Posts tagged with "iOS"

The History of Trainyard→

The History of Trainyard

I tried a variety of mini-marketing escapades, including spending $50 on AdMob, $50 on Project Wonderful (Axe Cop, specifically), and $50 on Google Adwords. None of that worked. $50 is almost too tiny an amount to spend, but it became immediately obvious that any ad campaign within my budget would have no effect on sales whatsoever.

I should add that I definitely wasn’t disheartened. I knew it would take time, and that I had a great game that would eventually be successful. I just really wasn’t sure how to get there, but that was part of the adventure.

Great story, and congrats.

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MacStories’ Weekly Game: Circuloid

[We thought it was about time to start our own feature of games worth a mention on MacStories. Even though MS is not exactly a game-focused publication, some games for iOS are just too good and addictive to not cover them. So there you have it, MacStories’ Weekly Game.]

Circuloid is a recently-released game for iPad by Polish developers Macoscope (the same guys who developed the Nozbe apps) which sports great graphics, interesting control methods, lots of levels and a great old-style difficulty. Circuloid is a classic Arkanoid / brick-breaker style game where you have to well, destroy bricks on screen. What impressed me, though, and convinced me to feature the app on MS is the extreme attention to the iPad’ unique features the developers put into this game. Read more

Should Apple Allow Installation of iOS Apps From Other Sources?

The Mac App Store won’t be the only way to install apps on a Mac. As Steve Jobs confirmed at the “Back to the Mac” event, the Mac App Store will be the best way to discover and install apps, but not the only one. You’ll still be able to purchase apps directly from developers’ websites and run installers or .DMG files just fine. Can you imagine what could ever happen if Apple turned the Mac into an App Store-only “closed” system with no possibility to download software from other sources? After 20 years of regular installations?

So in a matter of a few months you’ll be able to install apps on your Mac in two different ways, and one of them will likely take over the other one in a very short period of time. If Apple understands the natural differences of the Mac from iOS and consequently adjusts the Review Guidelines in a way that developers won’t be forced to water down their apps, the Mac App Store will be huge. Both for users and devs.

Should Apple do the same on iOS? Read more

An iOS-Powered Massage Chair

Who wants to use a wired analog remote when you can use a sleek, retina-displayed iDevice to do it? The Acutouch HT-9500 massage chair is being sold for only $4,999 (iPhone not included). After you drop $5K on the chair, head on over to the App Store and download the FREE (it better be) HT-Connect™ app to start making your iDevice your personal masseuse. It uses Bluetooth to send the controls/settings to the chair and grants you “instant access to a world of resources, massage programs and expertise designed to improve your wellness and life.”

Wow, my back feels better already, it’s my wallet that’s hurting now. Read more

Apple in Business Land→

Apple in Business Land

Rex Hammock:

I’ve watched closely (as both a customer and writer) as Apple has made attempts to better serve small business and corporate customers.

But I have a hard time believing Steve Jobs has ever obsessed over the B2B marketplace the way he’s obsessed over the materials that go into the glass staircases of major Apple Stores.

Perhaps because he has (in my opinion, brilliantly) focused the company’s products so much on great design that delights consumers, Apple’s varsity squad of product designers may have lacked the bandwidth to apply such attention to designing products that display such a deep understanding of how businesses use technology.

I just wonder if Jonathan Ive has ever sat in on a meeting where a discussion was taking place on how small business managers want to share contacts and calendars among their employees, for instance?

It’d be nice to see an update to this tomorrow, but I think the whole event will be focused on “OS X Lion Sneak Peek”.  Just for the sake of comparison, this is how Apple promotes the upcoming enterprise features in iOS 4.2 for iPad, business apps, iPhone in business and profiles.

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The Apple TV Is Jailbroken

They promised and it happened: the new Apple TV is jailbroken. According to a picture tweeted a few minutes ago by Joshua Hill (who goes by the name of “p0sixninja” online), the jailbreak tool Greenpois0n has managed to jailbreak Apple’s latest iOS device.

As you can see in the screenshot below, a custom background has been installed, together with a brand new menu to “inject software”.

This means jailbreak apps (on Cydia, perhaps) will come very soon to an Apple TV near you. This is bad news for Apple on an event day, but I suspect they saw it coming all along. Being based on iOS, you can stay assured the jailbreak community is going to find a way to “pwn” it.

No word yet on how Greenpois0n for Apple TV will work, and when it’ll be available. Now I just want to see Cydia running on this thing.

App Savvy: The Ultimate Guide To Launch Successful iOS Apps

When Ken Yarmosh contacted me asking to take a look at an early version of his upcoming book about iOS app development, I didn’t really know what to do. I read a couple of iOS-related publications before, but I wasn’t really huge on them. I used to think the most important and useful information about development, marketing and sale techniques could be found on the internet - why would I need a book to learn about the App Store?

Then I took my time to read Ken’s book. It’s not easy for me to go into books these days, as I spend most of time writing and catching up on blog posts. But it was a read well worth it: if you’re looking to get started with iOS development, have already released a few apps or are simply curious about how “stuff actually happens” behind the scenes, go buy App Savvy right now. Read more

60 Percent Of Apple’s Sales Come From New Products

Oh, would you look at that. With blockbuster iPhone sales and more than $20 billion revenue in the last quarter, you would expect Apple to be happy about its latest product line. But the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to represent 60 percent of Apple’s sales?

As Horace Dediu of Asymco noticed, 60 percent of Apple’s sales come from products that did not exist three years ago. I guess that’s a good definition of “reinventing a company”.