I’ve been a Bento user since it first came out almost a year ago and I must say, it’s awesome. For those who don’t know Bento is a simple, easy to use database with an easy to use interface. Bento makes keeping track of things like your old vinyl album collection, or your dvd library, or even your personal finances easy. A couple of swift clicks and you’ve got a database up and running. That’s why when I got the email from FileMaker, makers of Bento, that version 2 was out with bug and stability fixes, support for video and audio files in the database and the ability to work with Excel and Numbers I was stoked. There’s only one problem though, if you want to upgrade from Bento 1 to Bento 2 get out your wallet.

Pony Up
Bento 1 users wishing to upgrade to Bento 2 are being asked to pay full price of $49 for the upgrade. The Product Updates section of the FileMaker Bento website states:

“You will want to purchase a Bento 2 License Key through the FileMaker Store to continue using Bento 2 after the 30-day trial period has expired. (Bento)”

and even warns consumers to have their original Bento 1 .dmg file incase they want to downgrade again:

“This new version will overwrite and update necessary files automatically. (Please make sure you have your original Bento 1.0 installation .dmg file or CD if you choose to reinstall Bento 1.0) (Bento)”

No Service
I use many programs including Bento on a daily basis and it’s not unusual have have one or two programs update as I’m using them. But I’ve never had Bento update. That’s why I find it strange that the new version 2 of Bento:

“Resolves issues related to overall stability. (Bento)”

If the product is unstable shouldn’t these bug fixes have been pushed to consumers?

The End
I could see a brand new product being priced at full-price but since Bento 2 is obviously an upgrade to Bento 1 and contains crucial bug-fixes the logic behind asking consumers to pay full price seems strange and not a very profitable business model. I know I will not be purchasing Bento 2 anytime soon and, given their track record for charging for bug-fixes and not supporting their products, I would caution against anyone purchasing from FileMaker in general.