Tag: Mobile

Angry Birds Seasons – Android App Review

The mobile game phenomenon Angry Birds has over 30 million downloads across a number of platforms. Five million of those downloads come from Android.

Angry Birds on Android is a free download, that is completely supported by ads. Rovio, the creator of Angry Birds predicts that the game will bring in over $1 million by year-end. Pretty damn impressive.

Much of that ad revenue is due to the new version of the game, Angry Birds Seasons. Seasons is a compilation of Halloween and Christmas levels.

Everyday from now until Christmas, a new level will unlock in Seasons, encouraging players to return daily, triggering more ad revenue. It’s a clever idea, and it works because of the extremely large user base.

All of the good things I said about Angry Birds holds true for Seasons. It’s the same Birds you know and love, just with 70 new themed levels. How can you go wrong?

(Source – TechCrunch)

The Future of Credit Cards

Credit cards haven’t changed a whole lot over the years. The largest advancement was the addition of a magnetic dump on the back for swipe payment.

In the very near-future we are going to see some big changes to the credit card.

Advancement 1 – PoweredCards:

This tech is really cool. I imagine that many of the components could improve other items as well.

Advancement 2 – Mobile phones as credit cards:

Google Android will be adding support for near-field communications. This means that Android phones will be able to function as a credit card.

Once Android can do it, I’m fairly certain the iPhone will follow.

Wrap-up

Both of these options can improve credit card security and usability.

The big question is will PoweredCards, mobile phones, or some unknown option become the dominant credit card tech?

My money is on both becoming established, but long-term, phones will win the war because everyone will already have them in their pockets. I wouldn’t be shocked if mobiles replace wallets entirely.

(Source: Engadget)

(Image: Android)

Can You Hear the Bell Toll For Blackberry?

Bank of America and Citigroup are testing iPhones for corporate use according to Bloomberg.

In my experience, financial institutions are among the most stodgy when it comes to adopting new technology for internal use. At this point, Blackberry’s bread and butter are gigantic corporations who are unwilling to try new things. If huge banks start making the switch, then Blackberry is in deep trouble.

(Via Bloomberg Businessweek)