| Dear Beta Testers and Developers:
It's been over a year since I dispatched an email to all of you. Since then, over 7,200 people signed up (90% beta testers, and about 10% developers!)... We're going to be hitting a 10,000 users mark within just couple of months!
******* ! THANK YOU ALL FOR THIS ! *******
Today I want to tell you about 4 things: - iBetaTest needs your help to keep going
- We're moving to a new datacenter and there's a great offer for you
- An update on site development and upcoming changes
- A short update on my life and why/where I disappeared
1) Help iBetaTest keep going and you may win an iPad!
Developing and hosting iBetaTest.com still costs me a bunch of money... I always wanted to provide a FREE service to everyone, but it's getting next to impossible right now...
Here's a plee, and a deal, to raise some money and help keep iBetaTest.com FREE for users and developers, and FREE of annoying ads - as it has always been.
A plee:
All I ask from you (my beta testers and developers) is to please donate at least $2, YES - TWO BUCKS, to help the cause!
As you can tell by sheer numbers of all of you, this small amount (less than a cheapest cup of coffee) would help us make iBetaTest.com THE #1 SITE for Beta Testing mobile applications in the World and keep it FREE.
A deal:
To make this more interesting I'd like to give you something in return (besides the most awesome web site and community you'll ever be part of) I'm willing to use the funds gathered to give two lucky donors a chance to win an iPad!
The math is simple:
- If at least 1000 people (14% of our user base) donate, everyone who donated $5 or more will be entered to win the first 32GB WiFi iPad!
- If we pass 2000 donations (30% of our user base donates), ALL donors, no matter how big the donation, will be entered to win a second 32GB WiFi iPad!
- If we pass 5000 donations (70% of our user base), BOTH first and SECOND iPad will be upgraded!
Instead of 32GB WiFi iPad, both winners will be getting either 64GB WiFi or 64GB 3G iPad (as they choose!). I will ship these free of charge to the winners anywhere in the World as long as either FedEx or UPS can reach you!
2) Moving to a new data center, and a great deal for you
This week at work we launched BluemileCloud hosting platform, offering ridiculously fast Shared hosting and Virtual Private Servers. While this is great news for Bluemile - it is also VERY GOOD for iBetaTest.com.
As an employee, I managed to get 40% off for ALL OF YOU if you sign up for BluemileCloud.com hosting!
All you have to do is use Coupon Code 'IBETATEST' when you sign up, and no matter if you get 1 or 5 hosting accounts (or VPS servers) they will ALL be 40% off for as long as you'll have them!
This is a limited time offer so act fast... On the flipside, I will be moving iBetaTest.com in-house as well (and closer to heart) thus allowing it unlimited room to grow, which it really never had at a previous data center.
3) An update on site development
iBetaTest.com is based 100% on my own custom PHP framework which has been in development for over 6 YEARS! This framework is what enabled me to create iBetaTest in just one month, start to 'beta'... During the past year, my framework changed a lot and I made it even better. Because of this I have started a COMPLETE REWRITE of iBetaTest.com three weeks ago.
It is going to take me up to two months to get the web site to where I want it to be, but it will bring AWESOME new features, including all features you requested though emails and forum. Some of these include: - Support for ALL mobile platforms and devices
- Symbian, Android, Palm (WebOS), BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, etc. - Ability for users to fully manage all of their devices and change UDID codes (where applicable) without issues
- Completely redesigned Beta Tester management / communication modules
- Completely new (and separate) Reports Module for Developer <--> Beta tester communication about the app
- Automated monitoring for user device changes so developers can know when they need to provision new user's devices
- In-house developed forums with better ties to the whole iBetaTest site than our 3rd party integration
- Free email addresses for developers @devs.ibetatest.com (and @testers.ibetatest.com for beta testers) so that we do not have any more issues with email deliveries, or testers not being able to directly reply to developer emails
- Everyone with this email address will also be able to connect to our chat servers where developers and beta testers can all talk via IM
- Email notifications of posts/replies in Reports Module for both developers and testers (opt out available of course)
- Application groups and way better search / display of all apps available for beta testing
- Module for developers to graduate their apps OUT of beta, and post them in the App SpotLight with couple of simple clicks
- Integrated payment system so that those beta testers who do not have PayPal accounts or are from other countries can still get paid by iBetaTest.com sending them a check or wiring money on behalf of developer
- And of course, finally, a true Beta Testers rating system so everyone can see who's who - and developers can pick and choose with ease from best of the best!
There's WAY more being worked on, but I'll mention just TWO more things, and these are really cool: - iBetaTest.com MOBILE web site
- and iBetaTest.com iPhone / iPad APP
Both of these will include all feature of the full web site!
4) A short update on my life
As you may have noticed, reality of life kicked in and the development of iBetaTest.com slowly came to a halt, even though our user-base continued to grow.
The reason for this was that I had to leave the freelance web-dev world and start working full-time at Bluemile Networks, where I've been for the past year. It took me all this time to get things I'm in charge of at Bluemile under some kind of grasp - and now life seems to be going back to normal.
Development on iBetaTest.com has resumed but with your help we'll get there even faster!
~~ FINAL WORDS ~~
When money is being donated, everyone usually asks what will the person do with the money he/she gets. Here's what I'll do:
- I'll live from it, and pay my bills, so that I can completely dedicate all my free time to developing iBetaTest.com and not have to accept extra web-dev projects outside my full-time job
- I'll pay web hosting fees with this money
- I'll use it to activate the most aggressive Advertising campaign when new, redesigned, iBetaTest.com launches
- I'll use it to lure more developers and applications onto the site so we can have more apps/games to test
- I'll buy the lucky two of you reading this email an iPad ;)
- And if this really turns out to be a great campaign, I'll use the funds to establish an "iPod/iPhone a month giveaway" for best beta testers out there (more details on this soon)
Oh, and OF COURSE! I'll spend some of it on DP Dough Calzones just couple of blocks from where I work :) Man's gotta eat!
That's all for this newsletter! I really hope you are excited about the upcoming site rewrite and updates as I am. I trully hope Bluemile Cloud discount turns out to be just the thing at least some of you wanted. Since I mentioned Bluemile on Twitter couple of days ago, 34 of you had already signed up! That's awesome! Spread the word, too! ANYONE can use IBETATEST coupon for Bluemile Cloud (give it to your friends and family), and remember - all of them can donate too and enter to win an iPad! Good luck, and if you read this whole newsletter, WOW, THANK YOU! If you have any questions, as always, just hit the REPLY button and get in touch with me! All best, Petar Smilajkov - Peconi iBetaTest.com Developer |
Quick links - CLICK TO DONATE - Get 40% Hosting Discount - Log into the system - View all developers - View all testers
Bluemile Cloud - 40% OFF gives you: - $7.77: Unlimited Shared Hosting - $37: 2GB VPS, 80GB HDD - http://bluemilecloud.com
All your help is GREATLY appreciated!
THANK YOU!
Big thanks to Bluemile for Sponsoring iBetaTest and giving our users this great discount!
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