Daily Archives: February 3, 2016

Podcasts section starts showing up in Google Play Music for some

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Last year it was revealed that Google Play Music would get a Podcasts section in 2016, and now we can report that it’s already live. For some lucky souls, at least.

The feature will apparently become available for all before the end of this month. Until then, Google seems to be doing some A/B testing on this, but the new functionality is enabled server-side so it isn’t part of an update to the Google Play Music app unfortunately.

As you’d expect, a Podcasts entry shows up in the app’s side menu, under Music library and above Browse stations. Once you tap on that you’re taken to the new section, that comes with two tabs – Featured and Your podcasts. A search bar is at the top, naturally.

When you decide to subscribe to a podcast, you’re asked if you want to download the latest five episodes and get notified when new ones get released. The Now playing screen for podcasts is similar to the one used for music, save for one difference – the thumbs up and down buttons have been replaced with ones that let you skip 30 seconds forward and backward,…

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World Economic Forum’s 10 Commandments to Deal with the Urban Mobility Challenge

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As part of my work with the World Economic Forum, I along with Andrey Berdichevskiy, Community Lead, Automotive Industry, World Economic Forum, have been involved with the Global Agenda Council on the Future of Automotive & Personal Transportation. Thought leaders from various automotive industry segments ranging from auto vehicle manufacturers, suppliers, technology service providers to universities and research institutes, are working together to identify possible solutions, as well as a recommended course of action for local governments.

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Alto’s Adventure coming to Android next week as a free-to-play game

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Alto’s Adventure was one of those games that you couldn’t escape hearing about from iOS friends when it launched last year, and almost precisely one year later, it will finally be available on Android. We’ve known it was coming since September, but the developers announced via Twitter, that the game will finally hit Google Play next Thursday, February 11th.

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For those that did somehow escape the Alto adulation, it is an endless runner-style game, but you are on a snowboard and trying to escape some apparently disgruntled llamas. You need to gather coins and power-ups while avoiding obstacles and doing flips and grinds as you speed your way down the mountain. There is a renewing set of challenges for you to attempt on each run and new characters with varying skills to unlock.

There’s one main difference between the Android version of the game and the iOS version, and that is the $2.99 upfront cost on iOS. The developer has opted to go free-to-play for Android as they feel it is a better match for the platform. The game will be monetized with opt-in video ads as well as an available in-app purchase that will double the value of the coins you collect in the game. The higher piracy rates on Android are one stated concern, but the developer also simply indicated that they felt this was where things are going generally for mobile gaming.

The gameplay remains identical between the iOS and Android versions of the game, so you aren’t going to be seeing banner ads flying across the screen or any monetization tactics that interfere with play. The developer also remains open to trying new things should this strategy not prove effective, including an in-app purchase that simply makes it a paid game with no opt-in ads.

If you enjoy endless runner-style games, I would highly recommend downloading Alto’s Adventure when it hits Google Play next week. I spent a fair amount of time with it last year, and while it isn’t a complex game, it is beautifully executed, and at the low price of free, you can definitely afford to give it a shot.

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