∞ Apple's 2014 Q1 Results
The Company sold 51 million iPhones, an all-time quarterly record, compared to 47.8 million in the year-ago quarter. Apple also sold 26 million iPads during the quarter, also an all-time quarterly record, compared to 22.9 million in the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 4.8 million Macs, compared to 4.1 million in the year-ago quarter.
That is:
- iPhones: 6.7% yoy
- iPads: 13.5% yoy
- Macs: 17.1% yoy
The growth kind of matches my feelings on these three products: the iPhone no longer stands out so much in the market (like, Moto X is a better phone IMO), but the iPad & Mac are still leading in their space.
∞ Mike Elgan on Google+
But for real people globally, Google+ is on fire. I’ve made friends — no, really: real friends — in Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Spain and elsewhere in the US! These are the kinds of people I could never meet on Facebook or Twitter. As someone who lives and breathes Google+ every day, it’s frustrating to see people suffer on other social networks.
Hope there will be more stories like that, it is a great product.
Cube Cube v1.1.0 Now Available
iTunes link:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cube-cube/id675459720?mt=8
Release Notes:
Happy New Year and thank you all for playing Cube Cube!
I'm happy to provide this big update:
- Added two Game Center leaderboards for endless levels.
- New UI typeface. (It is Josefin Sans in case you wonder.)
- New portrait upside down orientation.
- Improved level start animation (I'm listening to the feedbacks!).
- Improved tutorial level.
- Jump to hard mode when the normal endless level finishes.
Enjoy.
You Can Buy App Ratings & Reviews for $1.55/App.
I received an email from a guy saying I can buy App Ratings & Reviews a week after I released Cube Cube. I just thought it would be interesting to post some prices here.
For a free app:
- 20 iOS reviews with ratings = $59 ($2.95/app)
- 500 iOS reviews with ratings = $500 ($1.55/app)
For a $0.99 app:
- 5 iOS reviews with ratings = $69 ($13.8/app)
- 100 iOS reviews with ratings = $899 ($8.99/app)
Cube Cube Is on the List of “Featured New Puzzle Games”!
Yeah! Cube Cube is on the list of “Featured New Puzzle Games”!
Christmas Is Crazy
Christmas is crazy! Look at Cube Cube’s (launched on Dec 12) chart and you’ll know why.
Shocked: Distinguish Two Accounts by Passwords
You can have an Amazon US account and China account sharing the same login email. They are actually two completely different accounts and share nothing.
You know what happens when you login on a US Kindle?
- If the two accounts have the same password, you are only able to login with the US account.
- But if they have two different passwords, then you are able to login with either of them, controlled by which password you enter.
Cube Cube Now Available FREE on App Store
I'm happy to announce that Cube Cube is now available on App Store.
Demo Play: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW13zhRaj-s
Release Notes:
Cube Cube – A 3D cube matching game based on the classic card matching game.
Want to test your short term memory and feel confident about your sense of space? Well, good news! The classic card match game is now in 3D! Flip the colored cubes in the 3D space to reveal a matching pair, and challenge yourself to a fastest match!
Features:
- Four types of levels: 3D, Space, Gravity, and Endless.
- 24 hand picked levels + 2 endless levels.
- Race against the clock, and earn a total of 78 stars.
- Normal and Hard modes.
- Earn game center achievements, and challenge your friends.
Now They Call It Cube Cube
I'm sad that there was an issue of the game’s name and it was rejected.
Now Cube Cube it is called.
Pray it will pass the review this time and be available on App Store before the holidays.
Memory Cube
As I said two weeks ago, I'm making a game called Memory Cube.
The game comes from a really simple and naive idea: memory card match game is one of the basic games you need to make if you want to learn game development, and I'd like to make 3D games in the future. So I decided to try out a 3D memory card match game, where you must remember the card identity as well as the card position in a 3D space to make a match.
1st Prototype
It’s actually quite simple to make the first prototype. I only need some colored cubes in the 3D space and let the player to flip them. Then I realized that it did not work. It is more like a mahjong game, where you could match the cubes without rotating the 3D space. Essentially, it’s still 2D.
2nd Iteration
The idea is to find a way so that the player must rotate the 3D space to match the cubes. I added a barrier in the space. To flip the cube, you must rotate it to the front. It works as what I have imagined. And it became the fundamental mechanism of Memory Cube.
Level Design
My initial thought is to just add more cubes to later levels so that it becomes harder. But, it’s really boring. I tweaked a little bit so that now it has four different level types. Also there is a time limit to solve a level.
Look and Feel
This is the most difficult part for us. But I am satisfied with what I have now for my first game.
Testing
I only had three people testing the game. But they made the most significant contribution to it. Through this process, now I truly understand how powerful it is to test as early as possible, and as mush as possible.
The End
The core game mechanism and basic levels are finished, but the game couldn’t evolve anymore by my limited power. So I decided to ramp it up. It will be soon available on iOS, stay tuned.