'Dots' is an Addictive Game

Eliza Kern, over at GigaOM:

Dots, the super-addictive iOS game from Betaworks that launched just two weeks ago, has already hit 100 million games played, Betaworks told us. The game came out of experimentations with iOS interactions and designs, and it’s sort of like a mobile version of Connect Four. The main screen on Dots displays 36 colored dots that users have to connect to remove from the screen, and the simplicity of the game’s design emphasizes the flat aesthetic that’s become popular in mobile design recently.

If you haven't played this game yet, you should try it out now. It is really that good.​ It's an excellent example of a game that emphasizes excellent gameplay mechanics over glitzy graphics. Don't misunderstand that statement, though; the visual, audio, and tactile design are well done (yet simple).

​By the way, there is a strategy guide for the game: http://qz.com/82987/the-ultimate-dots-strategy-guide/

Google Made a Huge Number of Awesome Announcements at its I/O Keynote

Google is once again making waves in the technology world. Here are some quick thoughts about the most important and/or interesting things they announced during their keynote at Google I/O.

​Google Maps + Google Earth + Street View​: ​The visual design revamp is remarkable, and the location+identity-based search relevance is incredible. It's difficult to conceive of any competitor (e.g. Apple) ever catching up to Google in this arena.

​Google Now reminder cards, transit info, music recommendations​: Google Now was already very useful before, and now is even more useful with these new cards. Hopefully we will see these cards added to the iOS Google Search app.

Google+ Hangouts app​: This is something that has been sorely needed to bring sanity to Google's messaging/communications services.

Android Studio​: I'm a huge fan of the IntelliJ IDE, and it looks like Google has worked closely with the folks at JetBrains to make it even easier for developers to create apps for Android.

Google Play game services:​ This is similar in concept to Apple's Game Center, but offers cross-platform compatibility. This helps game developers to keep players engaged across the platform markets.

Google Chrome Voice Search:​ This is technically interesting, and socially somewhat creepy. Also, imagine having fun pranking your co-workers by making their browser search for something inappropriate.

Unlocked Samsung Galaxy S4 with stock Android:​ This one was a shocker. I've written before about Google and Samsung's relationship issues, and this was an unexpected yet welcome surprise. This is arguably the best Android phone on the market, and quite possibly is the best smartphone on the market.

​Folks, that was just the first day of the Google I/O conference announcements, with more to come. By the way, if you don't feel like sitting through all 3.5 hours of the keynote video, the folks at The Verge edited the keynote down to the best 3.5 minutes.

The Rise of Micropublishing Via Mobile Apps and the Web

In October 2012, Marco Arment, of Instapaper fame, launched an iOS Newsstand app named The Magazine​. This month, Jim Dalrymple, renowned reporter on all things related to Apple, launched an iOS Newsstand app named The Loop​. Folks, we officially have a trend​.

What is that trend? Quite ​simply, it is the trend of creating 'magazine-like' experiences that are accessible via mobile apps and/or the web and are targeted at comparatively small (yet loyal) audiences. Why is this a successful model? Remember, News Corp had to shut down its iPad-delivered magazine called The Daily​ because its business model was not sustainable. Marco Arment, in his blog post announcing The Magazine, describes how this model works:

There’s room for another category between individuals and major publishers, and that’s where The Magazine sits. It’s a multi-author, truly modern digital magazine that can appeal to an audience bigger than a niche but smaller than the readership of The New York Times. This is what a modern magazine can be, not a 300 MB stack of static page images laid out manually by 100 people.

From a business model perspective, magazines such as The Magazine and The Loop can provide an experience that meets the needs of its readers with a much lower cost base than is typical for traditional magazines. The implication of a lower cost base is that the 'break even' or profitability point for these magazines is also lower. The Magazine and The Loop don't need to have millions of subscribers to be profitable; they can probably be nicely profitable with a subscriber base that numbers in the tens of thousands.

It's worth noting that an incentive for subscribers to continue subscribing is the fact that The Magazine and The Loop deliver excellently curated articles in an attractive package (in the case of the iOS Newsstand apps). The content curation is a large selling point. People subscribe to these magazines, at least initially, because they trust the opinions of Arment and Dalrymple. Of course, subscribers continue to subscribe based on their continued interest in the content. The monthly payment nature of these magazines acts as an incentive for their publishers to continue to deliver excellent content.

Will micropublications such as The Magazine and The Loop prove to be the future of magazine publication? Time will tell, folks.​

Employees at buuteeq Have an Awesome Travel Perk

Mitch Pittman, over at KING 5 News:

Lots of jobs have benefits: health care, paid vacation, maybe a 401k. But how about yearly all-expense-paid vacations to anywhere in the world? Perks like that are generally reserved for the world of tech start-ups, such as buuteeq, which offers that annual vacation benefit they call “Trotamundo.” The only catch, if you can even call it that, is you have to visit with three hoteliers you stay with along the way and then tell your coworkers about your experience.

​Folks, that is one great perk. Presumably, the requirement to visit hoteliers means that buuteeq can qualify some portion of the employee's vacation as a business expense (and a tax write-off). That's a good example of a win-win scenario.

By the way (in the interests of full disclosure), I happen to be friends with Lisa Tran, one of the buuteeq employees featured in the video.

Looks like Lockerz is Pivoting Into a New Site Named 'Ador'

​John Cook, over at GeekWire:

Lockerz appears to be unlocking its next chapter. The Seattle social commerce startup is behind a service called Ador, a new online fashion site where shoppers can “get new arrivals & sales alerts from your favorite stores.”

I previously wrote about Lockerz and its troubles, and this news seems to be part of the fallout from those issues. Based on separate information that has come to my attention, it sounds like the Lockerz team is pivoting to a new business model. The current model for Lockerz is to encourage users to share their favorite fashion styles and products via social networks (e.g. Facebook) by giving those users discounts on products based on their sharing and curation activities. The new business model, it seems, is to switch to a new site (Ador) which revolves around providing a service that acts as a sort of 'RSS Reader' for fashion styles, trends, and sales. In some respects, this is like a cross between Trendabl and Poshmark. 

It remains to be seen if this pivot will be successful, but it is at the very least quite an interesting idea.

The iPad Will Not Make Air Fares Cheaper, Folks

Nathanael Arnold, in a post over at Wall St. Cheat Sheet:

Besides using the iPad as a piloting accessory, the airline is also initiating its use as an informational customer service device for flight attendants. It remains to be seen if the airline will be passing its new iPad fuel savings on to the passengers.

Arnold's post notes that American Airlines will save a nice bundle of cash in the form of fuel savings by using the iPad as an Electronic Flight Bag for its pilots instead of a traditional paper-based flight bag. The above quote is something that I often see in aviation reporting...the implication being that everywhere an airline saves money is an opportunity to pass those savings on to consumers.

Folks, that just isn't realistic. Airlines in the USA are having difficulties in being profitable (and quite often have been losing money). Airfares are, oddly enough, actually very inexpensive compared to fares in the past (adjusted for inflation). Every bit of cost savings that an airline can manage in today's market will be used to maintain the health and well-being of that airline, not used to save Joe Traveler a couple of bucks on airfare.

Samsung's Galaxy S4 Commercials are Pretty Good

As I have mentioned before, Samsung makes some good commercials.​ In this case, the commercials focus on Samsung's Galaxy S4 smartphone. The "Easy Mode" commercial is fine for what it is, which is an appeal to older individuals that are concerned about phones being too complicated. My favorite of the new batch is the "Grad Photo" commercial, which shows off a camera feature that lets users remove unwanted items from a picture. Quite frankly, this is a feature that every phone should have and the commercial does a good job of selling this as an essential feature. The commercial shows potential buyers a real world scenario where they might make use of and value such a feature.

Samsung's Galaxy S4 Comes With Less Available Storage Than You Might Think

Chris Welch, in a post over at The Verge:

Some buyers of Samsung's new Galaxy S4 have been disappointed to learn that the 16GB model offers only around 8GB of user-accessible storage. However, in a statement to CNET, Samsung is reminding irked customers that they can easily remedy any concerns with the help of the built-in microSD slot.

If this was an Apple product, you wouldn't be able to turn on your TV without hearing about this story. Since it's not, you won't hear about it (except here, of course).​

Path is Getting Its Hand Slapped

Bryan Bishop, over at The Verge regarding the social network app Path having its API access restricted by Facebok:

The spamming behavior first went into effect with a March 6th update to the app. It gained traction when a digital marketer named Stephen Kenwright signed up with the app, and discovered that multiple individuals from his contacts received Path text notification early the next morning — even though he'd subsequently deleted the app on his own device. In that particular case, some of the texts manifested as robocalls due to the way local phone companies dealt with text messages sent to landlines.

​It isn't at all surprising that Path would pull something like this. They've been caught with their hand in the cookie jar before. Also, what would you expect from a company whose CEO has this kind of personality?

I don’t use a ring of any kind on my phone. This is so that I am always on offense and never defense.

Nintendo Wants to Remind People That the Wii U and Wii are Not the Same

Sean Buckley over at Engadget posted ​a press release from Nintendo, and this was the best part:

Wii U is the all-new home console from Nintendo. It's not just an upgrade -- it's an entirely new system that will change the way you and your family experience games and entertainment.

​Folks, this is just sad. As I've written before, the Nintendo Wii U has been selling poorly. Nintendo could not have handled this product any more incompetently than if they filled the inside of the device with wood chips (which, if nothing else, could be used as bedding for hamsters). Nintendo made some serious engineering mistakes with the product (e.g. anemic graphics horsepower, awkward and unnecessary tablet controller), but this press release shows that they also failed miserably in marketing the console. Giving the product a name that is practically indistinguishable from its predecessor is inexcusable, especially given the fact that its specs and games are not significantly different (at the very least, not 'six years' different) from the Wii.

Folks, it doesn't look good for the people from the House of Mario.​