TransKey - Chat Translator App 4+

Great app, not so great system

So first off, I’d just like to say I REALLY like this keyboard app. It’s quick, useful, and easy to use. It definitely has something going for it. My problem is the whole “Premium” thing. Now, I understand having premium in-app purchases, but I feel they should limit the amount of characters you use. I would personally prefer something like a restriction on the languages, rather than the characters. I.E., me and my friend where texting in Swedish, having fun. Then, I ran out of characters, keeping me from communicating with my friend in Swedish w/ our the use of google translate or another app. In conclusion, I can see that this article p has a bright future, but that character limit REALLY has an effect on non premium users. Thank you for reading this review.

Developer Response ,

Thank you for your exhaustive feedback!

I understand you were unable to finish texting your friend in Swedish due to the character limit on the free tier. To clarify, the free tier is limited to 180-characters per day. This is about 6 translations, depending on the length of your messages. This is sufficient for most casual users.

For more frequent users, the Premium tier allows for unlimited higher-quality translations. Billed yearly, the price is around $0.8/ month, or less than 1/5th a small coffee mocha at Starbucks each month. I priced it as cheap as I could to allow as many people as possible access to this technology. I would love to give it out for free, but unfortunately that is not sustainable given I have to pay for each translation made, Premium or not.

In addition, you can also get Premium entirely for free by sharing the app with friends. For each friend you refer, you get a full week of TransKey Premium!

I will look into other monetization options to cater to more users like yourself, who may not use the app frequently, but a lot when they do. One option could be to put the character-cap on the free tier per-week instead of per-day. Please stay on the lookout for future updates of TransKey that may introduce such changes.

Hope this helps! If you have any further questions or comments, please feel free to reach me directly at hello@alekapps.xyz.

Best,
Aleksander.

Small bug

I’d like to start off by saying that I love this app and use it pretty consistently. I’d totally upgrade to premium...if I weren’t broke. I am not here to complain about the fact that I must pay which seems to be the other reviews as I’ve read and completely understand that this comes out of your own pocket. My issue is that there’s what I can only assume is a glitch in my app. I have full access allowed for TransKey but when I go to translate and try to select a language it appears blank. Even when I’m selecting a language for a slot that already has one filled in. Say English as it is the base for me. If I tap on it it brings up the language selector but has no languages filled in. I understand that you may have moved away from this and may no longer be supporting it. So please let me know.

Thank you for the fantastic service!

Has a lot of potential

First, the creator of this app is very responsive and helpful. That is a huge plus in itself. I am changing my rating to 5 stars for that reason.

If you converse in other languages much, the easy use and capabilities of this app make it an excellent option. The free use is very limited, but the premium service is reasonably priced if you will use it regularly. Just be aware in advance of exactly what you are gettin: premium is a monthly or yearly fee. Don’t rate the app lower because you have to pay for the service—that’s how the app works. It’s the free part that is the extra. And it’s waaaay cheaper than most “in-app purchase” apps.

$1.99/month or less than $1/month if paid yearly...for unlimited easy, in-app translations and a developer who responds well? Definitely worth the cost in my opinion.

Developer Response ,

Thank you for your feedback, and I'm sorry TransKey did not live up to your expectations.

By default, you get 180 free characters per day. On average, this is about 6 translations (depends on the length of your messages). While sufficient for most, I also offer a Premium tier that features unlimited higher-quality translations.

I have tried to make this as affordable as possible, and offer two payment plans:
• The first is billed monthly at $1.99 (depending on your App Store country), and allows you to cancel and resubscribe at any time.
• The next is billed yearly at an effective rate of ~$0.8 per month. This is more similar to an up-front price, in that you pay once and don't have to think about it again. There is also a 1-week free trial, so you can give it a try and cancel at any point before it renews to avoid being charged.

At less than 1/5th the price of a small Caffe Mocha at Starbucks, I believe this option to be a great value.
However, you can also get TransKey Premium entirely for free by sharing the app with friends! For each person who downloads using your link, you get a full week of TransKey Premium. To get started, open the TransKey companion app and select "Refer Friends" in the main menu.

Hope this helps! If you have any further questions or comments, please feel free to reach me directly at hello@alekapps.xyz.

Best,
Aleksander.