Last month, Instapaper founder Marco Arment revealed that he’d pulled the free version of his popular “read later” app from the App Store. There were few complaints and sales of the paid version remained strong. Arment’s action seemed to challenge the prevailing notion that a free app (typically an ad-supported app) is necessary or a good idea.
That may hold true for Instapaper, which has no doubt developed a strong lead in this space – a well-established and well-respected brand. Users have found value in the service, and so they pay.
But that $4.99 might be a harder sell for a new, relatively unknown startup.
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Such is the case with the Atlanta-based startup TripLingo, which offers several language-learning apps for between $4.99 and $9.99. We reviewed the apps a couple of weeks ago when they launched, and even better than media coverage, the startup found TripLingo featured app in the App Store. The app is quite innovative, offering language learners a customized list of words to study, based on their interests, their planned activities, and on any special circumstances. When someone launches the app, they walk through a series of questions that lets them rate how important certain subjects are: do you want to know about sports lingo? Do you want to know how to flirt? Do you want to go shopping? More importantly, arguably, are you travelling with children? Are you diabetic? Are you disabled?
It’s a good app, but new users may be reluctant to pay. So today, TripLingo has a new app – a free app – in the App Store. And rather than French, Italian, Portugese, or Spanish, this one teaches you to speak Pirate.
The app uses the same features as TripLingo’s “serious” apps: it offers flashcards and vocabulary lists, and each of the phrases there can be manipulated with the Slang Slider, letting you see 4 versions: formal, casual, slang, and crazy. There’s also a dictionary and a list of relevant cultural information – the history of pirates in the Caribbean and whatnot.
If that last phrase sounds familiar – pirates of the Caribbean – then you’ll probably know already that Disney will be releasing the latest in its popular pirate series this weekend.
That makes the TripLingo app well-timed and well-designed. The only thing it’s missing is the intake survey asking users to specify exactly what use they indeed for the Pirate lingo. What the app does showcase, however, is the TripLingo platform – its useability and its flexibilitiy. It also highlights the startup’s sense of humor (evident not just in the Pirate lingo but in the Slang Slider in all the apps).
With several well-placed buttons that could lead users to download the paid versions – and with no ads – this version of TripLingo demonstrates how a startup can do a free app right. “We’re always looking for creative ways to spread the word about TripLingo,” says CEO Jesse Maddox. “The Pirate version is an opportunity for us to show off our product and demonstrate the power of our platform. It gives potential customers a risk-free way to check us out, and finally it speaks to our unique approach to language learning- making it fun, lighthearted, and engaging. Plus, who doesn’t love Pirate slang?”
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