Do other unions run on the same break pattern? I don't have an iphone or an emulator - can anyone who owns it confirm if the app could be reconfigured to count down other timeframes so that it could be useful for other unions? If not, the limitation has to be a deliberate choice in counterpoint to Matthew's paradox: there are so few of us that it is impossible to please us all. Our individual voices are still to loud. Stys can't satisfy all of the stage managers but we've got a reasonable shot at satisfying a small subset of them.
This was my first thought when seeing this app mentioned. AGMA, IATSE and AFM all use differen union break schemes than AEA. Not to mention unions/companies outside of the USA use different break schemes. This app would only (possibily) be worth the price tag if it were customizable for such situations and could save the settings (which maybe it can, I haven't looked.)
Both my physical stopwatch and clock on my iphone already have a countdown feature which I can set to 55/80 or whatever length of time I want. Also (no offense) 55 and 80 minute marks are just not that hard to figure out without any technology other than a watch.
As for industry specific apps/tech, I do not have a problem paying premium prices for premium products. Any product would have to be able to serve an industry specific function that generic products/software could not (Vectorworks is a good example).
I strongly believe that developers should be duly compensated for their work, of course. If this particular app could "save me" $15 of my time/energy it would be worth the price tag.