Euro Coin Collection – with 2 Euro Commemoratives Update 1.3
Posted by Albegor in Euro Coin Collection, Mobile, Software on May 16, 2012
And here it is the update of Euro Coin Collection with 2 Euro Commemoratives at last!
Highly requested, which was expected, since they’re so cool to collect, it has been almost like developing another app, so much that I thought about making a separate app for a while.
In the end, however, I preferred integration, adding the ability to quickly switch from the virtual album with standard coins to the one dedicated to 2 Euro Commemoratives.
104 new coins, issued from 2004 to 2011, each with its own image and description in 7 languages, required a lot of work, so I made the zoomable images available only by In-App purchase.
The app is fully functional even without unlocking them, but if you’ll do that, you’ll support its development.
Other updated features in version 1.3 include new coin grading levels, the ability to add up to 50 coins per collection type and the update of the coins available only in mint sets (according to the info on www.euro-auflagen.de).
Most of all, there’s now the ability to share the coins to swap, or wanted, thanks to a pre-generated message via email, Facebook or Twitter.
If you use Twitter, I recommend you to check out the hashtag #EuroCoin to find other collectors to swap coins with.
Next steps?
There’s still a lot to do and features to improve, adding 2012 commemoratives, for example.
Post your feedback on the Facebook page!
Euro Coin Collection featured on La Vita Nóva
Posted by Albegor in Euro Coin Collection, Mobile, Software on April 20, 2012
Euro Coin Collection has been featured on the april 2012 issue of La Vita Nóva, the iPad magazine of Il Sole 24Ore!
Here’s the full article, written by Antonio Dini in the App Score feature:
“Developed by Davide Orlando, it’s a little kind of magic for newbie numismatists as well as for experienced collectors. The virtual album allows to manage all the euro variants, including commemorative coins issued annually by national mints, and to keep track of the coins you’re missing or already own. Morever, historical data, maps of Euro-area countries, detailed information for expert collectors. You can’t miss it, especially now that there are 20 countries using the Euro and thus as many different designs on the national side of the coins. Soon it will be included a section for the 2 Euro commemoratives. Because numismatics is the best way to travel around the world without moving from home.”
I couldn’t ask for better words as an anticipation for the incoming version 1.3 of the app, with the new virtual album for the 2 Euro Commemoratives.
What else to say? Download La Vita Nóva on your iPad and read some articles (italian only) while waiting for the new version of the app for Euro coin collectors.
On the Facebook page there are some preview screenshots and I’ll soon start the count-down to the release on the App Store.
Gardens of Lake Como Update 1.2
Posted by Albegor in Como, Gardens Lake Como, Mobile, Software on April 5, 2012
The second update of the app Gardens of Lake Como – west branch is on the AppStore.
It’s a big update, since the app is now in universal binary format, which means optimized both for iPhone and iPad, and the interface graphics, the offline map and the photos are in high resolution, up to four times better compared to the previous version.
Owners of iPad and Retina display devices such as iPhone 4, 4S and iPod Touch 4th generation will be able to enjoy the new graphics at its best.
Among the new features there’s also the ability to add a gardens to your favorites and share it by email, Facebook or Twitter.
I also added new photos taken from the boat, thanks to Marco Leoni, and from the seaplane, thanks to Cesare Baj, President of Aero Club Como.
The new graphics made the size of the app grow up to about 40mb, but fortunately Apple recently raised the download limit under 3G network from 20mb to 50mb.
There’s no such limit when under Wi-Fi.
Since the “likes” on the Facebook page dedicated to the app are still a few compared to the number of downloads, I added a link on the main screen of the app. In this way the Facebook page, where I post themed news and updates, is easier to reach.
The touristic season on Lake Como is now open: download the app and visit the gardens!
Business Storytelling Course in Como
I have an interest in storytelling applied to mobile devices since some years, from 2005, when I started working on audio-video guide systems for museums and exhibitions.
So, I’m pleased to inform you about the business storytelling course organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Como and curated by Francesca Marchegiano, an expert of the matter and also author of theatrical and narrative shows for children.
Storytelling skills are very useful in different business contexts: for example, being able to tell your mission in a clear and catchy way on your company’s website, is nowadays a sign of professionalism and great care about communication for potential customers.
After all, the famous Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford commencement address wouldn’t have been the same if he didn’t start with: “Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.”
The course will be held at Mulini di Baggero, in Merone, in the province of Como, an area recovered from a completely restored 1722 mill.
Participation is free, but limited to the first 25 requests until march 12, so hurry up if you’re interested.
Good luck to Francesca for the course!
Gardens of Lake Como Update 1.1
Posted by Albegor in Como, Gardens Lake Como, Mobile, Software on March 2, 2012
The first update of the app Gardens of Lake Como – west branch is available on the AppStore.
The update fixes a bug found on older iOS devices when exiting the online map, if they were low on memory .
Another bug, caused by the rush to be ready for the BIT fair, was about the presentation of the same text when a garden was selected from the offline map.
Thanks to my friend and mentor Alessandro for reporting it.
I’ve also updated some photos, such as the Villa del Balbianello ones, taken by Diego Cottino, a magic place where some scenes of Star Wars: Episode II were shot.
This spring I’ll visit some gardens included in the guide, both for personal curiosity and to take new photos that will be added to the app.
Photos you’ll better appreciate in the next version of the app, where graphics will be optimized for iPad and Retina display devices such as the iPhone 4.
It’s one of the advantages of digital technologies: an app can be quickly updated, a paper guide not at all.
The initiative is appreciated and the downloads go up. Personally I think it’s reassuring seeing that, although the bad economic crisis, there still are companies and public institutions ready to support innovative projects such as this.
See you to the next update!
Gardens of Lake Como – west branch 1.0 Released!
Posted by Albegor in Como, Gardens Lake Como, Mobile, Software on February 21, 2012
What’s the first word that comes to your mind when thinking about visiting a park or botanic garden?
For me it’s relax!
I don’t have any “green thumb” knowledge, so I couldn’t distinguish among different species of plants and flowers.
But the multitude of colors, the harmony between nature and the gardener’s work (I’d say art), are things you can appreciate even if you aren’t a botanical expert.
And you can appreciate them even more when there’s a unique panorama on the background, such as the one of Lake Como. 
It’s a personal opinion confirmed by data, indicating a constant growth of the so-called Horticultural tourism, from abroad to Italy.
For these reasons I was pleased to work on the app Gardens of Lake Como – west branch, the digital edition of the paper guide made last year by the Chamber of Commerce of Como and the Province of Como, with contents by Great Italian Gardens.
This work gave me the chance to discover some gardens and parks I didn’t know and I haven’t visited yet.
For example The Garden of the Valley, hidden pearl of the nearby Cernobbio, maintained with passion by Mrs. Pupa Frati.
While designing the app interface I followed the essential style and the colors of the new logo made for the brand “Lago di Como”, presented at BIT in 2011, the international tourism fair held annually in Milan.
During this year’s edition of the fair, at the Regione Lombardia/Province of Como stand, there was a preview of the app about the gardens, more user friendly and updated than the paper guide, at least for those with an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.
I hope the app will be useful to discover the gardens of the area around Como, reaching more tourists, both from Italy and from abroad, than any paper guide could.
It’s free. Download it and, if you like it, please spread the word about it!
Euro Coin Collection Update 1.2
Posted by Albegor in Euro Coin Collection, Mobile, Software on November 21, 2011
The second update of Euro Coin Collection is on the AppStore.
In the new version I added an option to show the coins available only in mint sets, thus not issued for circulation. The data comes from reliable and up-to-date sources such as www.euro-auflagen.de by Henning Agt.
There are also pictures of the new common sides with the enlarged Europe design, issued since january 2008, so that you can compare them with the previous design.
Thanks to Hessel, Damien and Frank for the correction of dutch, french and german texts.
Motivated by the suggestions received, both via email and by reviews on the AppStore, the development of the app continues and in the next version I’ll add the 2 Euro commemorative coins issued from 2004 to 2011, as promised.
In this period there’s a lot of talk about the Euro and the debt crisis in european countries, Italy in particular. Well, what will really happen is difficult to predict, but I’d like to recall the European Union motto: “United in diversity“, the meaning of which you can appreciate even by collecting Euro coins, discovering and getting to know different cultures.
For what concerns Italy, now having a particularly hard time, I invite you to watch Benigni’s speech at the European Parliament (english subtitles). He said Italy is not the country of Renaissance and Resurgence, but the one of Resurrection!
Euro Coin Collection Update 1.1
Posted by Albegor in Euro Coin Collection, Mobile, Software on July 13, 2011
The first update of the app for Euro coins fans is available on the AppStore.
I couldn’t wait for it to be published since it corrects a bug that could crash the app when many different coins were added to a collection.
Thanks to Andrei from Estonia and Uwe from Germany for helping me track down the bug.
The new version also includes the second series design of belgian Euro coins, issued in 2008 in order to comply with the European Commission’s guidelines, as well as minor improvements and bug fixes.
Comments are good so far. Most of all, users like to view all the coins together.
Also, from app usage statistics it’s interesting to notice that the average session length is pretty high, 3 minutes, three times the average of the Reference category, which is 1 minute.
Now I’m listening to opinions and suggestions for the next versions, both from collectors and non-collectors.
Adding 2 Euro commemorative coins is already on top of the list: I’ll need some more work to virtually collect them all, but it’ll be worth it and they’ll have a dedicated album.
See you to the next update of Euro Coin Collection!
Euro Coin Collection APP 1.0 Released!
Posted by Albegor in Euro Coin Collection, Mobile, Software on June 23, 2011
Apple published Euro Coin Collection 1.0, my app about Euro coins!
I think that, even if it isn’t the first one, for any developer is always a particular joy seeing their application available virtually worldwide, at last after weeks or months of incubation in their development workstation and available only to a few volunteer testers.
For me it isn’t the first one about Euro coins: in 2003 I made a similar app for the Pocket PC platform, then become Windows Mobile.
The app got good press coverage, won some awards and after receiving one of them I was even invited to present it to the Netcafé program, my first time on TV I recall with pleasure, since I was so excited about it.
Back then, however, for as much original as it was, the app was targeted to a “niche into a niche”, that is collectors with a Pocket PC PDA… too few to create a critical mass.
It’s not a matter of Microsoft vs Apple, since I’m going to develop also a version for Windows Phone, other than the Android one.
It’s to say that today things are very different: there are social networks, smartphone penetration reached 35%, and most of all there’s the AppStore ecosystem.
The new app has been designed and coded from scratch, but it retains the same objective of the first one: making easy and funny discovering Euro coins with your mobile device, be it an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad.
An objective not so easy to reach when you have to manage about 200 different coin designs of the 20 Euro area countries.
Actually the main feature distinguishing it from similar apps is the interactive album that allows you to view all the coins at a glance, each of them 1 swipe and 1 touch away to see its details.
The rest of the features are in the page dedicated to the app.
Now it’s the turn of who’ll download the app to tell what he or she thinks about it and suggest improvements for the next versions.
Hope you’ll like the Smiling Coin app!