I have some sympathy for both sides of this argument.
The expectations on price and features of the iOS community are unbelievably high and the pricing model Apple has forced developers to live with is a very strange one, payment up front for a potential life times use?! This means that when Apps are no longer generating sufficient new users they risk disappearing and we the consumer lose the continued development of Apps we love. The alternative is full payment for each version or a mountain of IAP’s!
Cubasis was released with a reasonable feature set. Audio tracks and ACP as standard and the promise of Audiobus relatively quickly after release. Few other sequencers have had this mix on their release and some have taken a long time to get there. On the other hand Cubasis was released into a more mature market and there are a few issues that have set Steinberg up to be knocked down.
I have seen those emails about getting Cubase 7 features included (though there needs to be some differentiation where the argument is that the feature would fit well with implimentation to a touch screen environment) but I think the main frustration comes form the relatively basic things that Cubasis doesn’t do. The interface looks great but the midi editing features are basic, the lack of controller automation, the relatively poor quality of the instruments and effects, the lack of a real synth or sampler, or even drum pads, were disappointments. Had this been in an App at $9.99 and pitched as a stripped back environment for improved creative work flow that might have been fine. To pitch it at premium App territory, against Auria, Beatmaker, and Meteor without key features or a clear roadmap of the features that will be developed for our initial investment, isn’t an ideal way to deal with your customers.
In addition giving it the “Cubasis” handle is going to lead to a level of expectation that may or may not be unreasonable…
I’ve barely touched my laptop over the last two years, for the same reason I moved from hardware to a desktop, then desktop to laptop, and now laptop to touch screen. The iPad fits into the shape of my life better and the time I have to make music. At this stage I don’t expect Cubase 7 but like many other I’d like a piece of software that lets me take a project from begining to end on one device and that interfaces well with all my other Apps…and I’m willing to pay for it!