Digital Sinigang

Gadget review: BlackBerry Curve 8900

2009-11-11T17:12:00.002+08:00

Finally! Another gadget review from yours truly!

One of the best gadgets I've had over the years--the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900. I've only been a BlackBerry user for over a year and I totally fell in love with the platform and the benefits of owning one! Aside from the fact that a regular BlackBerry lets you keep in touch with your friends, family and colleagues in numerous ways, the Curve 8900 stands out because of its smaller form factor gaining the distinction of being the thinnest full QWERTY BlackBerry to date. Though the body is still made of plastic, RIM made a couple of finishes and paint applications to make the device classier and more durable. However, I noticed that the battery cover gets loose over time and shifts a lot especially when I hold the device. One of the most common complain with the Curve 8900 is its lack of 3G but from where I live, EDGE seems to cater to my needs well enough that I hardly feel this shortcoming. Besides, if you're always on WiFi, who needs 3G? The Curve 8900's display is bright and crisp--I love how the display adjusts to the environment lighting, enabling me to read my emails and text messages even under direct sunlight. Navigating through the phone's menus is done by a trackball which gets dirtier over time but since my unit sports a black trackball, it looks like I won't have a problem. Coming from a BlackBerry Pearl, I didn't have a hard time adjusting to the new QWERTY keyboard lay-out as well. Another thing I love most about this device is its 3.2MP camera and the fact that it can perform auto-focus functions. My only dissatisfaction with this device is that the battery drains fast if you're located on a deadspot (like my house, for example)--the device continuously looks for a signal and switches between GSM to EDGE intermittently. When this happens, the battery could be drained from a full charge in just 2 hours. I'm not sure if this issue was already addressed in a software upgrade because I haven't upgraded my device's firmware since I got it but I was able to solve the problem by rebooting my device occasionally. The Curve 8900 runs on OS 4.6.1.114 and the package contains a travel charger, a USB cable, wired headset, a 256MB MicroSD card, a leather case and a software CD.

PROS: auto-focus 3.2MP camera; ultimate-messaging device; bright and crisp screen; full QWERTY keyboard that's still easy to use; lightweight

CONS: continuously looks for a signal if you're on a deadspot, thus draining battery fast; loose battery cover; lack of 3G

Verdict: Highly recommended! :)

Batman: Arkham Asylum

2009-11-03T18:07:00.003+08:00

Batman: Arkham Asylum--a must play!

Back to my regular blogging stint! First up is XBox 360's Batman: Arkham Asylum. This game was released a few months ago and I highly recommend it not just for Batman fans but for Third-person action-adventure game fans as well. Batman: Arkham Asylum brings you fast-paced action against Arkham's deadliest in-mates like Joker, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow and more!

Batman: Arkham Asylum have highly detailed crisp graphics, nifty controls and smooth cut-scenes! There are dozens of combo moves for Batman to perform and there are over 8 different kinds of weapons included--all taken from Batman's amazing utility belt. The game did a great job of showing Batman's different angles--as Bruce Wayne, his family, friends and of course--as Batman, the Dark Knight himself. However, Batman: Arkham Asylum does not include enough online and multiplayer features and built mostly for single player action. I got so hooked in the game that I started collecting DC's Batman comics after completing the campaign! A must play!

From Flowers to Ponkans

2009-10-30T16:59:00.003+08:00

I remember when I used to write emails to Phoebe, continuously text her and send her flowers. Now its different--emails turned to morning chats, continuous texting turned to doing things together and flowers turned to ponkans. Yes we're expecting, and I'm so excited that I'm going to be a daddy soon! Way back in high school I knew I wanted to marry earlier and build my own family. Things changed after college graduation because career kicked in. I lost track of my ultimate goal and it was just recently when I realized that I still want it and I've always wanted it! I love you baby and I'm blessed to have you in my life! And I never imagined I would write any cheesier than this! :)

P.S. Struggling to get back to my blogging...

A tragic day...

2009-10-01T10:36:00.005+08:00

Photo borrowed from theglobeandmail.com

September 26, 2009 marks a tragic day in Philippine History as super typhoon Ondoy breaks the record for bringing in the most rain. The two day non-stop rain accumulated over a meter of water which caused flash floods all over Metro Manila. It was a sad moment as the death toll count rises to 243 and around 80% of Metro Manila was submerged in flood water. Please help our fellow Filipinos by sending your donations to Red Cross via Paypal--give@redcross.org.ph. Please pray for all the victims and their families. God bless us all.

Mr. and Mrs. Garayblas!

2009-09-18T08:41:00.002+08:00

Mr. and Mrs. Garayblas: September 8, 2009 11:30am. :)

Ready for more?

2009-09-03T21:09:00.004+08:00

My upcoming iPhone simulation game--SOW.

After releasing my first ever iPhone game weeks ago, I'm now cooking up a bigger game. SOW is a plant/business simulation game which lets you grow plants right on the small screen! Yeah, this game has been keeping me busy for the past several days and now that we're almost close to a final beta, I can't wait to release it on the AppStore! Also set for release soon is a huge update for Card Drop--version 1.1.0! The update sports several new features and one that I liked the most was the addition of Joker cards! I'm not gonna spoil everyone here, just watch out for it! The update will be free for everyone who bought the original version. If you haven't gotten a copy yet, grab one now for an introductory price of just $0.99!

In addition to all these exciting stuff, what really kept me more hooked is the fact that I'm exploring a new platform and market. The iPhone market is definitely a lot different from the markets I was accustomed with (Windows Mobile, Palm OS and PC). The community is much bigger and more active, and it grows by the thousand every month. Releasing a small game like mine would be like throwing a needle in a haystack. I have to come up with creative ways to market my flagship title, pitching it endlessly to various news/game sites, sending out press releases to every media partner I know and discussing it on different online forums. It's a huge task but I'm enjoying every minute of it! I'll be sure to post my experiences on marketing my first game soon--all the hurdles, tips, leads and rewards. Fun times ahead!

Braid

2009-08-24T19:45:00.005+08:00

Braid's title screen will blow you right away!

Okay enough with the shameless plugs for the past few days. Let me get you back on track by convincing you to play yet another game that has struck my imagination for the past weeks. I make games for a living and yes, I get inspiration from them too. This has become more like a cycle for me for the past several years. I think this routine will stay forever with me until I can't play games anymore.

Just look at the surreal level details!

I've recently downloaded Braid from XBox Live Arcade and all I can say is WOW! Everything about the game is so surreal and stunning! Have you ever played a game where you can go back in time, correct your wrong moves and try it again? Braid lets you do just that--go back through time, correct your moves instantly and achieve your goals. Behind the game is a deep love story between Tim and his lost girlfriend and the game pits you on a quest to save her. What's even more surprising is that Braid is actually made by an independent developer--Jonathan Blow. When you see the game in action, you would think right away that its a high budget title but its not, yet it compares to high profile titles on XBox Live's Marketplace. Braid will set you back for only 1,200 MS points which is around US$15.00. Go indie!

Finally out!

2009-08-23T19:19:00.003+08:00

Check out Card Drop--guaranteed to get you hooked!

Card Drop, my first iPhone game and Kuyi Mobile's flagship game has just been approved by Apple and now available on the AppStore! Please share the news with your friends or if you have a site dedicated to mobile or iPhone gaming, please feel free to post the press release below. Oh, and feel free to drop me a note if you want a review copy!

=====================================

Manila, Philippines; August 23, 3009

Following the official launch of Kuyi Mobile, a new mobile game development company focused on delivering a new breed of mobile games, Kuyi Mobile in partnership with ZodTTD, has just released their flagship game--Card Drop! Card Drop is solitaire on steroids! Simply stack the cards as they fall on the screen and collect bonuses by creating combos! Card Drop has just been approved by Apple and now available on AppStore for only $0.99!

Key Features:

- Simple yet addictive gameplay
- Game difficulty scales to your comfort level
- Built for all casual and hardcore players! Stack cards like a pro!
- Sleek graphics and sounds
- Online leaderboards--compete with your friends!
- Game achievements
- And many more!

Website:
http://carddrop.kuyimobile.com/

Twitter:

http://twitter.com/kuyimobile

Happy playing! :)

=====================================

Overwhelmed!

2009-08-21T09:32:00.003+08:00

Starting up an online business?

Working on three different game projects, doing paperworks for my new company, handling preparations for my upcoming *wedding (oh yeah!) and a few more commitments here and there--whew! I'm so overwhelmed the past several days, hence the lack of post. If you're following me on twitter you'd probably know. Anyway, I'd like to take this opportunity to not really thank but recognize three significant books that helped me establish my new online venture. If you're looking at starting up an online business, then be sure to check out: The Little Black Book of Online Business by Paul Galloway (contains tons of online resources which will save you valuable time); Twitter Power by Joel Comm (if you need an extra online marketing boost and want to harness the power of Twitter); and Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug (its a great book on website usability and how you can modify your page to adapt to customer's needs). Got the first book from a local bookstore and I bought the last two online because its not available locally. Highly recommended!

Oh, and I've been busy following the latest UAAP games too! It seems like its not a good year for DLSU--that's okay guys! Let's try again next year! Got this photo below from Vic. :)

Animo La Salle!

My first ever iPhone game--Card Drop!

2009-08-11T19:14:00.004+08:00

Card Drop's splash screen made by yours truly!

Okay this isn't really my first iPhone game, I've developed a couple of iPhone games before but never got to release any of them officially. So what makes this game special then? Card Drop is my first official submission to Apple! I've been working on this game with a colleague (and an awesome friend)--Zodttd (he prefers to be called that way!) for the past weeks and we're glad that its finally been submitted and queued for Apple's approval. Card Drop is also Kuyi Mobile's flagship game which makes this release even more memorable! I just hope the approval process goes smoothly!

Check out those crisp graphics! I love the iPhone's screen!

Card Drop is simply a solitaire game on steroids! Cards fall from the top of the screen and your goal is to stack the randomly generated cards at the bottom on top of the falling cards and sort them by card value. I must admit, its hard to explain--its even easier to just grab a copy and play! Players can submit their scores online and compete by getting all the game achievements. The achievement system is our first step towards a true mobile social networking platform--we're hoping to add more features and expand this in the future. Interested in Card Drop? Join us on twitter and be the first to catch the news!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-shelled

2009-08-07T18:00:00.002+08:00

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles now on XBLA!

I can't remember how many Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle games I've played but I've always been a huge fan of these guys for as long as I can remember. I first played TMNT: Fall of the Foot Clan on my monochrome gameboy and I recall playing it for hours on a black and white LCD screen. I can just imagine how many AA batteries I've spent on that game LOL. Since that version, TMNT has been released on several more consoles and Gamespot even gave the franchise a nice tribute here. Just two days ago, Ubisoft Singapore remastered the old version of TMNT: Turtles in Time and released in on XBox Live Arcade as TMNT: Turtles in Time - Re-shelled! A trial version is now available for download and you can purchase the full version for 800 MS points. The game is pretty short with only around eight levels but it sure is fun reminiscing my old TMNT days! Online multiplayer is also available so if you have friends who are huge fans too, why not bash an online 4-player party?

Our official launch--make way for Kuyi Mobile!

2009-08-06T10:52:00.003+08:00

Make way for Kuyi Mobile!

I've been working on this new venture since May 2009 and I'm glad that we're now officially launching Kuyi Mobile today, August 6, 2009! Kuyi Mobile is a mobile game development company focused on creating a new breed of games for different platforms. Our initial focus will be on the iPhone/iPod but we will soon be supporting Android, Windows Mobile, Palm Pre and many more. Our flagship game has yet to be released--we have three game projects right now: SOW, a business/planting simulation game; Card Drop, a simple card game with a unique twist; and Knightsville, an action semi-RPG side scrolling game. Card Drop is set for release, hopefully within the month depending on Apple's approval process while the other two games will follow soon. Visit our website for more info or join us on twitter to get the latest updates and gimmicks from Kuyi Mobile!

Happy playing! :)

Thank you, Tita Cory!

2009-08-05T12:39:00.002+08:00

President Cory Aquino (1933-2009)

Thank you soooo much, Tita Cory! We'll definitely miss you! :(

Highly recommended iPhone games OR What do you need a PSP for?

2009-07-26T17:01:00.003+08:00

Some of the games I get back to everyday

Games have become an essential part of our daily lives whether we're at home, on the go or even at the office, games will always be a staple nowadays. Playing games on the go is why I got into this industry--I love being able to carry my games and get back to them everywhere I go. But this article's not about that, as a follow up to my previous post, this time I'd like to share with you some of the iPhone games I get back to everyday.

Since the iPhone/iPod came out, I've always been fond of games who take advantage of its key feature: its multi-touch screen. Some of the games that were able to maximize this are Knights OnRush--if you feel like flicking enemies off your screen; Paper Toss--a free game where you simply need to toss a piece of crumpled paper over to the trash bin and Flight Control--create a flight path for the airplanes on screen and guide them over to their appropriate landing pads. If I have access to internet, I never fail to take a quick peek at my Mafia status on Mafia Wars. If I feel like getting into some action, bashing and shooting zombies on Zombies & Me and Zombieville USA quickly satisfies the urge--I suggest downloading the latest update, which lets you use a baseball bat. If you're the type who loves casual games that you can drop and pick-up in a jiffy, I highly recommend Popcap's Peggle, Bookworm and Bejeweled 2. I heard from some site that they *may release Plants vs. Zombies too--now that would be amazing! I also carry some kiddie games for my nieces to play--Cooking Mama (kids just love this!) and Koi Pond (its not really a game but it keeps my niece quiet and hooked). If I have more time to play, I love playing Kaloki Adventure--an iPhone version of the popular PC/XBox Live Arcade game called Outpost Kaloki. I'm also a huge fan of tower defense games and I actually have three in my iPod--Fieldrunners (classic tower defense game that has won a lot of awards), The Creeps and Ngmoco's Star Defense (love it because of its social gaming features). I'm not really a fan of RPG or Racing games because I hate seeing a lot of grease on my iPod's screen but I recommend the following games: Real Racing, Sally's Spa (a sequel to Sally's Salon), Dig It, Toki Tori, Defender Chronicles and Rolando 2. I also want to add that I'm really looking forward to Minigore--a pretty neat shooter game with a different kind of twist. And did you know that Lucasarts recently released The Secret of Monkey Island for iPhone? I've yet to try that!

If you're in an app-shopping spree--you may want to give us a little support and buy our iPhone games as well: Traffic Jam 2, Totem and Earth Day! Happy playing! :)

My 32nd birthday...

2009-07-20T09:44:00.003+08:00

Can you guess how much?

Usually, the 1st or the 18th birthdays are the most popular but mine's a different story. I celebrated my 32nd birthday yesterday (July 19) and it was one of the most unforgettable birthdays I ever had. It was actually a simple lunch out with my close relatives and Phoebe. I got the best gift I could ever hope for--a wonderful and loving partner, Phoebe, a very supportive family, and something I can't say yet! Its days like this that reminds me how great the Lord is and though some doors in our lives close, others will always open and provide a better direction.

I also want to share something I do with my family every year on my birthday. I started collecting 5 and 10 peso coins in a piggy bank since 2005 and every year, we hold a raffle--the one who can make the closest guess on the total amount of the coins inside the piggy bank, gets the entire thing! This year, the prize was Php 4,290, not bad huh? My family is so into this and it makes my birthday even more exciting. What a great way to bond and the nice thing about it is that my family is always excited whenever my birthday gets near, LOL. :)

Thanks to all who personally greeted, called, emailed, texted, posted on my Facebook wall, and tweeted! Thank God for all my family, friends and colleagues who remembered this special day! May God continue to bless you all!

iPhone Mafia Wars: You da man!

2009-07-17T16:51:00.004+08:00

Mafia Wars for iPhone/iPod by Zynga

About 50% of my Facebook's daily status updates from friends include the very popular application called Mafia Wars. Zynga, the makers of the game released an iPhone/iPod version last month and being a FREE download, it quickly became popular on the AppStore charts as well. While I've never played the Facebook version that much, I honestly enjoyed the iPod Touch version because of its simplicity and depth. Download and install the game on your device and you'll soon find out that you've wasted several minutes of your precious time--its that addictive! The idea for the game is to level up, earn other players' respect and become the best at your Mafia family. The only drawback is that Mafia Wars for iPhone/iPod requires an internet connection for you to play all its features. There are about 793,000+ people playing when I last logged on and it goes to show how huge the Mafia Wars community is considering its just been out for over a month. Mafia Wars was released just at the right time when Apple's pushing its "micro transactions" and "peer to peer" OS 3.0 features because it lets you purchase reward points from w/in the app and it lets you play with your friends online. Try the game (its very addictive!) but don't say I didn't warn you! :)

If you're also playing and looking at growing your Mafia family, add me up: 8000 3599 12

iPhone Game Development: Part 1

2009-07-13T19:11:00.003+08:00

What I've accomplished so far...

Are you looking for some tips on getting started in iPhone/iPod game development? I spent countless hours scouring the web for relevant websites, articles and tutorials to get me started and I want to share them with you to save you precious time. I'm relatively new to Objective C programming and the XCode IDE (Apple's official tool for Mac OS and iPhone application development) so please bear with me.

Get the necessary tools

You'll need to have at least Apple's Leopard OS (10.5.6) in order for you to download and install the dev tools. Register an account on Apple's dev center and download the iPhone SDK (now on version 3.0) and XCode suite. It's a huge 2GB file so hit the download button, grab some snacks and watch a movie from iTunes for a while.

Looking at developing games for iPhone?

You're in luck! A free robust graphics library is available on the web and its called Cocos 2D. Cocos 2D lets you do all the nifty graphic tricks like transparency, rotation, movement, collision detection, etc. in a jiffy and lets you focus your time on designing games instead. There are a lot of games on the AppStore that uses Cocos 2D and the library has a great online devevelopment community. There are also other graphics library available out there but so far, I found Cocos 2D to be the most popular and has a substantial following.

Getting started

Now that you've seen Cocos 2D, you can get some hands-on with it by starting with basic tutorials on setting up a new project, creating scenes and layers and compiling and testing your game on the iPhone simulator. Keith Peters has created a few (and highly informative) articles on getting started with Cocos 2D--check it out here. After finishing the four tutorials, you should be able to create a lay-out of your new game and acquire some basic knowledge on how an iPhone app works. If you get stuck, feel free to browse Cocos 2D for iPhone's online community.

I was able to create the lay-out for my game and I'm now looking for more resources on how I can do some advanced tricks and techniques. I'll also share my source code when its finished so everyone can learn from it. For the meantime, feel free to send in your questions and I'll be glad to help out! Watch this space for the next part!

Highly recommended iPhone apps

2009-07-11T17:38:00.004+08:00

Some of the apps I use everyday

Okay I'm actually using an iPod Touch so the apps mentioned below are limited to those that rarely require an active net connection. I bring my iPod Touch everywhere because its lighter than my netbook and I can basically do everything with it nowadays.

For a doze of information overload, I rely on 5 apps: Tweetie for sending and following my tweets; IGN for the latest game reviews and recommendations (yes, I work hard and play harder); Filipino News for on the go local (and sometimes international) news--why buy newspapers, right?; ExecTweets for business and technology related tweets (lets you follow key industry people around the globe); and Instapaper which enables me to harvest all the informative links I receive and read them at a later time (thanks to @adelgabot for the tip).

For my side "jobs" I use eBay to monitor my latest auctions and reply to interested buyers and BlogPress which lets me update my blog (this one and all the company blogs) on the go. And my blogging career won't be complete without a handy dictionary--thanks to Wordbook!

On the entertainment aspect, aside from watching movies and listening to music from my iPod, I also enjoy watching all the up and coming movie trailers from Flixster that is, if I'm not online on Facebook watching my friend's status updates. I also hang out on Beejive IM from time to time and catch up with long lost friends. Beejive IM lets me log-on to my Yahoo Messenger, MSN/Windows Live, ICQ and GTalk messengers all at the same time. At the end of the day, I always make it a point to log my daily "unforgettable" moments on Gratitude Journal (yup, I'm a very sentimental person!).

On the business side, I could never recall a single day I didn't update the information on my built-in Stocks and Weather app (I'm a weather buff). I also use Air Sharing so I can bring all my Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Acrobat documents with me wherever I go. I'm not a frequent flyer but I also have Flight Track Pro handy in case a friend or family member needs fetching. I'm a game designer/entrepreneur by profession and I can never guess when inspiration comes in so I make sure I've the tools I need--Brushes for sketching, the built-in Notes for note taking and Instaviz for mind mapping (highly recommended!).

That's it! I know these choices will change over time as the AppStore matures and applications get better but overall, these apps suit my needs well and I highly recommend that you give them a try! Don't forget to come back for the second part of this article--recommended games!

Remembering the King of Pop

2009-07-07T20:28:00.003+08:00

The King of Pop's music will live forever.

I must admit that I've never been a huge fan of pop music until I borrowed a copy of Michael Jackson's Dangerous album from a friend way back when I was still in high school. I remember listening over and over again to Michael Jackson's Heal the world and Black or White. I even recall my favorite song among all his hits--Gone Too Soon (yeah I've always been a balladeer). My sister and I loved this album so much that she bought a copy for ourselves. Back then, mp3s and iPods weren't around yet and the staple media was still the casette tape. The compact disc was just becoming popular and albums in that format were so expensive. Fast forward after two more albums, my sister got so hooked in his music that she also bought all of Jackson 5's albums. When I bought my first iPod Nano, Michael Jackson's songs were immediately a part of my "Favorites" playlist. To this day, I still play my favorite MJ songs at home, in my car and wherever I go. And now I can still hardly believe that he's gone. I guess there will always be a reason why things happen right? The King of Pop maybe gone, but his music will live forever. RIP Michael Jackson.

Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers

2009-07-05T09:44:00.003+08:00

Wizards of the Coast's MTG on XBox 360

Are you a retired Magic the Gathering player? Or are you a huge fan? This is your chance to relive your glorious moments and play Magic the Gathering to your heart's content without burning your wallet from all those expensive cards (and Shivan Dragons)! I remember saving my allowance back in college just so I can buy a booster pack every week LOL. Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers is now available on XBox Live Arcade for 800 Microsoft Points--that's about US$10.00 upon conversion. It's really cheap considering the amount of replayability this game can offer. Planeswalkers is developed by the same team who developed Carmageddon--Stainless Games. The game has a single and coop campaign mode as well as a challenge mode for those who love to solve puzzles. You unlock new cards as you breeze through the campaign and you can also play a casual or ranked match on XBox Live. The graphics on Planeswalkers is much better than the PC version they released several years ago. Give it a try by downloading the trial version from XBox Live!

eSoft Interactive's mobile games for only $0.99!

2009-06-29T17:33:00.004+08:00

Hurry! Promo expires on July 6, 2009!

Today's a great day! eSoft Interactive is offering all of its mobile games for only $0.99! Yeah you got it right--0.99 cents for one week! Hurry and grab your favorite eSoft interactive games before the promo expires on July 6, 2009! This reminds me, you can now grab Hot Pursuit for Windows Mobile -- eSoft's latest strategy puzzle game for only $0.99! How sweet can that be? :)

Hydrocultured plants, anyone?

2009-06-27T22:47:00.004+08:00

Each plant is only about 6-7 inches tall and has a special pot so you can easily water it

Hydrocultured plants by Miura

What inspired me to create my latest game was actually (yes its that simple) a small hydrocultured plant I saw from a local mall distributed by Miura. These plants can live without soil and needs to be watered only once per day. As you can see from the photo above, the plant is sowed using small granules which absorb water from the pot's base. The best part about these plants is that they can be grown indoors and they're small enough to fit on top of your work desk. Each plant pot is only about 6-7 inches tall and will take approximately 4x4 inches space on your cluttered desk. Plus--not only growing plants at home is fun but it can be a nice outlet especially if you're not the type who loves high maintenance pet animals. As for my upcoming game? It will be called "SOW" and will initially be available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Watch out for it soon!

Thoughts on how Windows Mobile can compete with Apple's AppStore--a developer's point of view

2009-06-24T18:51:00.003+08:00

Microsoft's Windows Mobile

First of all, I'm not an Apple nor a Windows Mobile fanboy. I use a BlackBerry as my everyday communication tool, an HP Voice Messenger as a back-up phone and bring an iPod Touch with me for my music (and video) needs. I've been a Windows Mobile device user for more than 8 years now and have been developing for this platform since its infancy stage. Though the Windows Mobile is a powerful platform, its been overshadowed for the past year by Apple's iPhone. In fact, the internet was once again plagued by Apple--various news about the release of the iPhone 3G S and the highly anticipated iPhone 3.0 OS. The AppStore have become popular after only over a year of existence because of tons of apps and games that was released through it. Huge companies like EA, Gameloft and Ubisoft have already jumped in, releasing wave after wave of their popular titles for the small screen. I admit, even our efforts are more focused on creating iPhone games now, not because this is where the money comes from but its fun to develop for a device who cares about the gaming audience. I know the competition doesn't stop here. I still believe that Windows Mobile can gain an even larger market share if only the major factors were addressed. Below are some thoughts I would like to share.

1. Reach out to a wider audience. Windows Mobile should get its act together by finding a more effective way of getting its apps into WM users hands. Currently, there are dozens of online sites that sell WM apps and almost each of these sites have their own version of "Windows Mobile AppStore". If there was a single WM AppStore where users can grab and purchase apps, it would be more advantageous for the developers, publishers and the consumers.

2. Quality versus cost. As a developer, the only way to get your product sold on Microsoft's Official Windows Mobile Store is to get certified. Certification is not a bad idea because it ensures quality and favors the consumers but charging roughly around US$ 600 for each application you wish to get certified, is. Bummer.

3. Standardize on a specific screensize. I understand the demand for technological advancement among mobile devices but releasing a device for every screensize you can imagine is just absurd. Windows Mobile currently supports around 7 different screen resolutions (AFAIK) with each new resolution requiring the developers to "re-update" their applications for it to run properly. Windows Mobile boasts thousands of applications available for their platform but the real question is--how many of these apps will run on your current-generation device's resolution?

4. Standard pricing scheme. After first hearing about the AppStore's $0.99 priced apps, I thought it was a ridiculous idea but when I released my first $0.99 game, I realized the value of mass market selling. I remember selling my first Windows Mobile game for $4.99 about 7 years ago and I'm now wondering if I sold more copies had I priced it at $0.99? Apple has indeed proved to most developers that this "ridiculous" pricing scheme "may" work given the correct factors--one of which is having a centralized store where consumers can purchase apps. While I'm not sure if this will work for WM, I believe its something worth looking at.

5. Create a single device versatile enough for any purpose. While windows Mobile isn't popular for its games, there are dozens of games out there that proves it can be but without proper backing by Microsoft, the direction stops there. IMHO, Windows Mobile should not only target corporate users, yuppies and users who can afford, they should also reach out to mass market consumers and gamers alike and design mobile devices that can cater to all these needs as much as possible. I believe WM should work closely with hardware manufacturers in order to achieve this.

6. Listen to what consumers and developers say. The best way to get feedback about your products are from those who use and integrate it in their daily lives, right? There are a lot of true and tested testimonials out there where Windows Mobile can benefit from if they only take advantage of these. Listen!

Whew! I hope I didn't sound like I was ranting. No offense to anyone. The points above are based only on my experience as a developer and consumer. Feel free to share your thoughts. :)

The case of the bloated Macbook battery

2009-06-19T20:06:00.003+08:00

Photo borrowed from Engadget

I know I should've chosen a more "subtle" title for my entry but that's exactly what happened when I looked at my 13" Macbook this morning. I couldn't take a proper photo of my battery because its black and the bloated portion is almost negligible to see so I searched from Google and found out that there have been a lot of similar cases! I've owned like a dozen laptops of various brands already and I've never encountered anything like this. I know that batteries have a lifespan and gets depleted over time but not BLOATED. Now I can't use my Macbook unless its plugged in and I can't work properly. I went to PowerMac this afternoon to get a new battery and they had no stock. What's even worse is that it'll cost me Php 7,500.00 and it'll take around 2-3 weeks before I receive the item if I ordered from them. After all, Php 7,500.00 is a lot cheaper (and less of a hassle) than getting a new Macbook and selling my old "battery-less" one, right? I browsed the Philippine Apple Store online and found out that they ship w/in 24 hours and guess what, it just cost me Php 6,590.00 plus FREE shipping! Sold!

XBox 360: Did Microsoft finally fix the problem?

2009-06-16T21:33:00.004+08:00

The Falcon unit and its overheating problem--photo borrowed from Console Games

I've been playing with my XBox 360 Jasper unit for more than 3 months now and I still haven't encountered any overheating problem. Comparing it with my Falcon unit (which is about more than a year old), I've tried playing with my Jasper for more than 4 hours straight without any airconditioning and the unit didn't even show any signs of that dreaded 3RL. Most of my friends said that 3 months is still a short span of time to make any assessments but I have complete faith that Microsoft has finally fixed the motherboard/GPU overheating problem with this new model. This is after all their 3rd version of the XBox 360. I haven't found any reports or sightings on the web about Jasper overheating problems as well. I guess I'll have to post another update after 6 months then. Now if I can only upgrade my unit's HDD to 120GB so I can save my CDs, everything would be tad perfect!