Bento 2 upgrade policy
I have been using Filemaker’s Bento for a few months now and it has worked well for me. I purchased it for $49 and although I don’t think it is worth more I was happy with the purchase. It is basically a dumbed down easy to use Database application that tightly integrates with Mac OSX applications. Because it does not have Professional Database capabilities it does not have a Professional Database price. 48 Days after my purchase they released Version 2. Unlike almost all other applications, Filemaker did not offer any discounted upgrade price. Bento 2 has a few upgrades and a lot of bug fixes, but it is not worth an additional $49. This upgrade came less than a year since the release of the software. There are a few that are saying it’s only $50 bucks what’s the big deal. The big deal is that this is consumer level software which averages $20 – $30. This certainly does not compare with it’s big brother Filemaker which has a professional level price. It is not a professional app, and $100 in 10 months is certainly far too high of a price for what you get. I will be using the original application for a few existing databases that I need until next summer, but new data will find a home in a different app
(Update FileMaker Response)
You can be assured that all of us at FileMaker are aware that some existing Bento users are disappointed about the fact that we have not provided an upgrade pricing path for Bento 2. We regret that you, along with these users, are disappointed. We firmly believe that Bento is very fairly priced at just $49 and is a great value for the price. Our decision to forego an upgrade pricing program is modeled after Apple’s iWork/iLife program, which, as you may know, does not offer an upgrade pricing program.
Kevin Mallon
Sr. Public Relations Manager
FileMaker, Inc.
I do take issue with the ilife comparison because iLife because it comes free on every Mac so it’s only pricing is upgrade pricing. I would be happy to pay for the upgrade if the first version came free. As for iWork they are correct, Apple also has a poor pricing policy. But they also have educational discounts, perhaps filemaker could follow Apples lead and offer educational discounts for Bento.
Here are a few recommended alternatives for Bento 2:
Yojimbo from barebones software. Barebones has provided great products, at reasonable prices for many years. The retail price is $39 and they have an eductional discount for $29
http://www.barebones.com/products/Yojimbo/
Circus Ponies NoteBook 3.0
It’s not exactly the same but gets many of the Jobs that Bento is used for done. It also has some other cool features. They do offer upgrade pricing, and if your purchases in 2008 the upgrade is free. see there are a few companies that care about their customers. Retail $49 Academic $29
http://www.circusponies.com/store/
Process 3.0.5
Jumsoft Business Trio
This trio of applications can do anything you would want’s to do in Bento and much much more. It is a little more $59 but you get a lot more. They also have educational discounts, but you must contact them directly,because they do not publish the educational price.
http://www.jumsoft.com/businesstrio/
Kexi
If you need a powerful yet easy to use alternative to Filemaker or for Windows users you can’t beat Kexi. Kexi is open source and free to use. It has about the same learning curve as Filemaker, and just as much power. It is great.
http://www.kexi-project.org/about.html
Panorama from Provue
If you need a Professional alternative to Filemaker that has the professional support you need Panorama from Provue is your answer. It is easy to learn and very powerful. and with a generous 45 day trial you have plenty of time to figure it out.
http://www.provue.com/index.html
It is clear that there are a lot of alternatives when it comes to organizing your data. There is no need to support poor companies like Filemaker and there pathetic policies regarding upgrades. Join me in moving to better companies, and put our money in the hands good companies that value their customers. Filemaker will not receive another penny from me until they change their upgrade policies.
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