Speaking as a consumer, I usually use Google to see what kind of products are out there, and I'll always give the free ones a try if they look good. I don't generally like shareware with a trial period that disables everything, and certainly in your case the free competition will completely destroy you if you go down that route (VLC, Quicktime, Windows Media Player, etc).
Donations are good, but they really require an existing fan base to work. You can always switch to that option later. I think the best option left is to have it free but with a trial for premium features. That gives the user a chance to try out the full product, rather than (from their perspective) taking a risk with their money.
Donations are good, but they really require an existing fan base to work. You can always switch to that option later. I think the best option left is to have it free but with a trial for premium features. That gives the user a chance to try out the full product, rather than (from their perspective) taking a risk with their money.
