[CLZ News] Version 5.0 for all CLZ mobile apps + Coming up in Core: comic pricing and game hardware!

This is CLZ Alwin, with the CLZ Newsletter for June 2019.
Sytske and I just returned from a 7-day road trip to the south of France, so this newsletter is arriving in your inbox a few days later than normal. But we’re back at the CLZ HQ now and ready to roll!

These are exciting times, as we have finally started releasing the version 5 updates for the CLZ mobile apps (CLZ Music 5.0 and CLZ Books 5.0 are live, with the other 3 coming up soon!).

Next to that, we are close to the launch of two huge updates to our Core online databases for comics and games, which will enable us to finally release THE most often requested features for our comic and game database solutions. Read on for the big news!

Today’s topics:

• Version 5.0 for all CLZ mobile apps:
  • Starting with v5, these are subscription apps, at $1.49 / month
  • Now live: CLZ Books 5.0 and CLZ Music 5.0 for Android and iOS
  • Coming up: v5.0 for CLZ Movies, CLZ Games and CLZ Comics
• Coming up: Get Comic Pricing from Core, powered by GoCollect.com
• Coming up: Add Hardware from Core & Add Games by Platform

Version 5.0 for all CLZ mobile apps:

Starting with v5, these are subscription apps, at $1.49 / month

To allow us to keep delivering our CLZ online services (CLZ Cloud and CLZ Core) and our continuous updates to the app, all CLZ mobile apps will become subscription apps, costing:

• US $1.49 per month, when paying monthly
• US $14.99 per year, when paying yearly (~ US $1.25 per month)

For new users, this subscription gives them access to the CLZ online services:

• CLZ Core: for adding new entries from Core (by Title, by Barcode, etc..)
• CLZ Cloud: for online backups, online sharing and syncing between devices.

IMPORTANT: Of course, if you have purchased the app before v5, you will be “grandfathered”, that is, you will automatically receive a “Basic”-level app unlock, which gives you access to your existing CLZ Core and CLZ Cloud services.
You do not need to pay for a subscription! In other words, the app now being a subscription app has no effect on you whatsoever! 🙂

Optional “Premium” Services:
We will introduce new “premium” CLZ services, that will not be included in the “grandfathered” Basic app unlock. To use these new Premium services, you will need to upgrade to a regular paid subscription.
For CLZ Books and CLZ Music, there are no premium services yet, but for the movie, game and comic editions, several new Premium Services will be available when v5.0 launches (see below).

Now live: CLZ Books 5.0 and CLZ Music 5.0 for Android and iOS

The v5.0 release for CLZ Books and CLZ Music are already live, for both iOS and Android. Just update your app through the App Store or Play Store.
Here’s what’s new in version 5:

• Now supports and syncs multiple collections !
  The app now supports multiple collections within your database. Just create them from the menu and switch between them.
  Of course, multiple collections created in the Connect or desktop editions now fully sync to the mobile apps too.

• Automatic cloud-syncing of your own “custom” images
  No more need to manually “Upload Cover to CLZ Cloud”, just toggle the Custom Image box in the Edit screen and it will upload automatically the next time you sync.

• Re-designed top-bar and main menu
  Several changes to make the top bar and main menu more attractive and logical.

Coming up: v5.0 for CLZ Movies, CLZ Games and CLZ Comics

We are currently finalizing the CLZ Movies 5.0 (ETA within 2 weeks). CLZ Games will follow about 2 weeks later, then roughly 4 weeks before the CLZ Comics release.

Here’s a sneak preview of what will be new:
( “Premium” indicates an online service that requires a paid subscription )

• New in CLZ Movies 5.0:
  • Get IMDb Number of Votes from Core (Premium)
  • Update IMDb Ratings & Votes from Core (Premium)
  • Add Movies by IMDb Number/URL (Premium)
  • Now supports and syncs multiple collections
  • Automatic cloud-syncing of your own “custom” images
  • Re-designed top-bar and main menu
• New in CLZ Games 5.0:
  • Add Hardware from Core, by Title or Barcode (Premium)
    (more info below)

  • Add Games by Platform (Premium)
    (more info below)

  • New Audience Rating field.
  • Now supports and syncs multiple collections
  • Automatic cloud-syncing of your own “custom” images
  • Re-designed top-bar and main menu
• New in CLZ Comics 5.0:
  • Get comic pricing from Core, powered by GoCollect.com (Premium)
    (more info below)

  • New pricing related fields: Grade, Slabbed vs Raw, Grading Company, Grader Notes, Signed By, Is Key Comic (yes/no), Key Reason
  • Other new editable fields: Plot, Nr of Pages, Genres, Country, Language
  • Now supports and syncs multiple collections
  • Automatic cloud-syncing of your own “custom” images
  • Re-designed top-bar and main menu

Coming up: Get Comic Pricing from Core, powered by GoCollect.com

Yes, it is really going to happen! After being a daily feature request for many years, our comic database tools are finally going to deliver comic pricing automatically, thanks to our new collaboration with the popular GoCollect.com comic book price guide.

Here’s what to expect in the upcoming updates of Comic Connect, Comic Collector and CLZ Comics:

• Get comic pricing from Core, powered by GoCollect.com
  Find out which are the most valuable comics in your collection.
  • Note that GoCollect pricing is based on CGC/CBCS graded comics.
  • Also, their pricing is based on actual transactions on eBay and other auction sites. This is an excellent way to determine reliable and up-to-date values, but of course means that it can not provide values for *all* your comics. (no recent transactions means the value is unknown)
• New pricing related fields will be added:
  Grade, Slabbed vs Raw, Grading Company, Grader Notes, Signed By, Is Key Comic (yes/no), Key Reason.

• New fields for Cloud/Connect/CLZ Comics:
  Plot, Nr of Pages, Genres, Country, Language.

Important: the downloading of comic pricing will be introduced as a “Premium” Core service, meaning that you will always need an active Subscription / Service Plan to use it.

Coming up: Add Hardware from Core & Add Games by Platform

Updates for all 3 of our game cataloging solutions (Game Collector, Game Connect and CLZ Games) are coming up soon, addressing two feature requests that we have been hearing more and more lately:

• Add Hardware from Core:
  Add consoles and accessories from Core, by name or by barcode and automatically get Box Image, Device Image, Description, etc…
  • Note that our Core game hardware database is a work in progress. We currently have close to 1500 console editions listed and just over 500 controllers.
    As we continue to work on the database, it will become more and more complete. For now, we’d love to hear your feedback about missing entries!
• Add Games by Platform:
  A new “by Platform” tab in the Add Games screen will offer a new, quicker way of adding games, by just selecting from a full list of all games on a platform.
  The list will also show which games you already own, making it a perfect tool for platform completionists.

Important: both Add Hardware from Core and Add Game by Platform will be introduced as “Premium” Core services, meaning that you will always need an active Subscription / Service Plan to use them.

Enjoy!