Having previously added tablet support to the Android version of the educational flag recognition game Flagpole, we’ve now brought the iOS version up to speed with proper iPad support (including support for landscape orientations).  This new version (version 1.3) is available on the App Store now.

The release of the Kindle Fire just over a week ago has breathed new life into Amazon’s Appstore. One of the consequences of this is that Rectangular Software’s flag recognition app, Flagpole, has sold several copies to Kindle Fire purchasers in the last few days having previously barely registered on the Amazon store.

Until now Flagpole has only been optimised for phone-sized screens. Today we’ve released an update that improves the experience on the Kindle Fire and other larger devices such as the 10.1″ Samsung Galaxy Tab. As part of this update the app now also works in landscape orientation as well as portrait mode.

In addition, version 3.4 includes the updated flag for Malawi that didn’t make it into the previous version.  The new version is available from the Android Market right now and has been submitted to the Amazon Appstore where it should appear some time in the next week.

There are many important milestones in the early life of a new country. The declaration of independence, diplomatic recognition from other states, and membership of the United Nations to name just a few.

South Sudan is the world’s newest country. It gained independence on July 9th this year and joined the United Nations five days later, but until now it has lacked the prestige of an entry in Rectangular Software’s Flagpole mobile app.

South Sudan becomes the 234th flag to feature in our educational game  for Android and iPhone. The updated Android app is available now on the Android Market. The iPhone update has been submitted to the App Store and should be available soon. Also included in these versions is the change of Libya’s flag back to the pre-Gaddafi red, black and green design.

Flagpole, the educational flag recognition game, is now available for iPhone as well as Android. Featuring the same 233 national flags, 7 challenges, flag browser and flag descriptions as the Android version, Flagpole for iPhone can be downloaded from the App Store for just £0.69/€0.79/$0.99.

Today we’ve slashed the price of Flagpole, our Android flag recognition game, by 40%^*. The UK price drops from 99p to just 59p while US buyers now pay only $0.99 and in the Eurozone the price is €0.69.

Flagpole includes the flags of 232 countries and territories, divided into seven challenges of increasing difficulty. It also includes a flag browser containing informative descriptions of each flag.

Flagpole is available to buy from the Android Market.

* The reduction is less than 40% in some countries (such as Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Japan) due to Android Market minimum price restrictions for those currencies.

Flagpole, our simple flag recognition game, was one of Rectangular Software’s first Android apps. We recently moved it from the Brain & Puzzle Games section of the Android Market to the Education section. To underscore this new focus we’ve given it a bit of an overhaul for version 2.0.

In addition to tweaking the UI in a few places (fast scroll option, new preferences screen), the major new feature is the Flag Browser. The ability to browse through the full set of 232 flags is something several people have asked for. You can use the thumbnail view to study the flags at your leisure or to identify a flag that you’ve seen somewhere. When you select one of the flag thumbnails the details screen is displayed with a large view of the flag and an informative description. Hopefully, by learning the reasons for the colours and symbols and the history behind them, you will more easily recognise the flags in future.

The Flag Browser is exclusive to the full version of Flagpole, but fortunately that costs a mere 99 pence (approximately US$1.58 or €1.17) from Google’s shiny new web-based Android Market. If you just want the game and don’t want to pay, the ad-supported Flagpole Lite offers the 6 continental challenges from the full version of Flagpole (upgrade for the Whole World challenge and Flag Browser).

The free version of Flagpole, our flag recognition game for Android, has had something of an overhaul. No longer is it just a 76-flag demo, it now includes all of the 232 flags that you will find in the full version. So, in addition to Oceania and North and South America, you can now tackle the Asian, European and African challenges for free.

To support this we have added adverts to the free version. If you don’t want adverts, you can still buy the full version for just 99 pence. The full version also includes the Whole World challenge in which you must correctly identify all 232 flags without making a mistake to complete the game.

Both versions of Flagpole are available from the Android Market.

It’s been a little while since we released Flagpole, our simple but addictive flag recognition game for Android. One complaint that we’ve had is that it’s too unforgiving. We happen to like the all-or-nothing approach but we agree that it can be discouraging for people trying to learn the flags. Therefore we’ve introduced a new default scoring mode in version 1.1. The dreaded sound of our awful buzzer no longer means “game over”. Instead you lose a point from your score and can guess again. You still have to get them all right to complete the challenge but you can set a high score with one or two mistakes. If, like us, you prefer the old approach, you can choose it from the settings menu.

Flagpole 1.1 is available now from the Android Market for just 99p. You can also download Flagpole Lite for free, which includes a subset of the flags from the full version.

We are currently experimenting with alternative distribution channels for our Android applications. You can purchase Flagpole via Paypal at AndAppstore. We hope this provides a convenient option for users in countries where the Android Market is inaccessible. If you would like us to publish to other third-party app stores, please leave your suggestions in the comments.