Google is catching up to Apple and fast! Nexus 7 ads are very well made!

Posted on July 25, 2013 by IdeaMonster

I used to hate all those Android product ads that put Megapixels, megahertz and gigs of ram front and centre, but didn’t really create an experience. Now it seems like Google is catching up to what Apple has been doing for a while – making nice, emotional and full of real-life use ads. The Nexus 7 ad is made in the “Apple style”, but at the same time looking at that clean, bold and pretty-fied OS makes me wonder why Apple is putting out that iOS 7 atrocity. I’m currently a happy Windows Phone user, but seeing that Android ad made me hate it less than I used to. And in comparison Apple I currently see Apple as the one lagging behind and the least innovative of the big three. Too bad… Too bad… And yes, I know the device is still plasticky, despite it’s awesome new screen. And it will probably still feel cheap and low-quality. But maybe just a little bit less with each iteration. iPad beware.

Well… go Google! As long as there’s good design (and Android is getting more of it with each version) and a passion for innovation, I’m for it!

Fastfood with vodka fake restaurant branding

Posted on March 22, 2013 by IdeaMonster

I took on a project recently to create a fake brand of a fast-food restaurant with a traditional Polish drinking angle with vodka shots as main courses and small appetizers to take the edge off.

You can see all the posters at our behance:
http://www.behance.net/gallery/Polevvka-restaurant-branding-and-posters/7733451

Inspiration: Cool advertisements (ads)

Posted on March 2, 2013 by IdeaMonster

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Clever and beautiful package designs

Posted on January 12, 2013 by IdeaMonster

Here are some very cool and innovative ideas for package designs. Product packaging doesn’t have to be boring and these will catch attention on every store shelf.

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We’ve got a little more to show you – Apple will unveil the iPad mini on October 23rd?

Posted on October 16, 2012 by IdeaMonster

Apparently Apple will unveil the new iPad mini (to compete with Kindle fires and Nexus 7’s on low prices) on October 23rd. The invitations are sent, and apparently they decided that a smaller tablet is actually worth their while. Steve Jobs famously said that a smaller form factor is plain stupid. Tim Cook seems to differ ;)

Too be honest we’d rather see the infamous 13″ retina macbook pro, than a smaller and cheaper (and probably non-retina) iPad. Apple going after mass market only looks good on paper.

Besides, if the iPad mini is smaller, why are they calling it a little more? A smaller, non-retina iPad would actually be something “less” ;P

GoodGamePack started! Great iOS games database

Posted on October 7, 2012 by IdeaMonster

Good Game Pack (or GamePack) is a web app that we just started (with Hype4) to gather and cross-promote great but undiscovered iOS games. We have reached out to 10 developers to have their games added and we will continue looking. If your game fits the bill, let us know. It’s completely free! It’s all about cross-promotion of selected game developers because well … United we stand!

You can visit the GamePack on your iPhone at GoodGamePack.com!

Appsworld London 3rd Oct photo coverage of day 2

Posted on October 3, 2012 by IdeaMonster

The first day was pretty exciting with hundreds of ideas, startups and the infamous Android rubbish bin ;) now we are starting day 2 with hopes of seeing even more great stuff. Photos will be added to this post throughout the day. Stay tuned.

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Appsworld London 2nd Oct photo coverage of day 1

Posted on October 2, 2012 by IdeaMonster

We’re at this years Appsworld in London with Twisted Logic, Enveloop and Hype4 at booth 63. Check out the awesome passbook backend demo by Twisted Logic and come say hi :)

photos below and more coming.

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HTC gets “inspired” by Nokia with it’s new Windows Phones

Posted on September 19, 2012 by IdeaMonster

Today’s HTC event didn’t bring anything really special to the table. Well aside from some pretty cool phones that is. But the moment I saw the devices I kinda had a deja vu. Was this the HTC or the Nokia event? Apparently it’s either Microsoft pushing for a different styling (to stand out from the rest of black slab-type devices) or they simply took (MANY) cues from Nokia’s flagship – the Lumia 920.

Take a look at those images and find 10 differences ;)

By the way – HTC’s phones also come in new, vibrant colors (that’s a good thing actually)

Nokia OIS Fail – misleading video

Posted on September 7, 2012 by IdeaMonster

Nokia showcased it’s pureview camera technology on their Lumia920 conference a few days ago, but apparently parts of it were a bit misleading. First of all the image stabilization showcase featured someone apparently riding a bike, and shooting a girl that’s riding along. They just forgot to edit one place in which a reflection shows that the camera is most likely a DSLR (and NOT the Nokia Lumia 920) and the camera man is riding on the back of a truck – not on a bike. Nokia quickly apologized saying that they only showcased the OIS technology, not the device itself, but posted a video showing the stabilization on Lumia920 which actually works pretty good (if it’s not another “misleading video”). Why bother then? Maybe it’d just be better to show the real thing work and avoid bad PR?

Also some pictures from their “nightly” photo shoot surfaced, showing that apparently the Lumia920 doesn’t take those awesome bright pictures at night by itself and needs a bunch of lights on tripods around (and a DSLR camera as seen above, but that might be just for comparison shots). Still if you need to cary tripods and lighting equipment to beat other cameraphones in low light photography, then you might be doing something wrong ;)

Here’s the vid showing the real Lumia920 OIS:

And here are the shots from the ~~fake~~ misleading video:

We’re the people with the smile on the box

Posted on September 6, 2012 by IdeaMonster

Amazon is slowly becoming the new Apple marketing-wise. Their new ads are great and very Apple like, with the focus on people, usage possibilities and emotion. At the same time Apple has released some horrible ads, that have later been pulled. Well, we can argue if the Kindle fire is better than an iPad, but it’s pretty certain that Amazon has the best e-reader and the best bookstore on the planet. And for a while I almost thought Apple could beat that with clever marketing. But apparently Amazon got their marketing right and their ads are just great. We really love to see that not only Apple is good at design and marketing (take Nokia Lumia 920 as a great product design that doesn’t copy like Samsung). Amazon ads are just really, really good. I’d buy a Kindle fire HD if I didn’t already have the new iPad ;)

The reinventers of normal sounds catchy!

You can watch the full press conference below, to see that Jeff Bezos is slowly becoming the new Steve Jobs as far as keynotes go. They’re even using a similar background for their slides, but that’s not a bad thing if the whole conference is well executed – which this is.

Bing it on Microsoft!

Posted on September 6, 2012 by IdeaMonster

Bing it On microsoft
Microsoft’s Bing is a pretty good attempt to steal some search engine users from Google. It still however is pretty niche compared to the “don’t be evil big brother” from Mountain View. Aside from Bing being important in both Win8 and WinPhone8, MS is trying hard to convince people it’s as good, or better than Google. With this cute, retro styled comparison page they might win a few souls. After a couple of tests I can honestly say that with serious content the results are mostly exactly equal. Sure some sites are higher, some are lower, but both engines provide results that are “good enough”. Cool idea too, MS!

http://www.bingiton.com/

Microsoft goes for a (semi) radical logo redesign

Posted on August 24, 2012 by IdeaMonster

We might've been expecting that to happen, so meh...

It’s been long since MS redesigned their brand, but we’ve all seen it coming. Introducing the ~~metro~~ windows 8 interface with colorful tiles and nice typography, MS went ahead to further afirm the choice by changing it’s main brand logo to reflect that. Now it’s just 4 colorful tiles with Microsoft written in Segoe font next to them. While it might not be the most creative thing out there, it fits with the brand and the future chosen by the Redmond company. They kept the F and T connection in this one, which probably is supposed to suggest the evolution. Redesigns of big brands do happen quite often, as seen below.

And here’s a 4-step revolution from Apple:

And one by Google:

Apple put out terrible ads. Are they becoming the new microsoft?

Posted on July 28, 2012 by IdeaMonster

Have you seen the recent Olympics Apple Ads? It's almost as if they were made by the competition to make Apple look bad

The Ads are all about the Mac, but they’re so “low”, without edge and uninspired, that it seems like they were made by Samsung to make a dent in Macbook sales. Seriously! A supposed Mac Genius (the whole “Genius” idea is actually pretty bad, because people who can use iPhoto and Time Capsule don’t really need to be geniuses, and most of them aren’t). Besides if someone’s a real genius he wouldn’t work at Apple retail. Design or Engineering maybe, but retail? Come on.

So this all knowing genius is helping people with their mac “problems” like making a movie or a photo book. It’s stupid. Plain stupid. And very un-apple like. It’s bad enough that skeumorphisms took over iOS and OS X (ugly Contact, calendar and notes apps) and now this? Do you think Apple is loosing it’s edge and the “cool factor” if they have to resort to being stupid in ads to sell their products?

Here’s one:

Windows Phone 7 will eat up Android’s market share, and fast!

Posted on May 16, 2012 by IdeaMonster

Windows Phone 7 might have had a rough start, but it's gaining momentum to become something more than a novelty

Today the Smartphone OS market is divided between iOS and Android, with the rest of the platforms being pretty much non-relevant. Yeah, I know, they’re bold and pro and all that. Too bad it doesn’t matter. A smart and well done ad campaign won’t change much now, without features. So yeah, there are two main OS’es, but Windows Phone 7 is going to be the third one whether you like it or not.

Let’s think about it for a second. There’s a finite number of smartphone makers. With WP7 gaining in popularity, who will suffer the biggest blow here? Apple? Nope! They make their own hardware and software, so that won’t change much, except maybe a few % of users switching.

Yeah, you’ve guessed it! Android is installed on phones by the likes of LG, HTC and Samsung. And we already see some HTC phones having WP7 instead of Android. With Microsoft’s pile’o money it’s only a matter of time before it spreads to other manufacturers. And the battle will begin! Google might actually loose the suppliers of hardware, which in turn will result in less Android’s sold, and less ad revenue for the company. This time Microsoft’s offer for the phones is actually VERY good. And they already have Nokia on their side.

And we were all wondering why did Google buy Motorola Mobile a while ago. Now it’s pretty obvious!