One OS Restriction is a big turn off for me

Not my responsibility to respond however that issue is one for Apple and Google.
They are the ones that require separate purchases, no ExplorOz.

Also note that your Offline Maps and ExplorOz Membership ARE a one time purchase that will work on both iOS and Android.. so yes you do need to purchase the App for both platforms but not the offline maps. I've done exactly that - and purchased it for Windows too.

The App is really quite a small cost.

I bought Wiki Camps for Android when I was using a Samsung tablet. I have now gone to the dark side and bought an IPad. If I want to use Wiki, I have to buy another copy, it is not transferable. Obviously not unique to Exploroz.

Maybe David and Michelle should jump in an explain why it is set up as it is.

I see nothing wrong with the OS restriction, the software writer has developed the software to run on apple for instance. Apple software does not run on Android so they have to rewrite the software to run on Android. Same for PC apple and andoid don't run on Windows so a new version of software has to be written.

Ozieplorer is the same, pay one fee for PC, one for Windows CE and one for Andriod, the advantage with Ozi though is it is one fee for life of the software and he tracks it, ie you don't have to keep receipts proof of purchase etc, just email and indicate you have upgraded your device and he sends you a new licence. Cna't remember how many licecnce keys I have been through since I purchased the original sofware.

I don't see a problem with the way that works. I have many apps on our 2 phones & tablet.
Just stuck with one operating system across the board.
All the Apps I have purchased work like that so I guess the people who build the different operating systems want you to use their operating system. It's just the way free marketing works.
Traveller app is certainly not expensive for what it does.
Engineering & medical software that costs tens of thousands of dollars requires an annual fee & only works on 1 device. Some software is locked to the CPU serial number so it can ONLY be used on the installed PC.
Then see what happens in this situation when the computer is stolen! The PC cost is insignificant. Trust me I know from experience.
Cheers
Stu

Just another few things to note.
I used to get asked why our software costed so much compared to say Microsoft software.
There was only a small market to sell to so the R&D costs were shared by a lot less customers compared to Microsoft that sell millions of copies all over the world.
In addition some specialised software requires engineers, medical experts & mathematicians to work in conjunction with the programmers. Of course this likely is not the case with the Traveller App.
In order for David & Michelle to run a profitable business they have to abide by the rules & set the price in order to put food on the table but still come in at a price that people will pay for it. Unlike Microsoft they have a limited market to do this.
As my boss used to say. "Nothing is FREE it just means someone else has to pay for it."
Cheers
Stu

Hey Rob,

The situation you're describing is common across all app stores worldwide. The dominant players, Google and Apple, exert significant control over:

-Customers
-Developers
-Device manufacturers

Apple and Google are competitors and they raced to dominate the smartphone market, with Apple launching its app store in 2007 a year before Google's Android platform. Their business models differ significantly and profoundly affect how devices and apps/games are developed.

Apple tightly controls its ecosystem—only Apple devices can run iOS, iPadOS, and MacOS. They incentivized developers early on to create apps for their devices, opening up new business opportunities for creators, both small and large.

Google, on the other hand, made the Android operating system software open-source, allowing any manufacturer to use and modify it for their devices. This opened up another whole arm of business - device manufacturing. Whilst Google also incentivized developers to build apps for their store, they had to catch up with Apple's head start so made it less stringent and in fact, many app developers prefer to build only for Android - you'll note that one of Hema's apps never made it to Apple, and was only released on Android - and that's why. It's very hard to build apps for all 3 platforms - and most don't bother.

Apps and games, whether free or paid, are monetized through ads or in-app purchases. Developers benefit from app store distribution models handling product promotion, sales, refunds, and reporting, despite the stores taking a hefty commission from each sale.

Apple and Google do not allow cross-platform sharing of apps between their ecosystems. If you buy an app for Apple devices, you can't easily transfer it to an Android device, and vice versa.

For us as a developer, creating the Traveller app in 2016 was driven by customer demand, especially from Apple device users. Unlike our previous PC-based software, the app needed to adapt to the mobile market's preferences.

Our pricing model ensures that customers only pay for what they need. Instead of bundling the cost of the app and maps together into one purchase, we keep them separate. This way, if you have both Apple and Android devices, you only need to buy the maps once and can use them across both ecosystems as an in-app extra. We also don't charge a subscription—once you buy the app, it's yours for life on that ecosystem (operating system). You can choose to upgrade maps every year or stick with the same edition for up to four years before needing an update.

Hope this clarifies things!
Regards Michelle