"Are We Same" Facebook App is out!

We are a small but powerful team of mostly Asians. Perhaps that is why our designs and apps tend to be a little Asian sometimes, such as Word Tracer that helps one learn Chinese characters, and now the new addition to our family - Are We Same. Are We Same is a quiz game that tests your ability to tell all Asians apart! That's right. Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipino... Put your detecting and identifying skills to the test and find out if they (we) really do look all the same to you. You can play the surprisingly addictive game here: apps.facebook.com/arewesame

There are 2 modes, Casual Mode and Challenge Mode. Each mode comprises of 16 Asian faces and you get 3 options to choose from (4 options in Challenge Mode). Play with your friends and family and find out why one does better than the other. We at Nanaimo Studio hope that this game will challenge your beliefs about and perceptions of people with same or different heritage as yours. This app is crafted by developers and designers who happen to be Asians, and created with input from Chief Anthropologist Gavin Johnston. Future updates may include your own face up there! How cool would that be getting people to guess your heritage?

PS. It's okay if you get a low score. I got 31% on Casual Mode on my first try. And I'm an Asian.......

Have any thoughts or comments about Are We Same? Tweet us at @nanaimostudio or let us know on Google+!

Idea Organizer - Top #18 Free Productivity App

We decided to release Idea Organizer for free for a limited time just to thank the users for the support.  It took roughly a day for the download count to shoot up to above 15000 copies.  In the US, Idea Organizer ranks #18 in the Productivity category (as of this writing) and #494 overall.  That's with around 3800 downloads.  Interestingly, Idea Organizer ranks #2 in China in the Productivity category and #134 overall with over 8000 downloads.

A few interesting observations:

• People are watching for price drops in apps.
• If 2500 downloads results in #494 Overall in the US App Store, imagine being in the Top 100 consistently (and being a paid app).
• Making your app free and letting people decide if they would pay for it via in-app purchase can be a good tool if you are finding your app being drowned in the sea of noise.
• Either a lot of people have a need for a place to store their ideas or they just like to try out free apps. We think the latter more so than the former.
• If everyone likes free apps, Chinese likes it more so than others. Apple should perhaps consider implement a country-specific pricing scheme for apps.
• US and China account for close to 75% of the download. If this number is conclusive or indicative of something, it means if you are making a paid app, focus on the US market. If you are making a free app, focus on the US or China market.

It will be interesting to see what the download stat looks like tomorrow.

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Top Free iPhone Productivity App (US)


Top Free iPhone Productivity App (China)