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HK Radio launched, but dropping a great feature..

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Junda Ong — No Comments ↓

The Hong Kong version is the third, or the trilogy, of the radio app series. The functionalities and interface is largely same as it’s predecessors, except that recording feature is removed!

It wasn’t our choice, but that of Apple to remove the feature.. as they quoted, the app violates clause 8.6:

8.6 – Apps that include the ability to download music or video content from third party sources (e.g. YouTube, SoundCloud, Vimeo, etc) without explicit authorization from those sources will be rejected

While we understood the concern with music piracy, we wasn’t sure if that should be applied to radio. Radio is a broadcasting medium, and recording is not — downloading.

More so, radio is more than music. Without recording, listeners will not be able to record talkshows and conversations.

It is a regret to remove the feature.

It is true that Apple review process is hurting us.

Tagged with: radio
Posted in Applications

Baby Log — another app for new parents

Posted on December 17, 2015 by Junda Ong — No Comments ↓

Originally posted on Medium:

Shortly after launching Jade, I started on a new app.

While Jade is a great journal app to pen down memorable moments with your child, logging mundane stuff — feedings, diaper change, weight, etc— is best logged somewhere else.

I use a note book and physically record these mundane stuff. On a typical day, I could record up to 8 feedings and 8 diaper change! That’s a lot of times I have to flip open the book, and write down the time and details.

Benefits of logging

I am not a believer of logging too much. I didn’t want to log in a book at first..

But after a few loud shrieks that left me totally clueless on WHY ARE YOU CRYING, I decided it is best that we (all caregivers) know:

Turned out keeping a log book answer these questions.

And so I turned the log book into an app (: Download Baby Log

There are many similar apps that tracks the same thing. One of the most popular is Baby Connect (formally Activity Logger), which cost US$4.99, but I find it complex to use. Baby Connect’s Dashboard

Perhaps they are too comprehensive, had too many different data to show/add, therefore a glance at their Dashboard makes me dizzy..

And so I designed Baby Log to be elegant and fast to use. I also designed the Photo album to display Kate’s photos with her age, so we can see her growing beautifully (:

Baby Log is a paid app, at US$1.99. Find out more from the App Store.

You can also use one of the 2o promo codes to download for FREE, if you are lucky.

Also, check out Jade, a free app for parents to co-write a journal for their child.

Tagged with: Baby Log

This is what happened when my SHIT app changed from $1.99 to FREE

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Junda Ong — No Comments ↓

This post first appeared on Medium.com.

In Feb 2015, my Poo Keeper — an app to keep track of your poop — was updated with a big change:

The app changed from paid $1.99 to FREE (with ads).

I changed the revenue model.

This post is to show how the app performed — in terms of downloads, active users and revenues — before and after the change.

Before: As a $1.99 Paid App

Poo Keeper was first released in April 2014.

Until Feb 2015 (for 10 months), it was a paid app at $1.99.

I will be showing the data in the 6 months period (Aug 2014 to Feb 2015) before I made the change. Similarly, I will show 6 months after the change for comparison. We will look at 2 charts: New Users and Active Users.

The total new users for 6 months is 281. The revenue from these paid apps is 281 x $1.99 x 70% commission = $391. For most business, this is terrible revenue.

Every day, there is 1 “weirdo” just like me, who will pay $1.99 for my shit app. I am proud of that.

The active user rose steadily from 31 to 88 in 6 months.

In the startup world, one would exclaim:

“Our active user base increased by 200% in just 6 months”

IMO, the growth is not too bad. Having an increasing active user base is the strongest hint that I could change my business model, since if they use the app frequently (daily, if no constipation!), it should drive the ads revenue substantially in the long run.

After: As a FREE App

So in Feb 2015, I released a new version that is free, but it will display advertisements. FYI, I use MoPub as mediation, integrating 5 ad providers: iAd, Google Adsense, InMobi, Millennial Media, and MoPub Marketplace.

This is the data for 6 months, from Feb 2015 to Aug 2015.

The total number of new users acquired in the 6 months is 12,680. Compared to 281 before the change, this is 45 times more!

The active user is impressive too, increasing from 88 to 1,711 active users. That is 20 times more (or 2,000%)!

Now, we look at the most important figure — ads revenue.

Total ads revenue is $270.

There is another revenue, which is the $1.99 in-app purchase (IAP) to remove the ads.

Very few users pay to remove the ads. In the 6 months, only 19 users paid, resulting in $25 revenue.

So, total revenue is $270 + $25 = $295.


The change has decreased revenue by 25%. Not good.

When I changed the revenue model, I know for sure it will drive downloads. What I need to find out is:

Would revenue from ads be more than paid app?

The answer, sadly, is no.

Sadly no? Maybe Not

Let’s look from another perspective. The daily revenue for the 6 months period is:

Daily revenue has decreased. However, the daily revenue from ads has not reach a plateau/stable state, yet. It is still increasing (refer to the $270 ad revenue chart above).

Question is: Is it possible that it can exceed $2.16 per day?

To find out, I generated the ads revenue in the last 30 days (Aug 2015).

The total revenue is $110, that averages out to $3.66 per day.

Hey, that’s more than $2.16! That is a 69% increase after changing the revenue model. In other words, previously I can afford only a Starbucks filtered coffee, now I can afford a caffe latte, every day.

Now, that’s a good change (:

Changing to Advertising Model

I suppose Poo Keeper is suitable to use advertisement as a revenue model, because it is an app whereby a user will use daily (if no constipation). Contrary, if the usage frequency is low (eg. utility apps), then the ads revenue will not add up fast enough. Also, making the app free drives much more downloads, therefore acquiring an active user base much faster.

Also, do check out the story on my new app — Jade — for parents to co-write journal for their children.

Tagged with: pookeeper

New app released: Jade

Posted on September 6, 2015 by Junda Ong — No Comments ↓

Jade is a journal app for parents to co-write for their children.

This is a new app I developed as I reach a new stage in life – parenthood (baby Kate was born 3 weeks ago)!

Read more about the app on Medium:

Why I created Jade — the journal app for parents to co-write for children

Tagged with: jade

Finding Solace on Radio

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Junda Ong — No Comments ↓

When Singapore founding father passed away, many of us tuned into radio to hear on the news.

I was one of them.

On Day 1, every Singapore radio station played solemn music tracks. There was no pop song or any talk show. Everyone was mourning over the lost of a great leader.

On Day 2, every Singapore radio station resumed playing of songs, but only love songs.

It feels really sad listening to radio, yet it seems like the only way to find solace among fellow Singaporeans.

Every song seems to be handpicked and dedicated to Mr Lee and his family.

It was on Day 2 that I decided to change SG Radio song title to Forever We Remember You. SG Radio #RememberingLKY

It dawned on me — Radio will continue to be a powerful media.

In times like this, we can find solace together.

While traditional radio is an old technology, the function of radio continues to be awesome. It is better than TV; it felt like the deejays are talking to you. It is better than Facebook or other social media; as it is well curated and not cluttered.

That’s what I like about radio.

That’s why I created SG Radio.

We need to upgrade this “old technology” to a new level.

Tagged with: SG Radio
Posted in whatever

Forever We Remember You – Mr Lee Kuan Yew

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Junda Ong — No Comments ↓ 

Sex Ratio App – How many males/females Facebook Friends you have?

Posted on March 12, 2015 by Junda Ong — No Comments ↓

Ever wondered how many male to female friends you have?

I wondered that before, and created a simple Facebook app – Sex Ratio – 4 years ago. PS: It was a long time that I developed this 1-day-hack 4 years ago, using heroku and PHP (oh yah PHP!). It still works and hosted on the free heroku server. How nice Heroku!

Tagged with: sexratio

Know When Last Poo-ed in Today Widget

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Junda Ong — No Comments ↓

Poo Keeper v1.2 is released, with two big changes.

1. Today Extension

Under Today (the tab beside your Notifications), you will now see how long since you last poo-ed. A convenient way to tell it’s time :)

Note: To use, you have to scroll to bottom > Edit > Add Poo Keeper to your Today list.

2. FREE Version

Secondly, the app is now offered as a FREE version.

The caveat: there will be ads

You can remove the ads by paying $1.99 USD with in-app purchase, which is just like the previously paid version.


Big Day app for wedding released!

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Junda Ong — No Comments ↓

Have you lost count of the number of weddings you have been to?

(If you are getting married) Have you wished there is a beautiful and free app that provides all the information about your wedding, including RSVP?

Big Day is our new app to these wedding problems! Big Day

The first versioon has been released on the iOS App Store, and you can download it FREE.

Android is coming soon in late August!

Tagged with: big day
Posted in Applications, iPhone

And Finally, Brazil+

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Junda Ong — No Comments ↓

There’s England+ and Germany+, of course there is Brazil+. Finally, all 3 Football+ apps are released, in the midst of World Cup 2014.

Tagged with: Football+



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