Cory Bohon

If you like playing trivia games, then Trivium for iOS is definitely for you. Trivium for iOS is a game that lets you answer over 10,000 (yes, that’s ten-thousand) questions in more than 7 categories of question types from general trivia to science to historical events.

With many trivia games, it isn’t fun for adults to play because the questions don’t seem relevant, but with Trivium, the questions are geared towards high school and college users, making you really think about some of the questions. As you play, Trivium will begin learning your skill level, and will give you more questions that suit your skill level.

This game really shines in the game play. Besides having a great user interface that lets you quickly navigate to a game of your choice, the game offers many play scenarios. You can play locally by yourself, but there are also several multiplayer options. You can play using “Heads Up!”, which splits the screen on your iOS device, allowing you to play with a friend using the same device. You can also play over Bluetooth with another iOS device, online using Game Center, and if that weren’t enough, you can also play against the computer using one of 4 different skill levels.

The application also interfaces well with Game Center in iOS so that you can prove to the world that you are, in fact, the trivia master.

When you are ready to switch things up, you can purchase trivia packs in the application using your iTunes account. For $1.99 each, you can enable the following trivia packs:

- General Trivia
- Popular Culture
- Science Trivia
- Historical Trivia
- Technology Trivia
- Movie Trivia
- Sports Trivia

Right now, Trivium is free for a limited time. Head on over to the iTunes App Store to grab your copy today! Trivium is available on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, and is a Universal Application.

The Mac, iOS, Android, and Amazon application stores and other places like it have become the go-to destination for many device owners to find and purchase new applications for their devices. But, they are also drawing large crowds of developers. According to Apple, there are over 350,000 applications; and, that number is growing almost daily.

However, the app store model isn’t perfect. I have always come from the persuasion that you need to step back and look at the past in order to gain appreciation and inspiration for future endeavors. Because more and more consumers are using these app store as the primary point of sale and delivery of software, I believe that we should take a step back and look at the app store model in an overall picture to see what things need to be changed going forward. No app store is perfect, and I highly doubt that it ever will be; but, I believe that there are 4 things that, if implemented, would make the app store a better concept in general. Two of the problems are from a developer’s point of view, and the other two are from the consumer’s point of view.

1. Developers and App Store Listings

At the core of any app store is the developers. Without them, you wouldn’t have any applications available for your platform. They are the “bread and butter” of devices. Imagine an iPad without any apps. Not so “magical,” huh?

I think Apple has implemented a great system for developers to get their applications out to the public with a great distribution system. They have also allowed developers to get their applications out to the press, free of charge, with promotional codes that can be downloaded and sent out to reviewer. However, there are things that Apple and others could do better.

First, I would like to see all development platforms provide developers with the ability to download promotional codes. Currently, Google’s App Market doesn’t support this, and I’m sure there are other app stores that don’t.

Second, developers should have the ability to customize their app store listings a little more. Perhaps the ability to use their company logo and colors, or the ability to have an email contact or support form that can be filled out. Before the app stores, customers interacted directly with the developer’s website. Since then, the app store has abstracted the developer, making them almost “the man behind the curtain,” so to speak, when it comes to interacting with customers. No longer do we get to e-mail a customer when they purchase a piece of software, to ask them how they are liking it. We usually only hear from a customer when they are having problems with the application.

2. Comments and Ratings

Comments and ratings are a tough situation. In part, they are a good thing because it allows a customer to express their opinion about the software they just purchased; however, I have seen many customers complain about a feature of the product not working when they just didn’t read the instructions. This bad review can then turn into tanking sales, and suddenly an application you’ve been working months on ceases to turn a profitable number of sales.

Another problem with ratings and comments is that usually the only time a user actually posts one is when they are having problems with the application. Because the app store listings don’t foster a relationship between the developer and the customer, and because most listings on app stores don’t feature contact information for the developer’s support channel, customers feel they should just post their problem into the comments and give the app a bad rating in hopes that the developer will pay attention to the issue.

Here’s the problem, however: Developer’s don’t have access to the comments, or the e-mail addresses of those users posting their problems.

This is why I think app stores should implement some type of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software so that when a user is having a problem with your application, you will be able to respond to them in the comments to let them (and others) know what is going on and how to solve the issue. Perhaps these messages could be posted publicly, or (if the customer requests), privately.

Regardless, however, developers should have the right to respond to customer’s comments. Especially since we are giving 30% of our revenue (depending on the app store) to the app store, and surely, all of that can’t be going to just hosting of the downloads and credit card transactions.

3. Upgrades

Another thing that really annoys me about the app store is the inability to issue (as a developer) or get discounted upgrades (as a customer) for future versions of the software. Many developers allow discounted upgrades (say, 50% off) for repeat customers upgrading to the newest version (i.e. from version 1.0 to version 2.0) of the software.

To make matters worse, often times when an X.0 upgrade is released for a piece software, the developer takes down the older version, most of time forcing people to upgrade to the new version at regular price. This, of course, leads us to the last problem with the current app store model: Backups.

4. Backups

How many of you have been in a similar situation as this: You purchase an app from the app store, and after a year, the developer decided to upgrade to a new 2.0 release. Because the developer no longer wishes to keep distributing the old 1.0 release, they delete from the app store completely. But, as a buyer of the old 1.0 release, you no longer have access to download the 1.0 release should you wish to in the future. Of course, you can still install the software in the future using a backup stored on your computer, but that is your only lifeline.

My wish is that from a consumer standpoint, Apple and Google would finally see that if you purchase a piece of software it should remain available to you, even if the developer decides to take it down in the future. I further think that even if the app store management decides to take down the software at their own discretion, they should either refund you or allow purchasers to keep downloading the software. It’s not fair to take down the software without any warning, not refund the customer, and then not allow access to the purchase.

What are your thoughts regarding this situation? I think there are other changes that need to be made, but these are just a few big ones. Join the conversation on Twitter or in the comments below. I’m looking forward to your thoughts and comments.

This application has now been approved and is on the iTunes Store. If you have already purchased the application, you may now download it for free as an update. If you have been checking out the application in anticipation of the 3.0 update, I appreciate it.

You can find the new version of “What’s My IP?” on the iTunes App Store at this link, and you can check out the sneak peak by clicking here.

I have submitted a new update for my application What’s My IP? on the iTunes App Store. With this update, the application has been completely revamped to include device information in addition to just the IP Address. Two completely new features let you get the IP address from a hostname online and check the reachability of a website/server by typing in the IP address or hostname.

With this post, I want to give you a sneak peak of the application so you can know what’s to come for the application. Check out the description from the App Store below and the screenshots below that. I anticipate that this application will become live on the App Store next week as I submitted it last weekend. I will post (and tweet) when the application goes live.

Info from the App Store
The iPhone/iPod touch application that was the first on the App Store to provide IP Address checking for your Apple iOS device has swiftly become the tool for network administrators, small business IT departments, and home network users with version 3.0.

Version 3.0 of What’s My IP provides users with important information about their network and accessing device. With a single tap, you can find out your IP Address, Device Name, and Device Type.

New with version 3.0 is the ability to get the IP address of a hostname on the Internet or your local network. Simply tap the Hostname tab to begin. Type in a hostname, click “Get IP Address,” and the address is presented to you quickly and easily. No fussing with other services that can often take extra time to navigate to.

Version 3.0 also comes with a server reachability checker that you can use while on your local wireless network or abroad on either EDGE or 3G. By tapping on the Reachability tab, you can check to see if the server hostname or IP address you type in is available online. If the server is online, you will see ONLINE presented; if the server cannot be reached, OFFLINE will be presented. This check happens almost instantly, keeping you from having to mess with Mobile Safari or other online services.

Now you can see why What’s My IP 3.0 is becoming the swiss army knife of network administrators. This application provides you with the network tools you need at an affordable price.

Don’t let your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad be without one of the best networking tools available for iOS devices.

Earlier this week, one of my newest iPhone applications, TipCalc (Tip Calculator) was approved and placed on the iTunes App Store for $0.99. Here’s a little about the application and what it does.

• “Wait, you want to leave how much of a tip?”
• “How much would that bill be if we gave a 15% tip?”
• “But the service wasn’t that good!”

So, you’re at a restaurant, arguing with your colleague over splitting the bill. Normally, you would have to figure out the math on a napkin, or pull out that geeky calculator. That is, until now.

TipCalc lets you quickly and almost instantly calculate a tip based on the quality of service using a 4-star system (1-star: 5% tip; 2-stars: 10% tip; 3-stars: 15% tip; 4-stars: 20% tip). Then, if you wish to split the bill with someone else (or among several people), then type in the amount of people to be split with and click “Calculate Tip.”

An alert dialog will display all the pertinent information regarding your bill, including taxes, tip, and split amount.

You can download this application from the iTunes App Store starting today. A future update will let you input custom tip percentages and automatically calculate taxes based on a percentage inputted by the user.