More than one little birdies told us today that FileMaker Pro 10 will be released on January 5, 2009 at a suggested retail price of US$299, upgrade price of $179, and a 5 user license pack for $1196.
FileMaker Pro 10 Advanced will go for a SRP of $499, $299 for upgraders.
FileMaker Server 10, also due on January 5th will retail for $999, $599 for upgraders.
FIleMaker Server 10 Advanced will sell for $2999, upgrade price is $1799.
According to our source, there will now be a new license option offered for FileMaker Pro: an annual license that will expire and must be renewed.
For those making spots on shelves, the boxes for the each of the software titles mentioned above will measure 7.5″ x 5.25″ x 1.75″.
We have no information about features in the products at this time.
How about asking your little birdies what new features will be included with FM 10? Who cares that it will be released if you don’t tell us what it will included.
Filemaker really needs to get the price down on their products or make an intermediate product between Bento and Filemaker. I like Bento, but it’s just single user. They’re just too expensive for small companies to adopt. Hopefully we’ll see Bento Pro of Bento SMB soon!
Of course, they’ll have to make it cross-platform then, too.
Man, I need to pay more attention when I type these things! Sorry for the typos, earlier.
Filemaker is too expensive, not Bento.
…Bento Pro OR Bento SMB…
I think that I’m going cross-eyed from working at computers all day!
Filemaker need to make sure that upgrades are actually worthwhile.
For years they’ve made modest improvements and charged around half the full price for each upgrade.
I’ve now given up on FM, even though I’ve used it for close to twenty years. I upgraded to FM5.5 to get OS X compatibility, but they’ve added very little that appeals to me since then. However they won’t allow any sort of upgrade to the new version from 5.5, so I’d have to buy it all over again at full price. It’s just not worth it for what my company uses it for.
They can’t make Bento a more universal product. It’s Leopard-only, which rules out Windows.
Filemaker isn’t THAT expensive, though it’s too bad they raised the upgrade price $30. I skipped 9. So now I’ll pick up 10 since it’s a while since I upgraded, and I’m using it more at work these days.
@AlanAudio:
You’re a moron and don’t know what you’re talking about. They’ve added very little since FM 5.5? Um, yeah, I don’t even think you should be allowed to be using FileMaker. They’ve changed just about EVERYTHING since FM 5.5, not to mention the *COMPLETE REWRITE* of the product from the ground up with FM 7.0 that took 4 years to complete.
I’ve seen the box. All I noticed was a totally new UI. Very Bento-like and Leopard-like.
I agree – their pricing policies seem outdated. FM is just too expensive to deploy anymore in a small biz setting (let’s say under 50 employees). The interface (which I hear changed for v10) was ancient. That’s what happens when there is no credible competition in a given space.
And the last time I looked at Bento it didn’t even do 1-M. Has that changed?
AlanAudio:
There are many of us (several thousand full-timers) who are very successfully building compelling solutions in FileMaker for small business. And in my case, the solutions are very cost effective for the clients. I make my clients money. The cost of the FileMaker license is not even an issue. You need a professional developer… then your tune will change.
I am the type to upgrade every time and if the UI looks like Bento- then my cash is out the door on day one. I’m developing like crazy for my own business and anything to speed things along like Bento’s UI does would be a welcome change.
I hate to say it, but my major client uses Windows and MS Access for their database and they aren’t about to switch to Filemaker for one little supplier like me.
I’ve tried everything over the years to import their data into Filemaker, work with it and then export it back etc etc etc and they won’t go for it anymore.
So…
As much as we are a Mac-only shop (10 people), we are going to have to put windows and MS Access on every machine if we want to keep our major client.
I HATE windows. I gave up our last Windows-only machine 2 years ago and now this.
No new upgrade of Filemaker for us. Windows and Access will take the money.
what about iPhone compatability????
There is iPhone and iPod touch compatibility check out FMTouch. Also FileMaker works great as a web based app on the iPhone as well.
@ Stephen Knight
Not disparaging FMTouch (as I am an avid user of it and appreciate it greatly!), but I really think of all companies, Filemaker should have been one of the first out there with an iPhone/iTouch application. Instead of FMWebSchool having to figure things out and have an “almost” good enough solution, Filemaker should create something that works seamlessly and fluidly with Filemaker. As for the web solution, it is too slow and obviously not available when disconnected from the internet.
Come on Filemaker, make us proud with version 10 !
I’ve purchased all the updates since v7, and I have been very disappointed in the last two upgrades.
The lack of true Leopard compatibility and the tons of bugs has been a disappointment.
The real tragedy has been the interface and lack of innovation. You’d think as an Apple company, FileMaker could do a lot better.
I really hope v10 is a fresh start. A modern interface. Really powerful. Tools to build modern UI’s. And quality and speed.
FileMaker updates, not FMTouch, just to clarify things. The main updates for FileMaker 10 are:
Script Triggering – native support for running scripts when events occur.
ESS-related enhancements
Ability to see sub summaries in browse mode not just preview mode
Something I still am not used to is the status area is now at the top of the screen – not on the left side.
Import and Export With Excel 2007/2008
This one is nice – it gives you the ability to send mail via an SMTP mail server without a plug-in.
And a big one for Mac users is it now remembers the target printer.
There are a few other things such as additional fonts, support for IPv6, and tab enhancements. I’m sure I missed a few but to some people this may definitely be worth an upgrade.
As an amateur, I’ve been using Filemaker since Filemaker 2, and if the truth be known, I don’t use it for much these days. However in the past I developed a solution for a local museum, that now holds over 100,000 photos and associated archive information, and is regularly seen and accessed by the public. This solution was passed onto another museum and demonstrated at regional museum levels.
I have tried to upgrade regularly, and run 8.5 and would love to buy version 10. However I now find that the upgrade price is nearly two thirds of the full price.
Is Filemaker 10 a 66% improvement in functionality, I think not. It still does not have one or two features I could use on the original AppleWorks running on the Apple II!
I fear Filemaker Inc. are in danger of alienating all the good amateurs, who can spread the word at the grass roots levels, and after many years of enjoyment from the use of Filemaker I now feel resentment that as a British ‘Pensioner’ I am excluded from its continued use and will have to rely on Bento; what ever that it is!