"Treat or Trick" App for Parents

(11/08/2015) Do parent need to search on Google map to see where is the best neighborhood to take their kids in Halloween? There is an mobile app -- Treatster (which is made by Target) for that.

"The site, created with 360i, allows parents to up-vote the best areas by tagging their locations as a "treat." The more "treats" a location has, the larger its pumpkin will appear. Kristi Argyilan, senior VP-media, guest engagement and measurement at Target, said the site is about the joy and excitement of Halloween and "allowing guests to engage in [the] holiday in the way that they naturally would. ... They're tweeting, and they're posting on Facebook. [The mobile site] is really about delighting kids and family when they go trick or treating.""

In-Game Purchase, Are You the Generous 0.15%?

(2/28/2013) Most of mobile games on Apple's iOS and Android are free. To compensate the game development cost, the gaming companies offer in-game purchases to allow players to pass faster, get tips to receive 'treasures', or get 'one more chance' to defeat the enemy. But, how many of them are paying? Not many, only 0.15% of gamer ever pay for in-game purchase but this part counts around 50% of revenue for those game developers. If you are a game developer, how can you design your game to be business sustainable?

Roommate Match-making App

(7/22/2013) When I was in graduate school, I don't like to live with roommate. I prefer to live on my own because I don't like to be bothered by others. So I definitely think a roommate match-making app makes a lot of sense. It is like dating app.

Free App Is Not That Free

(1/8/2013) I bet 99% of smartphone users use free apps. It is free, but the users 'pay' later. This good article talks about the hidden cost of free app, which has become the major business model for many mobile app developers. I have a lot of free app, though I rarely use 70% of them. Afraid of personal identity stolen? I thought my ID have been sold millions times already. Apps are like computer software, you will never know whether it is good until you use it. Apps do not provide limited-time-usage free trail to users (I don't know why). However, I don't even trust the app developers of those apps I really purchases. Won't they sell my data?

So, do consumers have other options to avoid ID being sold? Or it is too late already?