Tag Archives: usa

September 3, 2014 · 2:44 am

Important Geography Apps on Android: Flags of the World, 50 US States, and European Countries

Three geographic apps that are performing very well on iOS (my top three apps of August in terms of income) are now available on the Google Play Store. And they are absolutely FREE, without in-app-purchases and questions / modes closed behind paywalls.

Flags of the World (Android)

50 US States (Android) got a new mode Time Game. And all questions are free now.

And finally, European Countries (Android) with a new neater icon.

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Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as 50 states, android, europe, flags, geography, usa

July 22, 2014 · 9:59 pm

California Counties

California Counties is an unexpected subject for a geography app. Is it too narrow? For me, creating this app is more like a joke than I really believe that it may become popular.

The English description of the game is the following:

I was searching the topic for the geography quiz when a strange (crazy?) idea came to my mind: why am I studying Africa or Europe while the Golden State of California doesn’t have a trivia game about its counties?
I lived for a year in Alameda county. I’ve been in Orange county several times. I have visited many California’s national and state parks. Still I have had no idea how many counties are in CA (the right answer is 58). As usual, the best way to learn all those 58 counties, their county seats and locations on the California map is to create an app about them. Testing the app, I’d have a plenty of time to browse them all from San Diego in the south to Crescent City in the north, from the famous CA ocean coast to Mohave desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains.

*****
I localized this app only into English, Spanish, and Russian.

Acknowledgements:
icons for buttons were downloaded from iconmonstr or were created with Font Awesome.

Thanks!

National Parks of US – Guess the Park Quiz

In summertime, the app about the US National Parks seems to be appropriate.

Concordia University Online Nebraska wrote a very positive review of this app: http://online.cune.edu/national-parks-app-review/ and I hope that you’ll enjoy it as well.

The English description of the game is the following:

Guess all 59 US National Parks either from its photo or from the map.
Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and 56 more parks!
Demonstrate your knowledge of the American wilderness and prepare for the new adventures!

*****

It is one of America-centered apps, but my experience with 50 US States and US Presidents was positive. Some of photos in the app are my own, others are taken from the nps.gov website. It’s handy that every picture done by the US government employee is in public domain. This app makes me want to visit all those parks I haven’t seen yet. My count is 22/59 so far.

Acknowledgements:
icons for buttons were downloaded from iconmonstr or were created with Font Awesome.

Thanks!

US Presidents

Yesterday, it was a very productive day for me and my apps. Two were approved and released: US Presidents and Asian Countries, about which I’ve already written in the blog.
US Presidents had been initially based on the quiz model of Famous Scientists but evolved into something more similar to my other apps. It has a main menu screen with two modes: a spelling quiz and a multiple-choice quiz. Some 19th-century presidents are so obscure for the modern public, that I disabled the loss after 5 mistakes that I introduced in Scientists. For me, it’s more important to keep users happy and allow them to learn new information.

Americans are obsessed with their presidents and school-children learn their names and years in the office. There is an ongoing 1-dollar coin series with portraits of all presidents. As usual, I localized the app into 9 languages but I expect about 75% of downloads and revenue from the U.S.

The English description of the game is the following:

Learn all US Presidents. Improve your knowledge of American history!
* George Washington,
* Abraham Lincoln,
* Theodore Roosevelt,
* John F. Kennedy,
* Ronald Reagan,
…and all other US Presidents in one app.

*****

Features:
– “Rate the App” button on the main menu screen. Let’s see if it will bring more reviews.
– There are all 43 presidents from George Washington to Barack Obama. Wait a minute, isn’t Obama the 44th President? He is. But Grover Cleveland who held the office for two non-consecutive terms is considered being both 22nd and 24th President. 44 presidents and 43 men.
– Many US presidents had the same last name. In the “letter-quiz”, I ask only for the last name for the sake of consistency. There should not be any confusion, because first names still can be revealed as a hint by pressing the “Info” button.

3. Acknowledgements:
icons for buttons were downloaded from iconmonstr or were created with Font Awesome.

Thanks!

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Filed under Games

Tagged as people, presidents, usa

March 21, 2014 · 7:56 pm

50 American States Map and Capital Cities of US Quiz

Besides chemistry, I used to like geography. And there are a plenty of good topics for geography quiz. I decided to start with US States Map and Capital Cities. There are a bunch of apps on this subject on the App Store, but my app is the best 🙂

Please check also a comprehensive review of the app and its functionality by Concordia University Online Nebraska: http://online.cune.edu/50-states-capitals-flags-app-review/

The English description of the game is the following:

All 50 states! All 50 capitals! From New England and the Great Lakes to the California coast and the Alaska wilderness!

* Northeast
* Midwest
* South
* West

*****

1. Initially, I was going to create an app about American cities. But it turned out to be very time consuming to find good (and available in public domain) pictures of several dozens of cities. I had visited (or lived in) some of them myself and I had my own photos (NYC, Pittsburgh, SLC, several others) but still… a lot of search. Meanwhile I created nice maps of all 50 states and decided to focus on state names first. I added capitals as the second mode

2. Features:
– My first geography quiz
– Photos as button icons; a US flag as a background
– I localized the app to 8 languages and I wonder if there is an interest for the US geography in other countries
– The setting button among the mode buttons in the main menu
– The only IAP removes ads

3. Acknowledgements:
icons for buttons were downloaded from iconmonstr or were created with Font Awesome.

My own photos of the Golden Gate Bridge in SF; the Utah Capitol in SLC; and a fire hydrant in Pittsburgh.

Thanks!