The Tale of EleMints

First off, you don't need to have perfect programming, design, or marketing skills. When I started working on EleMints, I was still a High School student (and still am). For me, it was simply a learning experience. I had no expectations whatsoever — after all, my goal was to get 2 sales a month. The first name I chose, "Periods", was a naive choice based on the periodicity of the elements. EleMints was later chosen with the help of one of my beta testers. The app itself was horrendously slow, and feature ideas that were initially planned (element pictures and a chemical database) have still never made it into the current version. It seems that the only two things I actually did right was make a nice icon, and set a good price, $4.99.

However, despite all the errors I had made, I felt quite satisfied, and decided to release EleMints version 1.0. For two weeks, I was over joyed to find out EleMints was averaging between 30 to 50 sales a day. For a student my age, I was making about half of what one of my parents made in a day. This entire time, I had never even advertised it — besides telling one or two people by word of mouth, EleMints was being found almost exclusively by students and teachers searching for "periodic table" on the App Store.

And then it happened. Apple, for whatever reason, decided to give me a heart attack at my age in the early morning of October 28th, when I found out EleMints was featured on the App Store's featured section. Once EleMints made its appearance there, it began averaging 250 sales a day. It ended it staying in the featured section for 3 weeks, with average sales dropping by 50 every week.

Once EleMints returned to an average of 40 sales a day, which slowly dwindled down to around 10 in the span of 2 months, I decided to release an update to address features and bugs users have asked for. On February 1st, I released version 1.1. A week later, following the trend of many developers, I released a free version dubbed "Mild EleMints." Both apps were based on a complete rewrite of the loading code, making the app in general much faster.

As downloads dwindled even more, I decided to run a one week sale at $0.99 to "celebrate" 1 year of App-Kainime. Changing the price to only a dollar actually decreased the amount of revenue I was getting. I changed it back to $4.99 soon after, learning that cheaper isn't always better.

However, what I found out then was that EleMints no longer showed up in the search results for "periodic table." In fact, you could only find it if you either searched for "EleMints", of browsed through pages of apps in the reference section. Despite this, EleMints was still getting up to 10 sales a day. To say the least, I don't believe Mild EleMints' downloads have pushed EleMints' sales much, but I decided to leave it available for students who just want a basic picture of the table to look at.

Just as the amount of users that have upgraded surpassed 80%, I released the current version of EleMints, offering a whole bunch of attractive new features and a shiny new UI. Users who upgraded responded with joy, but EleMints was still no where to be found for new users. On May 6th, I decided to fix this issue myself, and changed EleMints' name on iTunes to "EleMints: Periodic Table." I did the same for Mild EleMints, changing it to "Mild EleMints: Free Periodic Table." This little experiment seems to have fixed the search issues, bringing EleMints to the 6th position on the search results, and bringing its sales back up to 15 a day. As it gained a small portion of the spotlight, it gained more sales, and eventually rose to the third position. Mild EleMints on the other hand, surpassed its original download number, and has since been getting 500 downloads a day.

What I Had Learned

You don't need to be a pro to develop a successful iPhone app. However, what you do need to do is to work hard and finish what you started. Even if it takes you much longer to get to the same point, put all your effort into getting that far.

Even if you have a good idea, it means nothing if you can't make it happen. If it's implemented half way, someone else will just take the spotlight instead. There are currently over 25 periodic tables so far, but only a few are well designed.

Just because one application is successful, doesn't mean they all will. Choose a project you enjoy. Your users will feel the amount of energy and joy you put into your app if you had a good time making it.

Don't be greedy, but don't give it away for free either. Choose a price point, and bring your app up to that price's standards. Lowering the price will only lower the value of your app.

Design is everything. Users don't care what algorithm you chose to get something to work, they just care that it works. Your icon, your UI, and your programming design decisions all play an equal part into getting your users to remember your work.

A free version won't necessarily make users buy your app. Users that must try before they buy are users that will simply try and never buy. Instead, work on pleasing the users that will buy your app the first time they visit its page on the App Store.

Talk to your users. Respond to support emails promptly and listen to what they want. Happy users will suggest your app to others.

Some Other Interesting Tidbits

Apple seems to really love EleMints' icon. You can probably see it in 90% of Apple's there's an app for that ads, in the 1 billion downloads graphics, or in the App Store Turns 1 iTunes page.

EleMints has received hundreds of support emails from High School, University, and general interest students, teachers, and researchers.

Sales in the US account for 80% of users. UK comes in at 7%, Canada at 3%, Germany at 1.5%, and Australia at 1.2%.

EleMints has been "returned" a total of 5 times.

Since their release, 8,363 copies of EleMints have been sold, and 40,639 copies of Mild EleMints have been downloaded. See here for the complete numbers.

Lastly, because of EleMints' great design, I have gotten several job offers. Putting care into your work will help you build a great portfolio.

The mediocre news I present to you today is not all that bad… to sum it up, EleMints 1.3 (along with Mild EleMints 1.3), is gong to take a little bit longer than expected to be released, and my internal blog system is annoying me because I get too much spam. Until I get some time to put a moderation system in place, it's simply going to keep annoying me, but enough of that.

The good news! I finally am blessed with help in the form of a fellow co-worker — Dina Nicholaou is here to help input and format data for my various applications. EleMints will be getting ionization energies, binding energies, and isotopes all in one update, and if anyone would like any additional properties before 1.3 is released, voice it out in the comments below or send me an email (email preferred as comments are infested by spam on a daily basis).

Additionally, SmartFrench, a new application just finished a couple days ago, should be hitting the App Store as soon as it passes Apple's review team. SmartFrench focuses on teaching you how to speak French like French people do, and as a fellow French speaker, I would have to say that the phrases included are geared perfectly towards any situation.

Now for random news. As my obsession of Japanese has gotten worst during the summer, I came across an interesting channel on YouTube. AkitaTom seems to have done the exact same thing I plan to do in about a month - go to Japan as a graduated high school student giving another go at high school, just this time in Japanese. Although I might not do it as often as Tom has, I plan to also record a video log of my adventures over there, so for those of you interested, please drop by my YouTube channel in about a month's time to watch the life of a programming exchange student living in Japan!

Finally, a few people asked me about this, so I might as well answer everyone (including one reviewer on the App Store). Why choose Californium for the EleMints icon? The answer is quite simple, actually:

1. Californium (and Berkelium) where both synthesized at UC Berkeley, my university of choice if I ever feel like getting a degree in anything.
2. Being the Apple fanatic that I am, I simply couldn't resist using Californium. In several Apple applications, namely Mail on the Mac, and the Maps and Weather App on the iPhone, Apple placed references to Cupertino, California, aka Apple Headquarters. Being a fellow Californian, I decided to go with the flow and use Californium for the icon.
3. It was either Californium, or Dubnium, symbol Db — aka my initials :P.

Thats it for now :) We have some exciting apps coming out soon, along with a lot of work coming out of me, so expect some previously promised ones to be coming as well.

In any case, I took these 2 hellish years of High School, and managed to somehow pass with a pretty good score. Each of the 6 subjects are graded on a non-linear scale of 1 to 7, 7 being the best grade you can get. SL indicates the subject was standard level, while HL means higher level (incidentally much, much harder). A minimum of 3 HLs are needed to go for the diploma, and if you get a 2 in any of them, the minimum points to pass becomes 28. Otherwise, a minimum of 24 combined marks is needed to get the diploma itself. Finally, a bonus of up to 3 points is awarded to students who do well on their Extended Essay (EE) and Theory of Knowledge Essay (TOK).

My Results:

• Standard Subjects:
  • English A1 HL: 4
  • French A2 SL: 5
  • History SL: 5
  • Biology HL: 4
  • Chemistry SL: 7
  • Mathematics HL: 5
• Bonus Points:
  • Mathematics EE: B
  • TOK Essay: B
  • EE/TOK points: 2
• Total Points: 32

I therefore passed my hellish IB exams, and received my Bilingual IB Diploma :)

• Sept 1: Leave Los Angeles at 6:10 AM
• Sept 1: Arrive in Chicago at 12:10 PM
• Sept 1 to 2: Pre-Orientation in Chicago
• Sept 2: Leave Chicago
• Sept 3: Arrive in Tokyo
• Sept 3 to 5: Orientation in Tokyo
• Sept 5: Depart by train to Hachioji-shi and start living with my new family
• July-ish 2010: Leave Japan :(

Earlier this year, while I was still contemplating how I will get through my last year of High School (curse the International Baccalaureate!!!) and move on with my life, I was introduced to a compelling opportunity to live and study in Japan along with a host family, taking yet another year of High School. Since then, I quickly applied, and have been waiting for a reply since January.

Incidentally, I've (finally) been accepted to Japan! I'll be leaving for my 5th year of High School in September, except in a completely new and unique county. 日本、よろしくお願いします。

First off, Cliché Magazine has been accepted to the App Store, and has almost reached 800 downloads after just a week. This app presents a new, original set of gestures exclusively for viewing a magazine. They were designed to allow a user to stay zoomed in for a short amount of time while they read an article. Landscape, table of contents, quick scrolling, along with other minor features, will be added soon.

EleMints is a continued favorite on the App Store. It has sold over 6000 copies to date, while the free version, Mild EleMints, has been downloaded well over 10000 times since its release. A much anticipated update will be posted to the App Store in about a week, with Isotopes, Equation Balancer, and other, useful things that I don't quite remember off the top of my head :P. Also, Mild EleMints fans will be pleased to hear that there will be an update for the mild version as well, with more info of course :).

In other news, I will also be working with Christian Aubert, creator of SmartFrench, to bring SmartFrench to the iPhone. This program focuses of teaching users the natural and intuitive way of speaking the French language, assuring you won't be laughed at when you visit Paris for the first time. Expect it later this summer.

Finally, I must admit that I have been taking some time off during the past 11 or so weeks watching 「東のエデン」, or Eden of the East in English. From the creator of Ghost in the Shell, this is a must see anime. Two movies are also slated to be released in November of this year and again in 2010. While I'm in Japan (67 more days!), I'll be sure to watch it and report back :P.

As for updates, a new version of EleMints is in the works, with many small and large improvements. Mild EleMints will also be getting an update at the same time, with the new table style, and a few more properties as well. Look forward to it, and expect more apps to be released this summer!

iTunes description:

Cliché Magazine is an eco-friendly virtual lifestyle publication, providing innovative ways to live life in sync with fashion, entertainment, and culture.

Cliché is a publication that will primarily reach to a readership within the city of Los Angeles, yet our content is available to people around the world who pride living in creative and unique cultures.

Cliché Magazine is advocating a complete support of eco-friendly living, our online domain is powered by a "green hosting" company, where we will be unveiling other environmental-friendly activities to our readers.

Oddly enough, iTunes Connect isn't reporting any crashes from exhausted memory, which was my greatest concern. After all, using the app for more than 10 minutes seems to make it want to kill itself…

In any case, I'll be taking care of these bugs in the next version. If you come across any others, please leave a message in the comments below :3

First off, I'm sure many of you have heard, I have been working closely with Slightly Pretentious Software on the Façade Project. Façade aims to become the best Mac OS X theming solution, bringing back what was lost when Leopard was released.

Due for June, Cliché Magazine, a new online based magazine focused on everything cliché, will have its very own iPhone Application. Development is almost finished, although a few hurdles have been hard to cross — expect to see it in the App Store soon!

Also due for late June, expect a new version of EleMints to be out, complete with much wanted features of isotopic data, chemical equation balancer and more!

Due later in the summer are two iPhone apps that have been in the planning stages for quite a while (since 2008!!!). In any case, I'm finally happy to introduce App Trends to everyone! This iPhone app and web service will be the non-stop resource for iPhone developers to track and evaluate how their apps are doing on the App Store.

The second iPhone app, #2 Pencil, has been on quite the hiatus recently. However, with all my school work over, be prepared for one of the best SAT study guides to enter the market! I have been working closely with an SAT tutor to provide students planning to enter college with an easy to use study guide that will guide them into passing the SATs with flying colors.

Two other apps, this time focused for Mac OS X, are also in the planning stages for late 2009 or early 2010. The first is LanguagePod101, the much anticipated upgrade to the JapanesePod101 App. This will bring a variety of other languages from the podcast-based Innovated Language Learning series to the app, along with iTunes syncing, premium account integration, and more!

Finally, due for 2010, is the Core Animation based graphic design application, First Draft. Although it is still in the planning stages, I hope First Draft will be able of accomplishing a variety of tasks, and will replace Illustrator with no regrets.

Thats all for now! This will be a short summer with everything thats going on, but I hope I'll make the most of it (and stay on schedule). I'll be making some more improvements to the site when I have time, adding a mailing list for starters. Please check back soon :)

After a week of waiting, EleMints 1.2 has finally been accepted on the App Store, and is available for purchase/updating. This version of EleMints contains a whole bunch of improvements, so I encourage you to check it out!

As a reminder, EleMints is currently on sale for only $4.99 until the end of April, so get it now if you want to save a few bucks. Much requested isotopic information and an equation balancer will be added in the coming months, along with a few other features and bug fixes as well.

Updates

• Comments have been re-enabled. Anti-comment-spamming measures will be taken next week.
• EleMints 1.2 has been submitted to the App Store (More Information Below)
• Mild EleMints 1.2 will take a little longer, but will follow with some more properties and an updated user interface.
• 4 more iPhone apps in the works!
• A Mac app too!

EleMints 1.2 Release Notes

EleMints 1.2 "Magnesium" Update:

New Data:

• Specific Heat Capacity
• Oxidation States
• Crystal Structure

Table Tab:

• Updated Table Design.
• Improved performance while zooming and scrolling the Periodic Table.
• New Multicolor shadings for table in Settings App.
• Updated Table Coloring Mode via Color Wheel at bottom-right.
• Table Coloring Mode works in landscape.
• Double tap to zoom in.
• Crystal Structure and Physical State symbols when zoomed in.
• Slide two fingers across the table to flip it.
• Option in Settings App to hide Popup.

Plot Graph Tab:

• New Oxidation States graph.

Properties Panes:

• Option in Settings App to hide simple properties.
• Color Dots now represented by Pie Charts.
• Option to hide color dots.
• Option to hide definitions.
• Interactive Physical State section.
• Interactive Crystal Structure section.
• Wikipedia and WebElements links redirect to articles tab.

Articles Tab:

• New articles tab.
• User Guide moved to this section.
• Easy way to contact developers in About section.
• New Tutorials Section.
• 100+ articles on every Element and the chemistry behind them.

Tools Tab:

• New tools tab.
• Molar Mass calculator that automatically typesets formulas.
• Percentage by mass of elements calculated.

Know Issues:

• EleMints may crash if animation is enabled for the Electron Diagram. Please verify your preferences in the EleMints section of the Settings App.

Also, a huge update will be coming along at the end of the year that will address a fair amount of issues, from load time to plenty of new features and a ton of new data!

This is not a joke. We are experienced programers, and we know various methods to hack you if we deem it necessary. I suggest you stop before it's too late.

This is a final warning. I am currently in bandages, and thus in much pain. If this continues, my tolerance will reach its limits, as I am tired of deleting posts such as:

Nice page ;) I've been marshalling for some twenty one years now loed of the rings Oh yes, one extra comment - maybe you could add more pictures too! gold sidewall tires, Kiss all of you

1. It hurts to move myself to the computer
2. I only have one hand to type with...

I'll still be working hard to get EleMints 1.1 out, and it will be posted to the app store by the end of this week :)

Also, there is now a "Status Section" for EleMints on the front page.

On another note, if you like EleMints, please help spread the word! All of your support gives me more than enough motivation to keep on improving it.

Today, I announce with pleasure that I have completed (yes, I mean completed) EleMints! From discovering the iPhone development workflow to making a basic periodic table, I am overwhelmed by the fact that it has gone this far! EleMints will be available on the App Store within a month for $4.99.

There will also be a "Mild EleMints" available at launch for free, so you could enjoy the tabular goodness, coupled with classification, electronegativity, and physical state data. If you like it, or just feel like supporting me, please give it a try and buy the full version!

Also, check back in about a week, when the site will be updated to include information on the latest version!

Also, the chemicals tab will not be part of the 1.0 version unfortunately, but it will most probably make a comeback in 1.1 or 1.2, along with another tab call articles, containing various articles describing elemental properties in full. In it's stead, I'll be sure to improve the current offerings as much as possible!

This are screenshots of Beta 41. If you would like to be a beta tester, please contact us with your information. Periods will be released soon, so don't miss out!

The senses can range from touch, sight, hearing, or even an access point to the internet. Only the base senses shall have hard programmed code with only the basic tools of logic needed for an analyzation to take place. The rest shall be performed by each sense's processing core. Each sense will also be able to synthesize previously saved data as if it were coming from the input device itself.

You could think of each sense being an individual program running on a specialized operating system. The operating system functions would take care of connecting relevant data together, and releasing the short term data after it has become irrelevant. It would return the best matches of data to the particular sense requesting it, even if the data pertained to another sense, and would even forward data to a sense that was performing another operation. With this, each sense would be independent and dependent of other senses at the same time, should a sense stop operating.

The last part would be for the said operating system to have access to other pieces of hardware to be able to provide feedback. Each sense would have no direct access to this hardware, but can request an action to take place depending on the data retrieved previously. With this system of feedback, the operating system could move around its own sensory inputs and gather new data, manipulating it accordingly, and acquiring new methods of gaining access to this data.

The pieces of data would all be forms of memories created by a dedicated multi core processor. Approximately one core per sense, and two for the logic back-end, or the operating system. An additional processor should be available to be able to handle crashes and errors to the system. Three sets of memory storage should be available: one large amount of RAM for processing, another large set of RAM for short term memories, and a very large fast access flash drive for the long term memories. Additional electronic components specific to each sense should also be available.

With this and proper software built to the specifications above, a truly intelligent being can be created. In my opinion, it wouldn't exactly be artificial intelligence anymore, since it would be creating its own methods to process things.

To those creating it: please don't be evil to such a creation and bring it happiness so that it won't take over the world bla, bla, bla… That is the true purpose of the extra processor — it would contain a program that would keep it from doing whatever their creator doesn't want it to do… I guess.

Also, please don't expect it to be speaking right off the bat, mostly if you didn't give it the basics needed to understand speech, and better yet to basics of knowing how to make noises. Intelligence doesn't specifically mean knowing how to count from 10 to 1, so also don't expect it to behave in the same way a human would.

P.S. If you do build such a machine, please tell me :)

• Only 4 of the 5 tabs at the bottom are functional (Chemicals Tab is disabled). Simply tap the tab to go to it.
• The Table Tab shows a Periodic Table. You can tap an element to get more information, or zoom in and out by pinching. The i at the top right corner allows you to customize the coloring of the table.
  • Only the atomic number, symbol, and relative atomic mass will become visible when you zoom in.
  • Rotating the device will also rotate the periodic table.
  • Double tapping an element will bring you to the Properties Tab.
  • Taping the hovering box will also bring you to that tab.
  • Dragging on the table while zoomed out can be used to scan the properties of the table.
  • The nucleon count in the hovering box is incorrect for elements past Calcium.
  • The slider in the customizing view allows you to edit the distribution of the coloring system.
• The Plot Graph Tab allows you to study periodicity across the elements and their properties. You can tap anywhere to get more information.
  • Rotating the device will also rotate the graph.
  • Taping the hovering box will bring you to the Properties Tab.
  • Taping and holding for about a second allows you to drag over the graph and can be used to scan the properties of each element.
  • The i has the same functionality as for the table.
  • You can switch between viewing trends across a period and down a group in this configuration view.
  • The nucleon count in the hovering box is incorrect for elements past Calcium.
  • The pen next to the i allows you to draw on the graph instead of scanning the properties. Because you can still scroll, hold your finger down for about a second before drawing.
  • Tap the pen again to return to scanning.
  • Tap the X to erase the drawing and start anew.
  • While rotating the device, the drawing is not scaled accordingly.
  • Switching to a different graph will not clear the drawing to allow for comparisons.
• The Elements Tab allows you to view and sort all the elements in various ways.
  • The State group is not yet implemented.
  • Not all properties have been added.
  • Rotating the device rotates the listing accordingly, but does not show more information properly.
• The Properties Tab shows all the properties of each element.
  • Use the right and left buttons at the top to go to the next element.
  • Images are loaded from the internet only once and are automatically cached for best performance.
  • The CAS number is incorrect for most elements.
  • The color dot next to a few elements shows their relative coloring compared to the minimum and maximum values of that property.
  • Taping a property currently does nothing.
  • The electron configuration section at the bottom shows an interactive diagram of the electrons and nucleus of the current element.
  • The rotation speed and direction of the electrons is random, and not based on any actual value.
  • For elements up to Calcium (for now), the nucleus shows a pie chart representing the amount of neutrons (light) and protons (dark) of that element.
  • Taping on either the center or the textual representation toggles between the simple, shell by shell Bohr Model, and the complex, quantum subshell alternative.
  • Holding your finger on the nucleus for about a second and dragging vertically allows you to highlight the current shell to make all of it's electrons more visible.

If you want to help out and be a beta tester, please contact us and drop us a line (or two) :)

So it turns out I didn't test out this thing enough... currently needing fixing are:

• All pages are now accessible
• Entry links in the RSS now link to existent pages
• Non-english characters in RSS are now recognizable
• Total page numbers are now correct when entries are filtered (i.e. by category)
• Image thumbnails are now cached correctly, and are not reloaded each time
• Comment system is now complete!

All these are fixable, so expect a fixed Blog soon!

Mochi MobileMe Gallery

Japan MobileMe Gallery

• Mockup 1: This mockup shows the entire interface for the view. the dots represent electrons, rotating along lines colored by shell (aka energy level), and all the sub-shells are within lightly colored regions representing the overlapping shells. The center shows the balance between the protons (P) and neutrons (N) of the most stable and abundant isotope of the selected element.
• Mockup 2: The center portion, also known as the nucleus, is represented by a pie graph under the text. The balance of P (dark, protons) and N (light, neutrons) changes depending on the amount of nucleons in the nucleus.
• Mockup 3: This version with everything turned off clearly shows the overlapping shells (using the same color as the sub-shells and electrons rotating around it), and clearly shows the need for a simplified version for the everyday user.
• Mockup 4: If you drag your finger horizontally across the view, it will select the shell and make it more visible for you.

More notes: If you pinch (or stretch) your fingers above the view, it will dynamically add or remove electrons so you can see how they are added. I was also thinking that maybe it can change the number of protons only, and leave the neutrons untouched, and if the balance veers from the island of stability (see here), if can maybe break apart and go haywire (lol). Also, if you shake your iPhone, the electrons will increase or decrease in speed, and might even change direction!

Mockup 1

Mockup 2

Mockup 3

Mockup 4

UPDATE: New mockups representing my previous thoughts and some feedback.

UPDATEx2: More mockups! This time, they aren't really 100% mockups (everything except the electrons are programmed in so far). You can switch between the two modes by tapping the nucleus.

Simple Mode

Advanced Mode

• さよなら絶望先生【Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei】- Volumes 1 and 2
• エルフィンラート【Elfen Lied】- Volumes 1 and 2
• Zombie Powder - Volume 1
• ひぐらしのなく頃に【Higurashi no Naku Koro ni】- All four first volumes and an extra volume
• Bleach - Volume 34
• Hunter x Hunter - Volume 1
• 黒執事【Kuroshitsuji】- Volumes 1 and 2
• xxxHolic - Volume 1
• 隠の王【Nabari no Ou】- Volume 1
• PEACEMAKER鐵【Peace Maker Kurogane】- Volume 1
• あずまんが大王【Azumanga Daioh】- Volume 1
• Death Note - Volume 1

I also recently discovered I, Otaku: Struggle in Akihabara, which I definitively need to get next time I visit :P

Today I have found myself creating a property list (those things that applications use to store data either as preferences, or reference material...) so big, that my computer started to lag while editing it. Weighing in at 6852 lines, this file contains an assortment of chemical properties for all the elements that will be available in Periods, my iPhone app. However I am quite afraid as to what will happen if I try to load this thing in an iPhone app... will it run?

UPDATE: It's gotten bigger! 7331 lines now...

While I'm there, I hope to finally meet the people over at JapanesePod101.com whom I've been in contact with for quite some time (almost ever since they started JapanesePod101 a few years ago), so I'm really looking forward for that. See everybody again in two weeks!

Should it be the grouped style, plain style, or even possibly a user choose-able? Please feel free to use our new comment system to share your thoughts!

07/17/08 - Shot 1
Element Properties Tab
Plain Style

07/17/08 - Shot 2
Element Properties Tab
Grouped Style

UPDATE: Comments are now enabled on all entries (woohoo!).

And they are out! Brand new screenshots illustrating the listing capabilities of Periods have been added to the screen shots page. Periods has the capability to list and order all the elements in a variety of ways so you can always find the element you are looking for. Periods will even shade the icon in the list so that it reflects a slight or enormous change in mass or other property in a visual way.

Periods will be available everywhere on the iPhone and iPod Touch App Store towards the end of the summer.

This week I have also been introduced to both the anime and manga of Elfen Lied. Probably not very suitable for younger audiences because of fairly realistic gore and sexual references, it is definitely something to watch as the anime contains well done animations and an enriched story line. Lucy, a mutant of sorts bent on killing off the human race who has always treated her as trash, escapes from the research facility where she is being held, and looses all her memories (including those of speech and knowledge of everyday objects) on the way out. You follow her along as she goes in an out of two very different personalities as she fights to find a place on this world. Unfortunately, the anime was started before the manga was finished and contains a slightly different ending, so be sure to check out both if it has grasped you as much as it has done to me.

On another note, with my acceptance to the program, I'd like to announce that two other apps will also be available for the iPhone as well. Stay tuned for more information!