[App] xkcd ... got frustrated and developed an app

[crash1989]

I think this is my first time posting in developer spotlight. I am an avid xkcd and comics fan. GO Comics is really good but xkcd was not included in it.

I saw all the xkcd apps and the issue with comic apps is that big windows phone titles and fonts are too obtrusive. I found none of the apps to my liking and made one myself.

I tried to partially mimic the Nokia Highlights Social app and built one in a few days.Please so reply if any new features are necessary.

I hope you guys can appreciate the app if you like it. It's cleverly titled xkcd .

xkcd | Windows Phone Apps+Games Store (United States)

Now in the coming week I am going to implement social share feature, rotation lock, offline mode and maybe a night mode feature (not sure about this) and fix bugs if any.

 

[Vaibhav Chauhan]

please make it theme aware, a black theme is a boon and easy on eyes for Amoled displays. Otherwise good work.

 

[crash1989]

please make it theme aware, a black theme is a boon and easy on eyes for Amoled displays. Otherwise good work.

yup, I am working on it ...

 

[WanderingTraveler]

xkcd?

I've been waiting for this. Here's a virtual bar of gold, from me to you.

 

[crash1989]

xkcd?

I've been waiting for this. Here's a virtual bar of gold, from me to you.

, please do reply in case you find any issues or you need more features.

Can anyone please suggest me how to deal with Ads, I personally don't like them, but am forced to put them for monetary purposes

 

[WanderingTraveler]

, please do reply in case you find any issues or you need more features.

Can anyone please suggest me how to deal with Ads, I personally don't like them, but am forced to put them for monetary purposes

You could put up an in-app purchase to serve as a donation. Other than that, try AdDuplex or the Nokia Ad Exchange.

 

[crash1989]

Thank for the reply .Donation seems a good idea .. I am also thinking of a simpler method where the user can click on any ad once and ads stays hidden for 5 more times the app is activated giving the free experience they need

 

[WanderingTraveler]

Thank for the reply .Donation seems a good idea .. I am also thinking of a simpler method where the user can click on any ad once and ads stays hidden for 5 more times the app is activated giving the free experience they need

Actually, I remembered the MetroTube approach. You have a fully functional free trial, and the buy option is there only if you want to pay for it.

 

[polomint]

This app is looking good, nicer when if plays nicely with the dark theme. But im liking it so far

I have a couple of apps like this (not comics) that i keep meaning to create, just haven't got round to reading up on wp8 apis etc.

Keep up the good work

 

[crash1989]

Guys,

I have submitted the update with three new features .
I have added the Dark Mode Toggle and tried to maintain the same color combinations (albeit with minor differences)
I have also added Sharing to social networks
The final feature is Locking the sceen to portrait mode toggle. A new Settings menu will be visible when the app passes certificarion and is published.

Cheers

 

[polomint]

Excellent, will test when the new update is out

 

[TripsG]

Nice little app there, Crash. Good work.

 

[TripsG]

Wait, guess I shouldn't use "app" and "crash" in the same sentence...lol

 

[crash1989]

Wait, guess I shouldn't use "app" and "crash" in the same sentence...lol

I made a deliberate attempt not include that name anywhere in the app ...

This was a necessity for me on wp.

 

[polomint]

Wait, guess I shouldn't use "app" and "crash" in the same sentence...lol

aye, dont tempt fate lol

 

[pranav rai]

I love you man. This is what I wanted so much that I was thinking of writing one myself.
Thank you so much.

Please keep an option to buy a no-ads version, I'll gladly pay a dollar (actually make it 55 rupees), instead of having an ad ruin the experience. I do realize that you deserve to be reimbursed and it makes perfect sense for you to get an ad supported version out since this is a rather niche app, put I'd love it if there was atleast an option to outright purchase the app and get a clean interface.

I have a couple of suggestions if you dont mind.
1. Ability to swipe into next/previous comic when viewing archives would be nice to have.
2. In some comics the ... bar at the bottom obscures the last lines of text. when in portrait mode and the right/left side panel when in landscape mode.
3. Live tiles that 'push' the latest comic image up-down like the me hub (as an option instead of the standard flipping tiles)

 

[crash1989]

umm.. Thanks for the support
ahh ... I have thought about ads, If you open the app you will see ads are only on the menu,about, blag, whatif pages. I have made it even cleaner in the current update which will be out soon.

The pages where comics are I have no placed no ads. I will put out the trial version very soon. I understand , I have made their use as minimal as possible .

To answer your points
1. Ohh, ok, This might have to go into the next update.Do you want it to be similar to the default image gallery app??
2. I made the application bar translucent, I will have a look at this. I am sure this is an issue with larger comic strips.
3. Here I can't help. Microsoft gave us developers only three types of tiles to work with i.e. Flip tiles, iconic tiles and an image tile that can flip through 9 images only
Iconic tile would mean the main tile image would have gone, image tiles are for gallery apps. So I chose the original flip tile. I will check the options for this too

Microsoft keeps the special tiles like people hub, me tile, games hub to itself.
The funny thing is in WP7 there was only flip tile, I don't know how developers managed with that.

 

[pranav rai]

umm.. Thanks for the support
ahh ... I have thought about ads, If you open the app you will see ads are only on the menu,about, blag, whatif pages. I have made it even cleaner in the current update which will be out soon.

The pages where comics are I have no placed no ads. I will put out the trial version very soon. I understand , I have made their use as minimal as possible .

To answer your points
1. Ohh, ok, This might have to go into the next update.Do you want it to be similar to the default image gallery app??
Yes, swipes similar to the gallery.
2. I made the application bar translucent, I will have a look at this. I am sure this is an issue with larger comic strips.

 

[crash1989]

got it

 

[crash1989]

Hey ppl,

Sorry for the slight delay. I was engrossed in the WWDC. I have made a ad free version of the app costing 0.99$ (55 INR in case you are in India) .
So now there is xkcd (ad supported) and xkcd.pro (no ads).
I brought back the flick gesture which I kind of disabled in the original update and have worked on minor tweaks so that the app bar doesn't obstruct viewing. And there are ofc the dark mode toggle, lock to portrait still available.

I didn't have a good camera with me so I had to use a really old android phone to capture the following vid. Sorry for the bad quality.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKFtTxakPXA

I haven't yet registered any crashes from the downloads so I am quite happy. My other app is a mess although it has better ratings than this (weird)