How is this game so good at killing my productivity?

Many know the feeling. Angry Birds. Fruit Ninja. Tiny Wings. Draw Something. Words With Friends. Temple Run. Temple Run 2. The list goes on. What starts as a harmless romance turns into quiet determination, then blatant obsession, and most inevitably, a messy break up.

Mobile game addiction has always been somewhat of an enigma from a consumer standpoint. When it comes to developers, however, a proven method for success has started to emerge. According to a study by Flurry, the most successful companies in the new mobile economy very closely monitor consumer behavior differences by game genre, enabling them to make informed decisions when it comes to developing apps with high retention rates and solid monetization strategies.

Based on the x-axis (90 day retention) and y-axis (Frequency of use per week), landing in quadrant I is the goal of all mobile game developers. This symbolizes games that build a loyal following through social means (Words With Friends – 15.1 Million monthly avg. users), or catch fire on their own and succeed monetarily through the ever-popular freemium model (Temple Run 2 – 20 Million downloads in four days). Let’s be real—you’ve at least been tempted to buy more gems after falling off the edge in TR2. Don’t worry, we won’t judge if you did.

Quadrants II-IV are the genres that either fail to maintain longevity with users, don’t engage users enough short-term, or both. Strategy games often capture a fan base well, but for only a short time—i.e. Letterpress. It’s fun, but the charm wears off quickly. Quadrant IV represents genres that are the opposite—poker games, Solitaire, and “endless” games like Drop7 (think Tetris with numbers)—which don’t have a lot of depth, but users return to over a long period of time. Finally, Quadrant III represents genres of games that along with a low frequency of use, don’t present as many opportunities for monetizing the user because the content and game mechanics can be more involved (i.e. “skill” games like The Walking Dead).

Taking this data into account, it would seem that the best practice is to abandon genres such as action, card battle, and casino, and focus on implementing a social element into whatever idea strikes one’s fancy. This is not necessarily the best course of action to take — what it really comes down to is leveraging this information about genres and applying it to a few key golden rules when getting down to the dirty work:

1. User experience is crucial: Mobile game developers (MGDs) that ignore the in-app experience ignore both their potential user base and the prospect of gathering revenue. If users aren’t attracted to the experience of using your app, they’ll spend less time in it. This hurts retention rates, which in turn makes it difficult to display advertising to users or engage them with in-app purchases.
2. Deliver relevant advertising in a nonintrusive way: If you’re relying on ads to generate revenue, know your user base so you can deliver them ads that won’t detract them from wanting to spend time within the app. Don’t frustrate them by showing ads at the height of the gaming experience.
3. Keep them coming back: Regardless of the genre you choose, your game will benefit from rewarding users who come back. Whether that’s the “just one more level to see some cool stuff” effect, or the fact that all their friends are playing (Fear of Missing Out, a.k.a. FOMO, is a real thing), you need to instill some kind of longevity into your game.

So if you’re a developer, it’s valuable to take note of these points if you’re taking a swing at trying to create the next big game. As the mobile industry continues to expand, there’s bound to be a great deal of jostling amongst people like you trying to land a slice of the pie. If you’re a player, it’s important to realize that no matter how sick you’re bound to get of said next big game, there will always be another one ready to draw you back into a tumultuous relationship. Can’t stop, won’t stop.

There are over 6,900 spoken languages in the world. Sadly, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) estimates that by 2100, over half of them will be completely extinct due to external forces like military, economic, or educational suppression. Just in the past decade, highly concentrated languages like Aka-Bo and Eyak have gone extinct. While the general consensus around the world is that widespread use of one or a few languages aids in world commerce, this trend severely damages global cultural diversity.

So leave it to technology to find a way to mend the problem.

Created in effort to prevent the extinction of Iwaidja, one of Australia’s 100 endangered languages, “Ma! Iwaidja” is the first mobile app created to preserve an indigenous language. It contains a 1,500-entry Iwaidja-English dictionary, as well as a 450-entry phrase book that users can update.

Iwaidja is spoken by less than 200 people on Croker Island, which lies off the northern coast of Australia. Part of the Minjilang Endangered Languages Publication project, the app capitalizes on the rapid uptake of mobile phone technology in Australian indigenous communities. Croker Island’s community store sells smartphones, and the school has eight iPads with the app installed—making natural data collection much easier.

According to Bruce Birch, coordinator of the project, apps for other endangered aboriginal languages such as Mawng and Kunwinjku are already in the works. The draw of such apps, he says, is that they “increase the involvement of indigenous people whose languages are threatened, without the need for difficult-to-attain levels of computer literacy.”

As UNESCO claims, the deterioration of languages around the world is neither inevitable nor irreversible. “Ma! Iwaidja” is proof of that, and we hope to see more revolutionary, yet intuitive apps follow the same trend in the future.

2012 was a huge year for us. We secured a Series B round of funding, updated our mobile site and web site, and announced our first major partnership with a federated search engine, Ask.com.

We’re poised to make 2013 an even bigger year, and can’t wait to announce more of the exciting products and partnerships we’ve been working diligently on. As we look forward inwardly, we’re also excited about where the industry as a whole is heading. Here are some of the rising tech trends we’ve been following recently, and how we think they’ll make an impact in 2013:

Apps Keep Morphing

As apps continue to flood the various app stores and their icons keep filling up additional home screen pages on our phones, a shift toward providing the content and functionality of apps in simpler, more intuitive ways will ensue. Now that sifting through countless icons and folders on a home screen has become somewhat tedious, technologies like Siri will rise up and begin to successfully provide seamless entry into an app. You wouldn’t bookmark every single website important to you, just to look through all of them when you need to get something done, right? Well, soon you shouldn’t have to do that with apps either.

Embedded Tech

As we wrote about in a previous post, smart appliances are starting to pop up everywhere, truly giving rise to the smart home. In 2013, this trend is likely to continue both inside and outside of the personal space. With more and more everyday objects either getting NFC-enabled chips stuck inside them, or advanced connectivity with mobile apps, users will be able to get information from places they never expected. As Lance Ulanoff of Mashable writes, “Any place they can jam a sensor to capture…data, [utility poles, doorhandles, sidewalks] or let you quickly gain information about…situational awareness, there will be embedded technology.”

Augmented Reality

Although a lot of hype has been placed on products such as Google’s Project Glass—and rightfully so, as the applications for placing information over our field of view are nearly limitless—augmented reality will even sooner begin to appear in other forms. GPS-based AR apps like Layar already exist, and smartphone manufacturers will increasingly incorporate the technology into their devices in unique ways. There’s a lot of room for innovation, be it for AR games, specific product apps, or advertising. Look for 2013 to be a big year when it comes to tightly integrating data into the real world we see every day.

Smartphones Become A Phantom Limb

We use our smart phones for everything. They’re the ultimate utility tool, personal assistant, and social connectivity device all in one small package. So it’s no surprise that according to a survey conducted by Qualcomm and Time, 68% of people sleep with their phones at their bedside. Whether it’s a real-life assistant you can reach through Exec or an easy way to catch a ride across town with Uber or Lyft, there really is an app for just about anything. As a result, our reliance on smart phones will only become greater and greater. As more comprehensive functionalities like Google Wallet and Apple’s Passbook become fully integrated with our finances, coupons, and tickets, we truly won’t be able to live without our phones.

Second Screens Stake their Claim

According to Social News Daily, more than 80% of smartphone and tablet owners use their devices while watching TV. Many of them post what they’re watching on social media, read more news based on something they saw, or try to find apps relevant to the content presented to them on television. In 2013 this trend will continue, but media and advertising agencies will have captured the monetary possibilities presented by this dual-screen behavior. They’ll attempt to enhance the viewing experience by prompting users to further explore TV content on their tablets or smartphones, while also taking advantage of new ways to push users toward buying a product.

We’re extremely eager to see where the industry moves in 2013. Of course, many of these trends have been in the works for years, but we’re confident a lot will finally come to the surface this year. Here’s to a productive, progressive 2013!

Is there an app for that? Increasingly, this has become the go-to question for solving everyday problems in our lives. Typically, when users search for apps, they enter keywords like “tools” or “productivity” into their phone’s app store search bar. This is the model Apple started with the App Store in 2008, and others have followed suit with a categorical-based search ever since. Well, it turns out this search method misses the point of finding apps that do what you want.

We invented Functional Search® to allow users to find apps without even knowing exactly what they’re looking for—all you have to do is type what you want to do, and we’ll return apps to help. As a case study for why Functional Search® is a better app search, we’ve decided to showcase a few head-to-head examples. So let’s jump in.

“Alerts for email address”

Imagine you’re anticipating an important email (college admission letter, important client response, etc.) and you’ve been checking your inbox religiously hoping to see it pop up. After a couple days, you get irritated with how much time you’re spending clicking the refresh button, so you consider if there’s an app that can just notify you when the email shows up. Searching “alerts for email address” in Google Play yields results like eWeather HD, WhatsApp Messenger, and Bank of America. The same query in Quixey produces results such as Mail Alert, Mail Alert Pro, and Mail Tones. Which ones seem more valuable?

“Wake me up with a song”

It’s time to get rid of that blaring alarm clock and wake up to something a bit more soothing. So you search “wake me up with a song,” hoping to find an app that can help you do just that. Google Play gives you results that make no sense—Piano Melody Free, Motivate Me to Exercise, and an artificial voice control app, to name a few. The same query in Quixey gives you just what you wanted—Playlist Alarm Clock, Smart Alarm Clock, and Alarm Rock, for example.

“Share content between devices”

You’re sick of dealing with files, photos, and music on all the different devices you own—phone, tablet, and computer. So you type “share content between devices” into the Google Play search bar. Now, what’s interesting about these results is that relevant apps like Evernote and Hoccer show up. But, hang on a second, what are Adobe Reader, textPlus and Pulse News doing above them? Isn’t Google Search all about instantly bringing you the most relevant content for your query? Try the same search in Quixey and you’ll see Hoccer at the top of the list, followed by Box and other data sharing apps such as DropCopy and Bump.

In a test of keyword-heavy search vs. a search that knows exactly what the query is asking, Quixey clearly wins every time. But why?

The answer lies in Functional Search® . The technology we spent over a year and a half building before it went live is a search engine catered specifically toward the current transformation the web. Google is fantastic at searching a web composed of static sites, but not one that’s evolving to be a web of function and action due to the dynamism of apps.

With its keyword search, other search engines can currently only take you to the doorstep of an app—and it’s often the wrong one. What Quixey does is recognize the inner workings of each app, so that when you search functionally, we open the door to just the right app and usher you in.

The web is transforming, and we’re right there with it.

Today we announced our partnership with Ask.com, providing millions of users with apps to help answer their questions. This signals a shift in the way we search the web, as Ask.com is the first of the world’s largest search engines to feature a third party app search in their primary results—bridging the gap between the app economy and the web.

Now all Ask.com users will see apps in the main search results for any app-specific query, such as “best iphone games for kids,” “apps for finding bicycle trails,” and “angry birds.” In addition, “apps” will now be its own search tab powered by Quixey, next to image, video, and news. All major mobile platforms are supported, including Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and Blackberry.

When people search online, what they don’t realize is that their queries are often better answered with an app as opposed to a blue link with arbitrary information. This partnership caters directly toward this perception of apps as a highly valuable source of content. As Shane McGilloway, Chief Operations Officer at Ask.com, put it, “Q&A sites must deliver content-rich experiences to engage users at scale, [and] apps are gateways to some of the most top-notch digital content out there.”

For example, when you search “watch Toy Story,” you’re not asking for a bunch of arbitrary links about Toy Story and Pixar. What you want is a way to watch the movie online—through apps such as Hulu, Netflix, and HBOGO. In future integrations, “watch Toy Story” will return these apps. Similarly, “how do I book a cab” will return taxi-booking apps that allow you to book a cab on the spot.

We’re currently witnessing a transformation of the web from static sites to apps, and this partnership is a perfect way to blend the two worlds. Instead of a web based largely on content and information, apps have pushed the evolution toward a web of functionality and action. Implementing app results directly into a search engine as large as Ask.com is very significant because it directly caters to this transformation.

Sam Lellouche, Director of Product Management at Quixey, noted the importance of the Ask partnership: “As our largest public partnership, the Ask deal lays a great foundation for future partnerships and product integrations to come,” he said. “We’ve been looking forward to this launch for a long time, and we’re very excited to bring Quixey’s technology to millions of Ask users.”

Quixey is at the forefront of solving the app discovery problem, and this partnership is a clear example of our efforts to change the game when it comes to search. This type of partnership is simply the beginning—users will soon have access to added functionality wherever and whenever they want it, allowing them to solve very specific problems exactly when the need arises. Read more about the Ask integration on TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Associated Press, and Search Engine Journal, and stay tuned for more exciting partnership announcements in the coming year!

Quixey’s site just got an upgrade!

Over the past few months, we’ve taken a hard look at Quixey.com and feedback we’ve received from users, applying that information to a completele reworking of the site’s interface and experience. As the company continues to move at breakneck speed, a lot of our resources have recently been focused on building our APIs. Now we feel it’s time to match our site’s feel with its status as the central online presence of one of the world’s fastest-growing startups. We
know we still have a long way to go, and this is just the beginning.

First, let’s talk about the homepage. We’ve kept it very simple, acknowledging that users don’t need a flood of options and information thrown at them the second they land on a website. Most people usually have a sense of what they’re looking for, so the first decision they make is what kind of app they want to find—smartphone, browser, desktop, or web. That’s why the most noticeable buttons contain exactly these options. Hover over them and you’ll see the platforms we search—now you can immediately filter your query to the platform that suits you. For example, if you want Android apps, hover over “Mobile” and select “Android.” Easily found, quickly selected.

We’ve also implemented a new feature to show users the full potential our search. Our technology is far more powerful than anything else on the market, but its total functionality is rarely tapped into. That’s why we introduced the “Sample Searches” banner below the search bar. Clicking it brings up common areas of your life to use Quixey, and hovering over one of them will bring up suggested queries. For example, hover over “for Cooking” and queries such as “cook healthier food” and “time the perfect egg” appear. These examples we’ve provided are a good indicator of the kinds of queries you can type into the search bar. We invented Functional Search^® to allow users to find apps without even knowing exactly what they’re looking for—all you have to do is type what you want to do, like “wake me up with a song”  or “study for the SAT” and we’ll return apps to help.

Now that you know what kinds of queries to type, plug one into the search bar. After you hit enter, you’ll be taken to a completely redesigned SERP (Search Engine Results Page). On the left you’ll see a list of apps that cater directly to your query. After clicking anywhere on an app result, information about that app will appear in the empty column to the right. Instead of clicking multiple times to learn about the app, everything you need to know appears in one place, allowing you to make a quick decision. This is valuable because if you don’t like an app, you can simply click on a different one without having to click the back button.

Under “Information,” you can read about the app, view screenshots, and filter by price. Click on the light blue button (which says “FREE” or the price) and you’ll be taken directly to that platform’s app store to download it. Directly below that button is the dark blue editions button, containing a range of prices. Click on it to view the different versions of an app (i.e. free, lite, HD, paid, etc).

When you’re on the results page, clicking on the title of any app will take you to that app’s page. There, in addition to larger screenshots and more detailed information, you can also learn more specifics about the different editions on the left side of the page.

In redesigning our website, we put the experience of our users first. We feel like it’s much improved now, but can’t wait to keep making it better. We’re never satisfied, we know we have a long way to go, and we highly value any feedback received. Give the site a whirl and tell us what you think!

Here come the smart homes.

Don’t be alarmed—this doesn’t signal an “I, Robot” style catastrophe wherein our houses form minds of their own and conspire against their landlords. On the contrary, a smart home is simply a collective evolution of the individual appliances and security features common to most dwellings. As it turns out, the functionality of apps is pushing this phenomenon forward. Let’s take a look at a few examples that have begun to appear.

Lockitron

Lockitron is a device that fits over your current deadbolt and can be accessed via an iOS and Android app, as well as a mobile website. It allows you to lock your door from anywhere in the world through an intuitive two-button interface. You can immediately see if your door is unlocked, and receive notifications when your child unlocks the door using their phone or key. Access is easily shared with family and friends, and the battery lasts for up to one year—notifying you when it’s running low. Lockitron’s technology relies on the same security protocols as online banking, so you never have to worry about driving back home to check on the lock yourself.

Nest

As the creators of Nest put it, “most people leave the house at one temperature and forget to change it.” So why not employ an advanced thermostat that learns your schedule, programs itself, and can be controlled by your phone instead? If you use it right, it’ll only lower your heating and cooling bills up to 20%, after all. During setup, you set minimum and maximum temperatures for your home, and an auto-away feature automatically lowers the temperature when Nest senses you’ve been away for a little while. The best part about Nest is it learns from its mistakes—if it turns your heat down while you’re working quietly at home for a few hours, touching it will teach it to be more wary of your schedule next time. Whichever habits you have when it comes to keeping your house warm or cool, Nest will pick up after just a few manual adjustments. It can currently be accessed online and via an iOS app, with the Android app on its way.

AGA iTotal Control Cooker

The AGA iTotal Control is a smart stove controlled through text messages, mobile apps, or web. It allows you to turn on the stove while you’re away from home so a meal is ready the second you walk through the door. For families with children, it’s a very valuable tool as it enables you to monitor your oven and stove directly from a tablet, computer, or phone. It’s currently only available in the United Kingdom, but a U.S. appearance may happen soon—allowing millions of people to stop wondering if they turned off the stove ten minutes after leaving the house.

Samsung Smart Washer and Dryer

Moving into another area of home appliances—washers and dryers—this Samsung duo can be controlled by, you guessed it, a mobile app. Similar to having a hot meal ready for you when you get home, you can remotely turn on your dryer an hour before you get home to have fresh and warm clothes ready upon your arrival. The app, available for iOS and Android, also notifies you when a load is done. Now you don’t have to run over and keep checking, only to ultimately forget to transfer clothes to the dryer when the washer is actually finished.

Milkmaid

The Milkmaid is a glass milk jug that plugs into a smart base that stays in your refrigerator. It’s able to measure the freshness of your milk by using pH sensors, feeling both when it’s spoiled and how long until it will be spoiled. It also has a temperature sensor that alerts you when your milk is left out too long, minimizing the risk of developing harmful bacteria. This information can all be accessed via a free iPhone app.

More and more, software is starting to appear in objects and appliances that on their own used to seem quite ordinary. The key to leveraging this evolution of “smart” devices is to access them via apps. Whether it’s something as simple as keeping your milk fresh longer, or functionality as crucial as keeping your home secure, technology is advancing to meet everyday needs in safe and intuitive ways.

Cast your vote!

If you haven’t already that is. Tomorrow, millions of Americans will line up either to re-elect President Obama for a second term, or to send Mitt Romney to the White House as the nation’s 45^th president. With every news outlet in the country churning out story after story about the hotly contested race, information about the two main candidates and their political views isn’t hard to come by. However, finding all the information relevant to you for tomorrow’s big day in one place is another matter.

Below are a few apps to help you sift through the mountains of data produced during election season. Although most voters have made their decision, there’s still plenty left to track—polls, propositions, and more. These apps will make any last-minute cramming easy on you:

VoterHub

This app for Android and Windows Phone allows users to find their local polling places and view ballot information all the way down to state legislative races. It also features the latest election news from The Associated Press and educational videos related to various elections and issues. This is a crucial app for those feeling seriously undereducated about the specific propositions they’ll be voting on their state.

PollTracker

PollTracker for iPhone and iPad provides users with optimized charts and averages, following important swing states as well as key voter group information (independents, gender breakdown, voter subgroups). It aggregates all available political data in real time, presenting results in graph format to accurately display trends. The graphs are also coupled with unbiased analysis of how the results are influential and relevant.

Stitcher

Available on Android and iOS devices, Stitcher gives users access to over 10,000 radio shows, live stations, and podcasts on demand. You can create custom stations and listen to your favorite news, comedy, and talk radio shows directly through the app. It’s a great way to stay up to date with what all the big names in news and entertainment are saying about the current campaign.

Whether you need to get a last minute run-through of the propositions you’re voting on, summaries of the candidates’ views, or professional opinions on the campaign, there are apps to help. Just use any of the above apps or type your election-related query into the search bar on Quixey.com!

Prior to Hurricane Sandy’s landfall late yesterday, authorities urged citizens all up and down the Atlantic Coast to take shelter, and in many cases, evacuate their homes entirely. Many were unaware of the potentially devastating impact Sandy would have, and at this point still are unsure how best to handle the aftermath of flooding and widespread power outages. Luckily, for those who saved battery power on their smartphones, there are plenty of apps to help get through the damage and confusion.

Apps have the ability to entertain, organize, and inform. But they can also completely revolutionize the way we live our lives. Below are a few apps that can help those in danger of suffering from Hurricane Sandy’s destructive path, especially if they’re experiencing power outages in their area.

Hurricane

This app by the American Red Cross monitors conditions in your area with location-based alerts, providing step-by-step instructions for what to do if cell towers are down and the power is out. It also lets family and friends know you’re safe with customizable alerts compatible with Facebook, Twitter, email, and text. If the lights go out, the Hurricane Toolkit includes a strobe light, flashlight, and audible alert functions. Most importantly, the app allows you to keep an emergency situation under control by detailing how to assemble an emergency kit, find open Red Cross shelters nearby, and prepare food and water if your area is impacted by floods.

Home Inventory

Home Inventory allows you to protect your assets from theft and natural disasters by helping you catalogue all of your valuables in one space. You can enter and view your belongings in category or location mode and add up to nine photos per item, including receipts and other important documents. As soon as your data is entered it automatically synchronizes between your iPhone and the web app, so you can access the data at any time. You also have the option of adding your insurance information and allowing the app to calculate proper insurance coverage so you don’t have to. It’s a crucial app for families who can’t bring all their valuables with them in the event of an evacuation.

CaneCast

This app for iPhone and iPad provides a detailed forecast map that allows you to monitor a storm’s current locations and conditions, as well as view its expected path. In addition to tracking the strength and course of a hurricane, it’s also the only forecast app that gives the latest information about risk of high winds at any location.

Whether you need constant updates on Sandy’s impact to your area, basic survival tools, or help taking care of your most valuable belongings, there are apps to help. Just remember to stay calm, use the resources available to you, and be safe!

The world demands satisfaction. And it often isn’t willing to wait.

As the pace of everyday life picks up over time, our tolerance for waiting dramatically decreases. With the way our society evolves thanks to faster and faster broadband speeds and an exploding mobile ecosystem, we now find ourselves in the midst of a truly on-demand economy. When we want something, we want it now. And since we’re used to receiving it immediately, we’re starting to get frustrated when that something arrives any later than, well, right now.

With a growing number of people living in such an intense rush every day, developers have taken notice and started crafting apps for the user who doesn’t just want something quick, but expects it. Whether you want to get from point A to point B, are craving a home cooked meal, or need help moving furniture into your apartment, believe it or not, there are apps to help. We’ve come across a few such apps ourselves, and thought we’d share them with you. They might just change your life.

Exec

Ever needed to pick up dry cleaning, buy a present for your mom’s birthday, and assemble your IKEA bookshelf all in the same afternoon, but with no way to take care of it yourself? Well since Siri and other virtual assistants can’t actually help you with physical tasks, Exec is the right place to look. Simply type what you’d like done into the app, such as “pick up my groceries,” and Exec will find you a nearby assistant to help.

Wait. Seriously?

Yes. This actually exists. Once the task is approved, the assistant will call you to receive specific directions. Your card is charged only when the task is complete, at a rate of $25/hour for the assistant’s time. The company is young and currently only operates in San Francisco, but similar services like TaskRabbit are available all over the country.

Munchery

Say it’s been a couple weeks since you had an Exec assistant pick up groceries for you and you need something new to eat. You’re sick of all the restaurants in your neighborhood and even if you had groceries, you know you won’t have time to cook something fancy when you get home. But instead of throwing another TV dinner into the microwave, whip out your smartphone and download Munchery. The app allows users to purchase meals cooked fresh daily by a team of personal chefs. Better yet, the meals can be delivered right to your doorstep. Menus change daily, and each meal includes a detailed description of the ingredients used, as well as a profile of the chef who prepared it. The app currently delivers only to addresses in the San Francisco Bay Area, but they promise the service will be available in many cities across the US soon!

Hotel Tonight

You’re out on the town, having a fun night with your friends, and it’s way too late to use public transit to get home. What can you do to fix this problem—right now? Instead of panicking and bringing down the group mood, download Hotel Tonight, choose your city, and the app will immediately find vacancies in hotels near you. Each option provides you with pictures, a description of the hotel, and its location on a map so you can make your way there as quickly as possible. The night is saved!

So if you’re the type who wishes your dry cleaning was done, your dinner for later taken care of, and a place to crash tonight locked up all by the time you finished reading this post, then check out the above apps. They’ll do the trick.