In-app subscription apps

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In-app subscription apps

Does anyone know of an app that implemented an in-app subscription?

EDIT

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Just to be clear I'm referring to implementing an in-app purchase of type "subscription" as apple defines it and not implementing a consumable and calling it subscription.

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I thought about how the subscription model can be implemented and always ends up with more problems to every possible solution I can think of, so I'm wondering if anyone knows of an app that actually does that.

Thanks

I don't know of a specific app that has implemented in app subscriptions, and that strikes me as being "not a programming question." But Urban Airship offers a hosted in app purchase solution which does have support for subscriptions:

This might be used to buy a new map pack, game item or subscription based content.

http://urbanairship.com/faq/

I think you will mostly need to implement the exact mechanics of the system yourself. Users will need to "renew" their subscription by making separate in app purchases.

Elliot 2010-03-09 00:49:31

Thanks for the link to urban airship. I knew they existed but couldn't remember their name.It is true that it's not just a programming question, but I'm not even sure at the moment that it can be solved programmatically.

Ron Srebro 2010-03-09 16:27:02

I've seen MotionXGPS Drive do that... They have a rate of $2.99 a month or $24.99 a year. You still do however, have to renew it manually.

Adam 2010-03-09 02:59:21

Thanks Adam. Are you sure the use the "subscription" in app type? Or do they use the "consumable" type and calling it subscription?

Ron Srebro 2010-03-09 16:37:28

I'm not sure, but I think it's consumable.

Adam 2010-03-17 13:55:21

Thanks for your reply. I'm main interested in the challenges of implementing a "subscription" type in-app purchase.

Ron Srebro 2010-03-19 03:24:38

FitnessBuilder (http://www.pumpone.com/fitnessbuilder.html) implements In-App Subscriptions. Let me know if you have specific questions about how the subscription system works.

Steven Canfield 2010-03-09 03:19:35

Thanks Steven. Are you sure the use the "subscription" in app type? Or do they use the "consumable" type and calling it subscription?

Ron Srebro 2010-03-09 16:37:46

Yes, we use the subscription type.

Steven Canfield 2010-03-10 00:43:32

Thanks for the answer and you suggestion for further help. It's good to know that someone is using it - it means its doable. My main issue is how do you assign an account you can track to a purchase so you can let the user use the subscription on more than one device as Apple requires.

Ron Srebro 2010-03-19 03:23:47

You have to setup a whole user system / server infrastructure to do this properly. So let users sign up with an email address / password, then let them buy something, and then if they login on another device the server would give them rights to whatever it is.

Steven Canfield 2010-03-19 04:27:11

One way to detect if the product is of the subscription type is to purchase it twice. The second time you do it, you'll see a message that warns you about the nature of the product (subscription) and the kind of purchasing (renew).

Ricardo de Cillo 2010-10-19 20:11:22

ansaurus

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