 apps if they were available - the Self.com exercise app and the KH app. So I’m going to sit here and cross my fingers and hope that one day I will get to view KH videos on my Droid.
Thanks for sharing. I have received A LOT of requests for an Android version. So we’ve made the decision to go head with an Android app! When will it be available? I can’t say for certain. It will take some time. We have only just made the decision to pursue this based upon the launch of the iPhone version. The next step is to explore our options as far as developing the app. I will certainly make a post on KH, Twitter and FB when the app is available.
Ha! I have been going back and forth about getting a Netbook or an iPad. I was thinking, if I had an iPad, then I could have it with my knitting and if I needed to reference a video, I wouldn’t have to knit in front of the computer. Then I thought, I wonder if knittingHelp works with the iPad? So I did a search, and voila - here is my answer! If I get one, I’ll let you know how it works. Thanks!
