Reliable sources?

[EvilLlama]

So I'm curious as to what percentage of Americans actually have iphones. I poked around on google, and I'm getting a lot of results that similar to sites such as WikiAnswers--which is almost always wrong. Can anyone point me toward reliable sources for this kind of information?

[tsloper]

You can try these:
http://www.obscure.co.uk/directory/d...rket-research/
http://www.igda.org/business-and-leg...rence-material

[EvilLlama]

Thanks for the links. I found http://www.theesa.com/search/search.pl?Terms=iphone especially helpful.

For those who are curious, according to http://www.theesa.com/gamesindailylife/mobile-games.asp 48% of US teens play games on mobile phones. I still have to dig around to find what percentage of those are iphones.

The reason for my interest is this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJVma4f5tAk
The game is terrible, and the lady is clearly is no game designer. However the key aspect she keeps emphasizing is that it's cheap. Which led me to ponder how you have places like the Entertainment Technology Center really pushing for innovation, however a lot of that takes the form of really expensive hardware the average household can't afford. With the latest iphone app store craze, is that targeting an audience with a range of incomes, or just a relatively small and privileged (albeit very active/engaged) audience? By meeting the needs of people with lower incomes, I speculate that the game industry can further bridge the gap between games and education as well as combat piracy--since people still feel a lot of cultural pressure to play games they can't afford to obtain legally.
More later though.

[tsloper]

Originally Posted by EvilLlama

1. Thanks for the links. I found http://www.theesa.com/search/search.pl?Terms=iphone especially helpful.
2. The reason for my interest is this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJVma4f5tAk
... the key aspect she keeps emphasizing is that it's cheap.

1. You're welcome. I too have found the ESA website very useful.
2. Edutainment for the classroom has got to be cheap. What's the problem?

[EvilLlama]

I guess my fear is that innovation and exploration of different methods/techniques of interaction are being channeled singularly towards the latest and greatest--and expensive technologies. If this fear is correct, you end up with designers who only know how to design for fancy toys, leaving well intentioned but unskilled people like the demonstrator in the video in charge of edutainment in most schools. The result is that edutainment lags eons behind entertainment, when they really should just be the same thing--with edutainment being the equivalent of a "nonfiction" genre.

[tsloper]

Originally Posted by EvilLlama

1. I guess my fear is that innovation and exploration of different methods/techniques of interaction are being channeled singularly towards the latest and greatest--and expensive technologies.
2. The result is that edutainment lags eons behind entertainment,

1. Two points:
a. "Not necessarily."
b. "Never take counsel of your fears." - Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson
2. It already does, and likely always will. So? Get creative! And I still don't know what all this is about -- where you're coming from with this line of talk. How did we get from iPhones to edutainment?

[Adrir]

Originally Posted by EvilLlama

The result is that edutainment lags eons behind entertainment, when they really should just be the same thing--with edutainment being the equivalent of a "nonfiction" genre.

I find that many non-serious games can be just as educational as their counterparts. Likewise with social impact games, which are equally impressive (see 'Fate of the World' and 'Peacemaker'). The problem is that they are not targeted enough for the classroom and some people seem to think that regular games don't offer anything or are a waste of time.

Originally Posted by tsloper

How did we get from iPhones to edutainment?

I believe that several universities are developing iPhones apps that can be used in educational contexts. Aberystwyth University in Wales recently released an iPhone app that teaches Welsh. If successful, I can imagine the platform being considered by developers of serious games.