Google Play rolls out “designed for phones” tag of shame for apps on tablets
Finding tablet apps on the Play Store has historically been a bit of a trial-and-error process. It usually involves finding an app and hunting through the screenshots for a tablet picture. If there isn't one, you install the app anyway and hope a tablet layout will magically show up.
With Android tablets gaining more and more market share, Google has decided to turn up the heat on app developers that don't build apps with tablets in mind. Apps that don't include certain tablet enhancements will display a "designed for phones" tag on the tablet version of the Play Store, making users with tablets less likely to install them. Google is also upping the ante on the front page and "Top app" lists on the tablet Play Store, which will now hide phone apps by default.
Google has a tablet quality checklist for developers hoping to avoid a public shaming. There's also a tablet compatibility section in the "optimization tips" section of the Android Developer console, which will scan an app and offer tailored recommendations for improvement.
Still, seeing an app without the "designed for phones" tag does not necessarily mean that it will have a tablet-optimized layout. Two of the biggest Android Tablet deniers, Facebook and Twitter, won't get tagged with Google's new scarlet letter.
While Android tablets used to be a distant second to the iPad, most recent market share reports have Android tablets outselling iOS tablets. Tablet app design hasn't really kept up with market share, so Google is presumably hoping that a gentle prodding will get developers to upgrade their apps to take advantage of larger screens.
Do you use social networks and want to build your own awesome 3D avatar? Maybe you want to send someone a cute cuddly image of yourself (kind of)? Or maybe you have your own ideas of what you would do with an Avatar… Well look no further than Avatara which I discovered from the MakeUseOf directory . You can create 3d avatars out of pre-set up templates or create your own from scratch. To start, visit Avatara’s homepage . You will see this screen: Click Get Started to umm, get started! That will take you to this screen: You see that you can build your own Avatar using an uploaded head shot like the Obama one above (just an example, guys). Or roll with one of their awesome avatars. I chose to start with a blank avatar by clicking Start with a blank avatar at the bottom of the screen. That takes you to here: I clicked on the filter at the top and told it to filter out everything but male characters and then I saw this: I rolled with Buck and continued. You need to click Select...
Japanese calligraphy is an artistic writing style of the Japanese language. Its Chinese origins can be traced back to the twenty-eighth century BCE. Calligraphy found its way into Japanese culture in 600 CE and is known as the karayo tradition. For Westerners, calligraphy is forever fascinating. However, it takes years to learn how to properly draw the signs. Two basic principles must be known to understand Japanese writing: there are different writing styles and different alphabets. Kaisho for example, is a writing style most commonly used in print media. Tensho on the other hand is used in signatures. Other writing styles are Reisho, Gyosho and Sousho. The alphabets include Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana. Katakana is used for writing foreign words. It can also serve to highlight words, in analogy to capital letters as we know them from the Roman / Latin alphabet (Romaji in Japanese). Each Kanji character has a meaning of its own, while Hiragana or Katakana characters merely repres...
Have you heard about Boom? Boom is a relatively new startup that’s aiming to build something pretty crazy. They’re not building an app… or a social network… or even some new gadget for the Kickstarter crowd. Boom wants to build planes. Really, really, really fast planes. Specifically, they’re trying to design and build a supersonic passenger plane that goes 2.2x the speed of sound. If all goes to plan, they’ll be able to shuttle people from New York to London in 3.5 hours, and SF to Tokyo in 4.5. Sound crazy? I wouldn’t disagree. It’s worth noting that the company is in the very early days for something as intensive, massive, and hugely expensive as designing and producing a passenger aircraft. They’re still working on their first prototype, and hope to fly it by late next year. But it’s also worth noting that the team behind the plane has some serious talent in its blood: the company’s 11 employees have collectively contributed to over 30 aircrafts — having worked on thin...
