We are proud to announce the release of a new iPhone app – The LOST Whispers

This is the first entertainment app we have created, and a good prank app we believe it is. What you can do with the app is simple.

Yup. That’s what the app does – Play creepy whispering sounds and terrify your friends!

For more info about the app, visit whispers.just2us.com, or simply download now.

SG 4D version 2 was released with tons of changes. It is a very exciting release, a big overhaul, and with lots of new features.

In this post, I will highlight the significant changes for end-users. In the next post, I will talk about the changes from a technical perspective, which would include the new technologies that were used – CoreData, In-app-purchase, Facebook integration, etc..

How did we come thus far?

Before we start with the changes in the app, let’s look at a short history of the app.

• Oct 2008: SG 4D was first released, and it became the Top 100 apps instantly.
• Jul 2009: A minor bug fix, and it was also the last update for version 1.
• Nov 2009: SG 4D for Android was released.
• Jan 2010: SG 4D was squeezed out of Top 100. This is mainly due to a new and better 4D app arriving in App Store.
• Mar 2010: SG 4D v2 released

It is interesting to note a few things about the history. There was very little update for SG 4D, and when there are updates, it is usually minor changes and bug fixes..

SG 4D dominated and remained as the only 4D app until 2 months ago, when SG Live 4D was released. SG Live 4D provided a very fun feature – live broadcast at 6.33pm! This is a huge competitive edge, and consumers choose SG Live 4D over SG 4D since then.

But note that SG 4D version 2 was not released because it lost the competitive edge, though that is a huge motivating factor. SG 4D version 2 for iPhone was planned to release after SG 4D for Android, which includes a major overhaul. You would see why later.

Retrieving Latest Results Faster

The first improvement is to make the retrieval of the 4D results faster.

In version 1, 4D results were retrieved from Singapore Pools server. That way was sometime slow due to the server having a high load, and also because the retrieval process was not optimized. In version 2, all the 4D results were retrieved via Google’s cloud infrastructure.

This makes retrieval not only faster, but also more stable.

And similarly, SG 4D for Android retrieves results with the same architecture.

Email and SMS a Result

Users can now email or SMS a result of a particular day, informing friends of a result, or telling them they have strike lottery!

In fact, users can copy the result, and paste it in any apps eg. Facebook or twitter.

More Handicap Friendly

The app is now more friendly with VoiceOver turned on. The numbers are read out digit after digit with a slightly longer pause eg. 1-2-3-4.

24 years of Past Results

In version 2, we have made available 24 years of past results since May 1986 (when betting was computerized).

Disclaimer: You need to unlock the Premium Features ($3.99) to get 24 years of results. Without unlocking, only 3 years of results are available.

Checking Past Results Offline

Even better, we have made checking of the past results possible in offline mode! No longer do you need Internet to dig up a past result.

Analyzing Number Better

Number Analysis is improved in many ways:

• You can enter ‘R’ to represent any digit
• You can filter different prize category: Interested in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, starter or consolation?
• The analysis is done offline and no Internet is needed
• Its much faster, even with 24 years of data
• The results are shown neatly
• You can view the result for that draw, with your number in red

Removing Ad Banner

In version 1, there is always an ad banner at the bottom of the screen. Though no one has complained or requested for a ad-free version, we have made it possible to remove it.

In version 2, users may purchase and unlock Premium Features ($3.99) to remove the ad, and including other goodies.

Customizing your Lucky Wallpaper

We know you believe in auspicious number, auspicious outlet, and therefore probably an auspicious wallpaper. We do too ^^

More

There are a lot more things that we plan to put in the app to make 4D more fun. In future releases, you should find new features under More.

For now, we would hope you can share with your friends and families SG 4D for iPhone, and also for any other phones.

Good luck, have fun and download the app (:

I had an interview with mypaper 《我报》 in an article on 18 Mar, 2010. They have interviewed me over the SG Blood app that I had developed one year ago.

I have always reminded myself what a friend once said:

You do not have to be a teacher to contribute to society. Everyone has his own ways.

Creating SG Blood is my way, using my skills as an iPhone developer.

More socially conscious apps on the front page.

txeet has been approved by Apple and can now be downloaded from App Store!

SG 4D (mobile website) has added many more years of past 4D results!

Previously, the system has only results since Nov 2006, but now it has since May 1986! The mobile website has also added a date field (ddmmyy) for you to search for a draw easily.

If you have SG 4D app on iPhone or Android, please wait for the next release that exploit the 20 years more of 4D numbers

Did you know?

Singapore Pools 4D betting was computerised on 31 May 1986, and it got off an auspicious start with the first prize number coming out as 8838 (“8” is auspicious for chinese).

Some of you might be wondering – what are you working on? Is there new releases of SG 4D, SG Toto, SG Wireless, or some other new app?

txeet, is what I am currently working on.

In Oct 2009, txeet was first released on Android. Thereafter, I have been working on an iPhone version. This screenshot is a preview:

In Feb 2010, the first version for iPhone should be released. I’ll pray hard, to Apple for its release..

This is a little secret. I have created a mobile website for 4D results at http://sg4d.just2us.com/

There is nothing special about it, other than that it was built with Google’s App Engine. Running on Google’s infrastructure and servers has its bonuses – Google ensures stability, performance and scalability.

SG 4D was first released in Oct 2008. Since the first day it was released, it has been in the Top 100 free apps (in Singapore App Store).

But in Jan 2010, SG Live 4D was released. This 4D app is developed by another company (not by me). It is the fastest and coolest (reading the numbers in Hokkien?) 4D app in the app store. And therefore, it kicked out SG 4D from its throne

 
The new 4D app by Live4D

Ah.. but that is how the consumer market works.

When there is a better product, users will eventually flock to it. Even better if it is free. Take the case of Google’s free vs Nokia’s paid on the mobile. Nokia is taking action only because of tough competition. If there isn’t any competition, Nokia would continue to charge $$ to users. There is no reason not to earn..

Back to SG 4D. I am sure end-users will get better app when there are more choices. No doubt.

It is just another Android phone.

Tomorrow, there is going to be another big phone release by HTC or Samsung or Motorola or Sony Ericsson or LG or ZTE or Acer or Lenovo or Google..

And it is going to be dubbed the iPhone killer, again.

From the view as a mobile fanboy or developer:

The more Android handsets there are, the more fragmented is the ecosystem, the better it is for iPhone.

Its a New Year!

WJS has an interesting look at the top 25 companies across a decade – 1999 compared to 2009.

One note is that there were 13 Technologies companies in 1999, while there are only 6 in 2009. Bad..