I've got a new phone - Samsung i600!
I've recently taken out a new cellphone contract which includes a great unlimited data plan. I have access to 3G and HSDPA (high speed data) which also allows me to use my phone as a modem for my laptop and to do things like streaming audio and video calling. With this new data package, I thought it was time to pick a new phone which supports all of these things. After careful consideration of the features I wanted - Windows Mobile, 3G support, wifi and a qwerty keyboard - and reading a range of reviews, I settled on a Samsung SGH i600.
The i600 is one of a handful of increasingly popular devices that we refer to as landscape smartphones. It runs Windows Mobile 5.0 for Smartphone and has a 320x240 landscape screen. Unlike all the Palm OS and Windows Mobile for Pocket PC devices I've owned previously, this one doesn't have a touch screen, so there's no stylus and everything is controlled by the buttons, 5 way controller and the scroll wheel on the side. After many years of devices with touchscreens, this is probably going to be a bit strange for me, but as many of you are now selecting devices like the Motorola Q, Samsung Blackjack (which is similar to my i600) and the HTC S620 (T-Mobile Dash), I wanted to see what a non-touchscreen cellphone was like.
Not all of our games run on my i600 yet, but Bejeweled, Glyph, and Astraware Solitaire are already installed, and I'm excited to say that there are updates of some old favorites along with some exciting new games in the pipeline. Keep an eye on our Preview Page for news of new releases!
The Astraware mobile website works really well in this version of Pocket IE, and I can even sign in to Club Astraware from there too. Best of all I don't have to remember a special website address, I just go to http://www.astraware.com and it automatically detects that I'm visiting from a mobile browser! More mobile-friendly features are on their way, so keep an eye out for those too. If you've got any suggestions of things you'd like to see, feel free to post a comment!
Arrrrr! Tradewinds 2 ahoy!
I just wanted to have a quick word about how happy I am that my first game - Tradewinds 2 - has been released! It's been in development now for a long time, and it's great to see it finally finished. It was really challenging to program as I knew expectation would be high due to the popularity of Tradewinds, so I had to work really hard to ensure that the sequel would be an improvement over the original. Now that the game has been out for a week and the first reviews have started to emerge my nerves have been quashed and I'm confident that Tradewinds 2 is an improvement over the original game... phew!
One major improvement that took a lot of work was the extensive mission system that encompasses over 100 missions! This adds a whole new dimension to the game in addition to the updated combat and trading system. In fact, there were so many missions that I needed to create a special cheat menu in the game to allow the beta testers to access missions quickly, (although we did have to take it back out for the release version!)
Of course it wouldn't have been possible to create the game without lots of hard work from Bryan, the lead artist on Tradewinds 2. I think that everyone agrees that he has done a fantastic job creating the multitude of graphics required. He even managed to create an animation of a dog in 10x10 pixels!
Finally, I just want to thank all the guys here at Astraware for their support throughout the project, with a special mention for Kat's pirate cake, and an extra special thanks to all the beta-testers for their hard work and dedication!
I would love it if you could give my game a try... but beware... its apparently quite addictive...
Astraware Solitaire - the Reviews
So it's been 3 weeks now since Solitaire was released and in between starting work on our new projects and checking the current sales level, we've been checking out all the reviews of our game! 
There's always a moment's apprehension when you load up a new review... with so many Solitaire games out there, will we have made enough of an impression to stand out? The answer seems to be yes! (At least, so far!) We've already had over 15 reviews, with two in Spanish, and almost everyone seems to have become addicted. Here are a few quotes so you can see what people have been saying...
"...like most Astraware games, they have put their personal twist on things with amazing graphics, a "trophy deck" and numerous customization options" - Doug Goldring, Just Another Mobile Monday
"Something else I think they got very right was the game variants. This allows for further custom options for your games, playing them the way you like to play. Tapping through some of the options I found some variations that I'd never run across before. Nice!" - Alan Williams, Daily Gadget
"The visuals are good with some sweet looking card backs and at last there is a goal in a card game on a PDA! You can unlock extra card backs and maybe even the Golden Trophy Deck which once won can be used to play with." - Shaun McGill, PDA247
"Once you've got the hang of the various variations of Solitaire that are on offer you will find that it is an excellent and incredibly addictive game. I have been playing the game not only whilst having a spare second to myself whilst using public transport or whilst sitting in the café, but also whilst I've been sitting at home!" - Jonathan Winter, Palm Addicts
There is a useful side to the reviews as well (rather than just reading them to make us smile!) Any time someone comments about a feature they'd like to see, or something that could be improved it gets added to my list ready for the next update. You can add your suggestions by clicking the comments link below.
Mike would like to humbly comment at this point that they seem to have run out of words to describe the graphics in the game, his current favourites include: beautiful, professional, amazing, fabulous and polished. 
If anyone wants to add any more words to this list, feel free 
With so many wonderful reviews of the game we're raring to get going on the next project to get more great games out to you!
Tradewinds 2 Release Cake
Today marks a special day for Steve... his first game release! So obviously, I just had to make cake! Since it's Steve's game I asked him what kind of cake he would like and then added chocolate
Banana Chocolate Cake Recipe
2 large eggs
3 ripe bananas
4oz butter/margarine
6oz sugar
8oz self-raising flour
50g plain chocolate chips
This cake is very, very easy! Just throw everything into a food processor and whizz until mixed. You can mix it by hand if you really want to, but it's much faster my way
Pour the mixture into a large square pan and bake at 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for about 20 to 30 minutes (until a sharp knife comes out clean). Leave it to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To decorate mine I cut a little bit off the top and bottom to make it more flag shaped, and then covered it in about 150g of melted milk chocolate. Once cooled I used some white chocolate frosting to add the skull and crossbones (alright, so I stole Mike and forced him at gun point asked him nicely to draw them for me! )
To make the white chocolate frosting melt together 90g white chocolate, 40ml of double cream, 40g butter and then mix in 60g of icing sugar. Although, that actually made about 3 times as much frosting as I needed! So you might want to halve the recipe, or draw something which requires more icing
As it's really Steve's big day I even let him cut the cake (well, the first cut anyways!) I've only had one complaint about daring to spoil a chocolate cake by adding banana (I'm sorry Larry!!) so you can probably guess who's choosing the next cake!
Goodbye from Jan
After five years, and more than ten games, I am sorry to say that I am leaving today. It is sad to be leaving a place where I have made so many friends and had so much fun. I am leaving to work on mobile phone games in Yorkshire (though I might need a boat to get there!)
I have got to say that the best thing about working at Astraware was the sense of community, both within the team, and with the wider community of beta testers and players. I have learned so much from all of you! I hope I will be able to pop back on the boards occasionally to say "hi!" and do a little beta testing. There are some incredibly exciting projects coming up that I am sad to not be able to work on, but I look forward to being able to play them.
Insaniquarium, TipTop, Fruit Frolic, Tradewinds, Cubis, Bejeweled 2, Astraware Sudoku, Crazy Daisy, Chuzzle, Pixelus, StarPop ... have I missed any? All a joy to work on, and they bring back so many memories. Thanks to Gatewood, Cheryl, Hiroshi, Diana, Mp3, Pathdoc, Pritch, Xcool, Biggoodbig, Tobeast, Threephi, Lenrodman, DanaLinder, Space Cadet, mbaker5408, and all the other wonderful beta testers over the years who have been so much help to me and so lovely to chat with on the forums. Sorry to all those I forgot or didn't have room to mention!
love Janet