But all around, the way Pushbullet is going about this transition makes it hard to accept without having a bit of a bad taste in your mouth. Realistically speaking, that's the only way an ecosystem can flourish and high-quality work can continue. Heck, I actually enjoy supporting good developers, and I frequently encourage others to do the same. Let me say it again: I have no problem paying for apps and services I appreciate.

Just look at how Feedly went about a similar transition, with a very similar pricing system, and left everyone feeling warm and fuzzy about its service and its money-earning arrangement. It's all a matter of perception, to be sure - but perception is everything in situations like this. Instead of adding new features to make the subscription seem like you're getting something extra in exchange for your support, the company is taking away features from non-paying users and requiring a subscription to maintain the same experience you have right now. While Pushbullet is encouraging its users to 'upgrade' to the new Pro level, what it's presenting isn't really an upgrade for those who pay but rather a downgrade for those who don't.

Especially when you consider what you're getting - which is, quite literally, what you already had before. Something about that just doesn't leave me feeling good about forking over my money for this effort.īut the bigger part of it, I think, is the value proposition involved: Plain and simple, 40 bucks a year ain't cheap for an app of this caliber. Part of it is the way the change was presented, as my pal Phil Nickinson emphatically explored over at Android Central. I think my struggle to accept this is stretched across a couple different areas. What Pushbullet's presenting isn't really an upgrade for those who pay but rather a downgrade for those who don't In short, some of the app's functionality will continue to be free - but in order to get the full set of features available to everyone today, you'll have to put 40 bucks a year into the developers' pockets. That's why I'm struggling to sort out my feelings on this morning's news that Pushbullet is shifting to a 'freemium'-style model as of December 1st.

Pushbullet pro free