Rakkup iPhone App-Thoughts?

http://www.rakkup.com/
Anybody actually used this? If so how well (or not) did it work?

I've used it for a few days for the new Rifle guidebook and it's a cool app in many ways. Nice having beta and pictures for all the routes at your fingertips. Really nice being able to quickly sort through climbs and flip through climbs at a wall. The GPS doesn't work great for Rifle because of the canyon but the trail map gives great detail and beta on sun and shade. I played with the Red Rocks sample app and that seemed like it had some great value for the long routes in particular because the beta photos for the approach and location of the route were outstanding. I could see it being very helpful to locate a route, particularly if you're not familiar with an area. It still has some improvements to be made and I think the Rakkup guys are going to be making it better and better based on user feedback and because it's an app they can post updates to the app after you've purchased it.

It's bad ass. MP should take a few hints...

The thing I like most about the rakkup app is we can push updates instantly. I just added an update to Rifle Mountain Park. The rakkup app for Rifle now contains a whole new wall (Wall of Life) and 7 new climbs that aren't in the Rifle print guide -- which was published a mere 2 weeks ago. Pretty sweet.

A reminder that comparing the Rakkup App to the MP app is comparing apples to oranges.

The Rakkup App is awesome editorially generated and organized content.

The MP app is user generated and volunteer organized content.

Totally different beasts with totally different requirements from an design, user-interface, and maintenance perspective.

I accidentally updated the MP app today after avoiding doing so for the past few months. Unfortunately that means now I have to stare at advertisements every time I look up a climb unlike the Rakkup app.

Please get rid of this an just make it a splash screen advertisement at application startup like Rakkup is

Andy Laakmann wrote:A reminder that comparing the Rakkup App to the MP app is comparing apples to oranges. The Rakkup App is awesome editorially generated and organized content. The MP app is user generated and volunteer organized content. Totally different beasts with totally different requirements from an design, user-interface, and maintenance perspective.

Thanks, Andy. Well said, and we rakkup dudes couldn't agree more!
Mountain Project is an incredibly valuable resource, at the amazing price of free. There is also an important place in the world for climbing guidebooks prepared by local experts and offered for sale, and I think we'd all agree that the authors who spend time doing that (who are often the same people establishing the routes we climb) deserve renumeration for the time and quality of their labors.
I am glad to live in a world with both and we hope that you all have better climbing days because of each.
Thanks for the kind words everyone! Wish us luck and safe climbing.

Not available on Android. In this day when more smartphones are running Android than iOS, I don't understand why developers wouldn't start with Android and then expand to iOS.

Ryan Stott wrote:Not available on Android. In this day when more smartphones are running Android than iOS, I don't understand why developers wouldn't start with Android and then expand to iOS.

We're working hard on the Android version, and I've got my Android phone here in my hands now. There's no doubt that Android is important and here to stay and we're excited to be part of the Android community. I look forward to being able to announce something for all of you Samsung/LG/Motorola/HTC (etc.) users!
(When we started this project three years ago, it was pretty clear from the numbers that iOS was the place to be first. There are still plenty of studies showing more app usage on iOS, even though there are fewer handsets sold every day -- but all those studies also show that Android is catching up fast on pretty much every interesting measure.)

Rob Price wrote: We're working hard on the Android version, and I've got my Android phone here in my hands now. There's no doubt that Android is important and here to stay and we're excited to be part of the Android community. I look forward to being able to announce something for all of you Samsung/LG/Motorola/HTC (etc.) users! (When we started this project three years ago, it was pretty clear from the numbers that iOS was the place to be first. There are still plenty of studies showing more app usage on iOS, even though there are fewer handsets sold every day -- but all those studies also show that Android is catching up fast on pretty much every interesting measure.)

Glad to hear it, Rob! Thanks

Yes please do an Android Rifle guide. I just checked the site again and would have dropped the coin if it was available.

Rakkup is a pretty revolutionary tool. In some interesting ways, it is actually more helpful than a guidebook, because you can have far more beta photos on a per-route basis than a guidebook allows, making it easier to find the start of particular routes, rather than just the wall they exist on. I bet we'll be seeing Rakkup start to explode in the near future.

Just used this app for the first time this trip to Red Rocks. Downloaded the supertopo for Red Rocks just the test it out. Overall, pretty positive experience, especially if you want to avoid getting lost. They should market this tool more

Pros: made hiking to the start of climbs a breeze. The GPS locator and trail map was invaluable. And when you get to the base of the climb it says 'You have arrived, Rakkup" in a sexy porn-star voice, which is pretty hilarious. Really helpful when if you're descending in the dark to find a trail if you get off route and into the bushes. Nice beta on sun and shade.

Cons: Topos of the climbs would be more useful with a pitch-by-pitch description like MP rather than a paragraph, and they just show a pic of a line going up the wall with no marks for belays etc. This means the app can't stand alone, unlike MP. They also don't mark parking lots, making it difficult to pick out the trails on the return. Should the ability to reverse your directions. Missing a few walls. No way to take notes.

Question, it said that some of the guides were for "3 years"
does this mean the guide will be eligible for updates for 3 years or after 3 years does it just go poof off my phone and I need to pay again?

I want to say that it goes 'poof' and you can't access it anymore. I just bought the red rocks guide that has no expiration.

Also, I just discovered the topos are there as pictures, and they're difficult to find (it's the last one). For some reason I don't get that menu on the right that they have on the website. Very annoying

Hey, thanks for the feedback and suggestions. Super glad to hear that the navigation worked well for you, and yes we definitely plan to market it more. (Especially since the number of guidebooks we have over at rakkup.com has increased a ton in recent weeks.)
Topos are in there; some folks had trouble finding them where we had them before, so they appear at the end of the photos now. We'll investigate how we can make them even easier to find. Your suggestions definitely match up with things we have been working on and I appreciate your taking the time...
While I am here, if there's folks out there with Android phones who are interested in helping test our app, please let us know! Just hit rakkup.com/get-in-touch-wit… and tell us which phone model and Android version you use, and if there's a climbing area near you that we have a guidebook for.

Hi Rob, thanks for replying! It's nice to know that we consumers are being heard and that you're still taking feedback. Finding the topo isn't very intuitive; the arrows disappear and it's hard to tell how many pics there are (those little balls at the bottom are hard to see). Maybe if there were a separate button for the topo under the 'go' button on the climb name?
Great to hear that you're working on the reversing the hiking directions--that would be incredible helpful on the hike out in the dark

Overall, great app! Thanks for putting it out there.

There is no way I will ever pay these prices for a time-limited "subscription", but I would consider it for a fraction of the cost. Rob, any chance there will be sales? I am specifically interested in the new New River guidebooks, but already have the previous editions on my phone (and they never expire).

pokey wrote:There is no way I will ever pay these prices for a time-limited "subscription", but I would consider it for a fraction of the cost. Rob, any chance there will be sales? I am specifically interested in the new New River guidebooks, but already have the previous editions on my phone (and they never expire).

I've sent you a private message on the site, but I wanted to add this:

Pricing is tricky, and what each person is willing to pay is different, of course. We've tried to strike a balance between making these guides affordable for climbers and making sure that the authors and publishers find the business worth their while so they keep making and updating guidebooks. Case in point, Wolverine Publishing found that they simply could not afford to keep adding updates to the older apps that never expired, hence the subscription plan. And there are a LOT of updates, and Wolverine's been awesome about doing rapid updates to their rakkup guidebooks as climbs change or get put up.
The author of the book, Mike Williams, did a great job addressing this and describing the advantages of digital vs. print on his blog this week, check it out:
mikesironcladbeta.blogspot.…
We think the prices are fair for the quality of these books, and tried to provide options that are cheaper than print rather than more costly. The 60-day option seems to appeal to a lot of traveling climbers. Also note that you can buy all of the exact same subscription for around 25% less at rakkup.com than you can via buttons in the rakkup app, thanks to Apple's hefty surcharges!
Sales are technically possible, but please keep in mind that at the end of the day the prices are determined by the publisher of each book, not by us.
Thanks for taking a look, we love the feedback and it matters!

Has a pricing model been contemplated for buying the current edition (no subscription/expiration) and subsequently paying for updates? I think this could satisfy a lot of different groups who have different needs. For example, a visiting climber may only want the base edition to tick off the classics and move on, whereas a local may have an interest in learning about new walls and routes as they are established.

very clearly here and my day job is in internet marketing so i have some reference.

it is ok to say give 3 years and then updates stop and if you want more updates then you pay more, but psychologically you will lose alot of people if the perception is that the info goes "poof" after 3 years..

people want to buy something and feel secure about it, that they own it. Its ok that my info is "outdated" after 3 years and I may pay again to update it, but I still want to "own" that original info.

so IMHO i would recommend continuing the time limited updates, however when the time is up, allow the original info (pre expiration) to stay there and just have a nag screen to get them to pay again to get the updates.

that way you retain better conversion on the front end and cover yourself on the back end. If that is how you already do it then you just need to change your wording to make it clear that it is 3 years of updates you are paying for, not access.

hope that helps.