android games ios mobile reviews · 300 words
I don't often play games - and I rarely pay for Android apps. Blackbar got me to spring a couple of quid based on a single screenshot. That's it. Read a letter, type in which words have been redacted. If you get it right, you're rewarded with the next letter. I can't understand why this game hasn't been made before. There's literally nothing to have stopped this game being developed on…
Continue reading →mobile NaBloPoMo podcasts · 8 comments · 650 words · Viewed ~210 times
I've started listening to a lot of podcasts recently. My commute has got a bit longer, which means that I have much more time to spend sitting in traffic listening to interesting things. I'd like to review some of the pocasts which fill my commute with joy and wonder! Today's episode: Mobile Industry Shennanigans! I'm in the mobile industry and - while my personal opinions are obviously the…
Continue reading →blipdrop demo mobile mobilemonday necropost o2 · 500 words
This is a necropost - resurrected from the now defunct blog of a previous employer. I really loved the idea of geolocated ephemeral content. And I was a little disappointed that the business never saw the potential for it. Maybe I'll find a way to relaunch it in the future. I’ve been attending Mobile Monday London for years. It’s a great (free!) way to meet people in the mobile industry, to lea…
Continue reading →Apps glance google maps mobile usability · 15 comments · 500 words · Viewed ~3,557 times
Update 2013-07-13 I've just received this email from Nate Tyler at Google. Hope you're enjoying the weekend. I work on the Google Maps team and just saw your post on Google Maps navigation. Thank you very much for the concern. Wanted to be sure you and your readers are aware that we have pushed an update to the latest release of Maps for Mobile to fix this issue. If there's any chance to update …
Continue reading →mobile myspace Social Networks · 150 words · Viewed ~256 times
The British are culturally predisposed to root for the underdog. I'd never been a massive fan of MySpace - but after the trials and tribulations it has gone through, I have a soft spot in my heart for it. So, when this email arrived, I couldn't wait to give it a go. Ok, so the email isn't formatted well for mobile - despite the fact that nearly 50% of all emails are read on the phone. With…
Continue reading →hacking law mobile politics weeting · 2 comments · 550 words
I don't usually get involved in legal blogging. I am not a lawyer, and I find the finicky details somewhat hard to follow. That said, I do appreciate how (most) judges in the UK write their judgements in a relatively clear and unambiguous manner. Jack of Kent today pointed out the recent judgement on Operation Weeting - which is looking into the alleged illegal interception of voicemail…
Continue reading →google maps mobile usability · 4 comments · 350 words · Viewed ~291 times
There gets a stage in every large company's lifecycle when there are too many people working on a single project. This usually manifests itself in strange internal struggles over the heart of a product as different teams compete for their "vision" to succeed. What often happens is that the user is forgotten and a manager, somewhere, has to make a compromise which sacrifices usability for…
Continue reading →games hack hacks interactive fiction mobile sms text twilio zork · 3 comments · 650 words · Viewed ~11,990 times
Remember text adventures, eh? They were pretty nifty! "You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike" >Go East "You have been eaten by a Grue. A dwarf starts singing about gold" Smashing! Just like the pictures are better on the radio, so the graphics are immeasurably superior when they're in your head. Don't get me wrong, I love the 5.1 surround sound snarl of a rabid beast rendered…
Continue reading →bitcoin mobile money payment qr · 4 comments · 350 words · Viewed ~476 times
BitCoin and other crypto-currencies are gaining popularity at the moment - but I remain firmly convinced that they're too hard for the average person to use. I have, however, watched with interest as an ecosystem grows around them. In particular, I like the way The Pirate Bay (and others) have used QR codes to facilitate easy payments and donations. The QR codes contain only three variables -…
Continue reading →doorslam mobile swearing usability ux · 3 comments · 550 words · Viewed ~987 times
For the last few months, I've been curating a Tumblr of a very specific annoyance. I'll let Aral Balkan take credit for inspiring me. Any modal message—full-screen or alert—that interrupts user flow to ask them to download your app suffers from #doorslam #ux antipattern. @aral First, a quick definition: In software engineering, an anti-pattern (or antipattern) is a pattern used in social or b…
Continue reading →app energy mobile ovo ux · 2 comments · 250 words · Viewed ~395 times
I've been a big fan of Ovo Energy since switching to them last year. They email me a PDF statement, pay me 3% interest on any overpayments, and have their call centre waiting times displayed prominently on their homepage. So, when they announced their new app, I was expecting something a little bit special. And that's exactly what I've got. An automatic torch to help you when you're rooting…
Continue reading →android mobile security symbian · 2 comments · 450 words · Viewed ~744 times
More bad news for Android owners. A huge Russian malware operation is infecting Android apps in the the Google Play Store. The malware - hopefully now removed - hijacks your personal details, and sends premium rate text messages to drive profits for its owners. Nasty. This is the price we pay for Android's open access policy. iPhone users can smirk all they want - but I like being able to…
Continue reading →