We just released an update to eWallet that improves support for customers using BlackBerry OS 6.0 devices and for customers who are using Desktop Manager 6.0. If you’ve run into problems using eWallet 7 with either of these RIM updates, the newly released versions should clear things up for you.
If you install the update, please install the updates for both Windows PC and BlackBerry.
Just download the latest versions from our site. Typically, eWallet will pick up your registration codes from previous installations, but if for any reason it doesn’t, the eWallet 7 codes you received with your purchase will unlock the software. If you no longer have your codes, you can request them here.
I’m in the middle of a major software release right now so I’ll make this quick. I apologize that I can’t respond to all your comments individually, but considering how many of them there are, that simply isn’t possible. So - let’s get started…
Thanks!
First let me say thanks to everyone who posted their support. We really appreciate it and we are working very hard to live up to your expectations. The new release is a pretty big deal and I think you’ll all like it. In fact I think you’ll REALLY like it. So thanks for your kind words and we hope you like eWallet 7.0!
eWallet 7.0 Will Be Out Tuesday
eWallet 7.0 will be out tomorrow morning. This was the planned release date all along and we’re sticking to it.
More after the jump!
Why Did iPhone Come Out First?
Ask Apple! Our last update took 4 weeks to get approved. This one? 4 days. Seriously. We wanted them to come out pretty close (or at least have the desktop version out first) and we thought our timing was pretty good but once again Apple proved us wrong. What can I tell you - we’re at their mercy on this and we have absolutely zero control over when they release our software. It sucks. They should let us choose a date to go live once they approve it.
I Have to Pay to Upgrade?
As it says in the update notes for iPhone version, the upgrade to eWallet 7.0 on desktop may be a paid upgrade if you purchased more than 90 days ago. The price is going to be our usual $10.00 upgrade price, but with this release you’re getting something extra as well. More on that tomorrow.
I Don’t Want to Pay to Upgrade!
If you don’t want to upgrade, then you don’t have to. We’ll continue to support our previous versions just like we always have. Heck – we’ve got a couple of eWallet 2.0 users we still take calls from now and then. So if you fall outside the 90 days and you don’t want to pay to upgrade, feel free to keep using the previous version.
I Already Upgraded My iPhone and Don’t Want to Pay to Upgrade! I’m sorry. We made it extremely clear in the upgrade information that you may be required to purchase an upgrade to the desktop version. I’m very sorry if you didn’t read that before you upgraded. Update information really is very important and worth reading.Although Apple doesn’t provide you with any way to backup to an older version (although they should) there are some work-arounds out there in google searches. Here is one that Pierre posted in the blog comments here:
You can revert back to your iPhone e-wallet version 6. You need to look at your Recycle bin and check for ewallet.ipa. It should be 2.8meg. Delete your version 7 in iphone and itune. Double click ewallet.ipa and reconfigure sync. Back to normal.
Keep in mind that this is a non-supported function. I can make no promises about how well this will work. UPDATE: OK, so in talking to folks we discovered that our perfectly clear message was anything but. In fact it was a bit misleading. Please check out the NEXT blog post for an update on that - we’re working very hard on a solution to help out folks who are having trouble now or who don’t want to upgrade. Again, sorry about that!Just Send Me the Old Version If I send you the old version today, we’ll be kicked off the AppStore tomorrow and there won’t be an eWallet for iPhone. Apple won’t let us do that. Period. In fact they don’t even give us a way to get software onto your device outside of iTunes.
You Shouldn’t Charge For Upgrades!
Not charging is not a sustainable business model for a product like eWallet. New sales alone don’t cover the costs for development of major changes in functionality. We have to charge for upgrades.
You Should Have There was lots of advice in the blog comments. Some constructive - some not. I can’t answer all of them here but we thought - carefully - through pretty much every idea you posted. For any number of reasons they wouldn’t work, with reasons ranging from the limits of the AppStore to economic suicide. We truly did choose what we believed was the best possible path for this process in an environment where we have less and less control over that very same process.
Mac? Mac? MAC!!??
I’ve got something for you - not exactly what you’re expecting but I think you’ll like it! Check back tomorrow!
Since a lot of questions about platforms and release plans have come up in the other blog posts, I thought I’d take a second to write a quick update. I hope this helps to answer some of your questions! Keep in mind that in many cases I won’t be able to give specifics, but I will do my best to tell you what I can.
So, if you want some insight into what’s happening at Ilium Software, read on after the jump!
Wait! What? Why no specifics?
A few reasons. The main one is that there is a lot of stuff I’m not allowed to tell you. We have NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements) with a lot of people, and the work we’re doing is almost always covered under one of these. I’m just not allowed to tell you some of the things I’d like to.
Also, I recently compared this job to doing improv. The nature of our market means that everything is changing all the time these days. Trying to get specific about something that hasn’t happened just causes problems when circumstances change (and then I can’t explain why due to the first issue I mentioned!)
A Note on Etiquette
I know people have some strong feelings about our products, and sometimes that comes out in blog comments. If I feel that a comment really isn’t constructive or isn’t civil, I will remove it. For a long time I never did this, but I’ve found that there are a lot of people who want to talk about these things but get turned off by too much “passion” so I want this to be an environment where they can be heard.
That said, if you have a “passionate” comment you’d like to make - just email me personally and I’ll reply to you. Send it to info@iliumsoft.com and put Attn: Marc in the subject.
So without further ado, on with the show…
eWallet for Mac: Let’s jump right in shall we? Here is the status:
We’re still planning to release it!
We already gave a version to a high level beta team to play with.
I’m expecting a new build within the next couple weeks.
I personally think it rocks.
This is quite literally ALL I can tell you right now. Again - we’re not posting this to convince people to hold out for it - we’re just letting you know what’s up!
eWallet for iPhone: We’ve heard your requests and we’re working on it! As you know we added Copy & Paste recently, and just last week we released eWallet Lite.
eWallet for Windows, Windows Mobile, and BlackBerry: All of these platforms are getting attention right now. I can’t say much more but we’re pretty excited about what is in store and we think you’ll like the results.
ListPro for iPhone: Here is the rundown:
It’s still in development.
A version exists that we’re using in-house.
Creating a good sync solution is still a VERY challenging issue.
We’ve set our sites farther than the “read only” solution we talked about a long time ago.
Like eWallet for Mac, this is ALL I can say about this right now.
Windows Mobile: We did a lot of behind the scenes work getting the Windows Mobile applications ready for Marketplace and we’re quite happy with how that is going. We have additional updates in the works and are very happy with the platform (from a developer and sales perspective.)
Android: Look, I like Android a lot but so far it hasn’t proven itself as a strong market for software development. We already have a lot on our plate and developing versions of our products for other platforms is a HUGE task. It eats up lots of time and lots of money. As a result we need confidence in the platform if we’re going to embrace it. So far, despite its good points, I still don’t have confidence in Android. That could change but I’m still in a wait-and-see mode.
Palm’s WebOS: Palm is a fighter - I’ll give them that. Unfortunately, none of the things I’ve talked about in the past regarding Palm have changed, and although they are seeing moderate success with their application market, it has a long way to go before it’s a strong competitor. Like Android, I’m watching this one close but so far we haven’t committed one way or another on WebOS.
NewsBreak for : We don’t have plans for other versions of NewsBreak right now but the requests keep coming in so we’re leaving our options open!
ADDED 10-21-09 eWallet Web Companion: Yes, the EWC (as we’ve taken to calling it around here) is still in the works. We ended up delaying it for a number of reasons. The main thing that happened was eWallet for Mac/ListPro for iPhone came back in-house. The resources only stretch so far. There are other reasons as well, inluding some work going on with the normal version of eWallet that could impact the EWC (in a good way!) So yes - we still want to make this a reality but it remains in Beta for now.
I’m sure I’ve skipped things people want to know about so feel free to post them below!
Endgadget reported that BlackBerry’s AppWorld now has 2,000 apps in it. Unfortunately, eWallet isn’t one of them. We submitted eWallet, but it turns out AppWorld won’t accept any applications that encrypt files. You got it - according to the terms of their contract, we can’t get eWallet into the BlackBerry AppWorld store.
Note - you can get eWallet for Blackberry - just not in RIM’s AppWorld. Get it directly from us here.
We definitely tried. We bent over backwards to get it in. We even had a number of protracted phone calls with RIM (with their lawyers even!)
No go. We’re locked out.
I’m not sure what the reasoning is for this. It sounds like there’s a concern about the export restrictions on the strong encryption we use. We hope it will change. But it certainly doesn’t make me want to go through a lot of trouble making more BlackBerry applications.
This isn’t how you woo developers RIM! In this market, there isn’t room for this sort of thing. Revise those guidelines!
We just released an update to eWallet that improves support for customers using BlackBerry OS 6.0 devices and for customers who are using Desktop Manager 6.0. If you’ve run into problems using eWallet 7 with either of these RIM updates, the newly released versions should clear things up for you.
I’m in the middle of a major software release right now so I’ll make this quick. I apologize that I can’t respond to all your comments individually, but considering how many of them there are, that simply isn’t possible. So - let’s get started…
Since a lot of questions about platforms and release plans have come up in the other blog posts, I thought I’d take a second to write a quick update. I hope this helps to answer some of your questions! Keep in mind that in many cases I won’t be able to give specifics, but I will do my best to tell you what I can.
Endgadget reported