And don't fret, Android players. We're going to reskin the Android version with this design as well.
Monday, July 26, 2010
WordWise for iPhone Preview
Here's a preview of what the iPhone version of WordWise is going to look like:
And don't fret, Android players. We're going to reskin the Android version with this design as well.
And don't fret, Android players. We're going to reskin the Android version with this design as well.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Why Android Will Dominate Smartphone Market Share (and Sooner Than You Think)
Yesterday I saw this article on Android Police, Cage Fight, Part 1: Why Android Will Win The Smartphone War. While I agree with the assessment, I thought I'd elaborate a bit more on why I think by next year Apple is going to be lose a very large chunk of market share to Android and will no longer be the leader in the smartphone space.
Yes, Android is continually marching out new devices, threatening to bury the competition in a deluge of models of all shapes and sizes. One argument does that Android and iPhone devices cater to different demographics, but Android is now not only covering the spectrum from budget smartphones up to higher-end devices. The high end devices are already either comparable or better in some respects than the newest iPhone model.
Today the Droid X goes on sale on Verizon and the Samsung Vibrant goes on sale at T-Mobile.
There are already good reasons to buy a Droid X over an iPhone 4. It's got a larger screen, serves as a wi-fi hotspot for up to 5 devices, has built in voice navigation. It doesn't have a front-facing camera, like the Evo, but it's still a worthy competitor to the best high-end smartphones available right now.
But see, here's the thing. Android is not standing still. New, better models come out just about every month. This summer is the point at which, in terms of specs, Android devices are going to march right past the iPhone, which will be standing still for another year, even disregarding the iPhone 4's antenna issues.
There are people who are such loyalists that they will stick with the iPhone no matter what. But at some point, the average consumer will be doing side-by-side comparisons and will no longer be able to ignore the growing gulf in specs between the iPhone and the newer generations of devices coming out. By this Christmas, there are rumored Android devices with 2 GHz processors and other substantially beefy specs that will eclipse the current generation of smartphones. You would have to be a hardcore Apple loyalist to purchase a phone with half the specs for the same price as a competing product.
And while there's innovation in the hardware, the software just keeps marching on as well. By this holiday season, Android 3.0 (Gingerbread) will be released, and it's likely to be a significant step up from an already solid OS.
I think the one other factor that not many people are talking about is the revamped Android Market demoed at Google I/O. It features a web interface for searching and buying apps, and allows you to push purchased apps over the air directly to your device. This is going to be huge, and it's coming soon. Couple that with Google's new music store through the same portal, and the process of purchasing content for an Android smartphone will be far superior to that of iTunes. This is the biggest missing piece in the Android puzzle right now. And when it clicks into place, I think it's going to seal the deal.
The iPhone is going to share a fate similar to Apple's desktop machines. They will enjoy a small, loyal chunk of the market share, but relatively soon, within a year, they will no longer dominate the high-end smartphone market. That spot will belong to the growing legion of Android devices.
Yes, Android is continually marching out new devices, threatening to bury the competition in a deluge of models of all shapes and sizes. One argument does that Android and iPhone devices cater to different demographics, but Android is now not only covering the spectrum from budget smartphones up to higher-end devices. The high end devices are already either comparable or better in some respects than the newest iPhone model.Today the Droid X goes on sale on Verizon and the Samsung Vibrant goes on sale at T-Mobile.
There are already good reasons to buy a Droid X over an iPhone 4. It's got a larger screen, serves as a wi-fi hotspot for up to 5 devices, has built in voice navigation. It doesn't have a front-facing camera, like the Evo, but it's still a worthy competitor to the best high-end smartphones available right now.
But see, here's the thing. Android is not standing still. New, better models come out just about every month. This summer is the point at which, in terms of specs, Android devices are going to march right past the iPhone, which will be standing still for another year, even disregarding the iPhone 4's antenna issues.
There are people who are such loyalists that they will stick with the iPhone no matter what. But at some point, the average consumer will be doing side-by-side comparisons and will no longer be able to ignore the growing gulf in specs between the iPhone and the newer generations of devices coming out. By this Christmas, there are rumored Android devices with 2 GHz processors and other substantially beefy specs that will eclipse the current generation of smartphones. You would have to be a hardcore Apple loyalist to purchase a phone with half the specs for the same price as a competing product.
And while there's innovation in the hardware, the software just keeps marching on as well. By this holiday season, Android 3.0 (Gingerbread) will be released, and it's likely to be a significant step up from an already solid OS.
I think the one other factor that not many people are talking about is the revamped Android Market demoed at Google I/O. It features a web interface for searching and buying apps, and allows you to push purchased apps over the air directly to your device. This is going to be huge, and it's coming soon. Couple that with Google's new music store through the same portal, and the process of purchasing content for an Android smartphone will be far superior to that of iTunes. This is the biggest missing piece in the Android puzzle right now. And when it clicks into place, I think it's going to seal the deal.
The iPhone is going to share a fate similar to Apple's desktop machines. They will enjoy a small, loyal chunk of the market share, but relatively soon, within a year, they will no longer dominate the high-end smartphone market. That spot will belong to the growing legion of Android devices.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Need Testers for WordWise for v1.5 and v1.6
We're working on backward compatibility for WordWise for versions 1.5 and 1.6 of Android. If you have an Android device running one of these versions and would like to test out WordWise, send us an email at polyclefsoftware@gmail.com.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
New Milestones Reached
July 2010 looks to be Polyclef's best month yet, and we just passed two very nice milestones.
We now have over 40,000 paid sales in the Android Market.
Polyclef's combined free apps now consistently serve up over 200,000 ads per day. Ad revenue has not kept pace with paid sales revenue, but ad prices fluctuate based on a lot of factors, so hopefully relatively soon it will.
Thanks to everyone who keeps buying and using Polyclef apps and games!
We now have over 40,000 paid sales in the Android Market.
Polyclef's combined free apps now consistently serve up over 200,000 ads per day. Ad revenue has not kept pace with paid sales revenue, but ad prices fluctuate based on a lot of factors, so hopefully relatively soon it will.
Thanks to everyone who keeps buying and using Polyclef apps and games!
New WordWise Version Released Today
Version 1.22 was just released.
New Features:
*Added tile values and distribution information to instructions
*Added Stats and Leaderboard buttons to Title Screen
*Volume of sound effects is now the same as ringtone volume, controlled by hardware volume buttons
*Pan while zoomed in by clicking and dragging board
*Shuffle rack by shaking device or selecting Menu>Shuffle
*Tile interaction with board while zoomed out now shifts with horizontal position
New Features:
*Added tile values and distribution information to instructions
*Added Stats and Leaderboard buttons to Title Screen
*Volume of sound effects is now the same as ringtone volume, controlled by hardware volume buttons
*Pan while zoomed in by clicking and dragging board
*Shuffle rack by shaking device or selecting Menu>Shuffle
*Tile interaction with board while zoomed out now shifts with horizontal position
Monday, July 5, 2010
Slouching Toward An Updated Ecosystem
Google maintains a nice page that displays the current distribution of Android versions in the wild. Here are the charts as right now.
Current:
Historical:
That increasing share of 2.0 or greater is likely due to new phones coming out, rather than users of previous versions abandoning their devices.
Obviously, I'm chomping at the bit for not only new devices to come out, but the older ones to be upgraded. There were rumors that the myTouch was going to get 2.1 in June, which obviously didn't happen. Hopefully that will happen this month, since they represent well over a million potential users of WordWise.
Meanwhile, it looks like Droid users are the dominant demographic for WordWise, clocking in at just about 50% of our users. The Evo and the Eris both clock in around 10%. Here's hoping that as many older devices as possible get upgraded.
Current:
Historical:
That increasing share of 2.0 or greater is likely due to new phones coming out, rather than users of previous versions abandoning their devices.
Obviously, I'm chomping at the bit for not only new devices to come out, but the older ones to be upgraded. There were rumors that the myTouch was going to get 2.1 in June, which obviously didn't happen. Hopefully that will happen this month, since they represent well over a million potential users of WordWise.
Meanwhile, it looks like Droid users are the dominant demographic for WordWise, clocking in at just about 50% of our users. The Evo and the Eris both clock in around 10%. Here's hoping that as many older devices as possible get upgraded.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
New App Concept Art
I'd like to share some preliminary artwork for a new app project. It's done by a freelance artist named Llaima Castro.
The app is called PetPass, and initially it will be for iPhone only. If it does reasonably well on that platform, I'll develop an Android version. I'll share more details about the app nearer release, but for now think of it as Bump + Twitter + the garden gnome from Amelie.
The app is called PetPass, and initially it will be for iPhone only. If it does reasonably well on that platform, I'll develop an Android version. I'll share more details about the app nearer release, but for now think of it as Bump + Twitter + the garden gnome from Amelie.