Tag Archives: Spicy Pony

DexIQ Updated!

DexIQ Ver 1.1 (screen 2)

DexIQ 1.1 Screenshot

While the Spicy Pony team is hard at work on their new concept (Crooked House) they’ve found time to update their first release, DexIQ. The original DexIQ presented a unique challenge among iPhone games: Two games played simultaneously and geared towards challenging both your IQ and your dexterity.

The updated version improves the existing test/games and adds a whole new DexIQ challenge – new games in a new test package. These screenshots I’ve uploaded to my flickr account will show you some of the new games. But you’ve got to try it to ‘get it’ – trust me when I say you’ve never played a challenge game like this.

Hit these links:
DexIQ Home
DexIQ on App Store

How’s Your DexIQ?

Peter Ha over at App Club has posted a DexIQ challenge:

It’s a relatively simple game that tests both dexterity and IQ – hence the name DexIQ. It’s a fun little game that only costs $0.99. Despite the graphics, the game is challenging as can be. It makes my brain hurt. That, or, I’m still feeling the effects of this past weekend.

I challenge you, Techland reader, to download the game and post your scores. I’ll beat you. I’ll beat all of you. If I don’t then I’ll send you some free stuff (Blu-ray movies, Xbox 360 games, etc.).

Head over to check out the full blurb. And be sure to hit these links:

DexIQ (Website)
DexIQ (iTunes Link)

Insane in the Brain Game

Lobotomy Christmas

Insane Children Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Insane Children and Spicy Horse! Ever wonder why the Insane Children are insane? Mad looks, twitchy fingers, exposed brains – all symptoms of playing too much DexIQ!

Dan Kricke over at Appolicious provides details about this challenging new brain game in a recent review:

DexIQ’s hook is that it tests not only your IQ, but your dexterity, by making you play two different games at one time, with the screen split down the middle. It’s the iPhone equivalent to patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time.

Dan goes on to give DexIQ a 5 out of 5 rating and closes by saying:

I can’t stress enough, if you’re interested at all in puzzles and games that activate the brain, you should be putting DexIQ onto your iPhone as we speak. It’s a little short on the available amount of challenges, but for under $1, you absolutely cannot go wrong.

Yoyo over at iPhone Footprint says of DexIQ in a recent review:

I don’t think I’ve had so much fun going through an IQ test, probably because it has the game tag attached to it. So at times I am squashing bugs on one side while running away from a ghost on the other. Or maybe I would be calculating sums while floating through clouds simultaneously.

Our little brain game also scored a 5 out of 5 rating in that review!

News about DexIQ and the launch of Spicy Pony has spread far and wide: Blue’s News, Avault, Buzzapp, Videogame.it and Hybrid (Korea).

The Spicy Pony team is already working on improvements to the original challenge – expect a release sometime after the New Year. In the meantime, be sure to check out the brain game everyone is going insane for.

DexIQ on the app store.
DexIQ homepage.
Spicy Pony homepage.

PS – be sure to comment on things you’d like to see improved in future versions. We’re listening!

iPhone Developer “Spicy Pony” Launched

Spicy Pony Logo

Spicy Pony Logo

Quick on the heels of news that the iPhone is gaining traction in China, Shanghai-based Spicy Horse gives birth to a mobile division aptly named “Spicy Pony“. Last week the Pony quietly released its first app – the unique brain trainer “DexIQ“. This week it makes official its entry into the iPhone arena with an eye towards developing entertainment, game and social apps for the Asian and Western markets.

To celebrate we’re making DexIQ FREE for a limited time (weekend of the 18th, December ’09).

Like many others, I was using an iPhone in China long before China Unicom’s official launch of the handset (October 30, ’09). Before the launch, conservative estimates put iPhone penetration in China around 1.5 million – some say as many as 3 million. But these are “gray market” phones, meaning they were sold in Hong Kong then brought into China, jail-broken and resold.

China Unicom iPhone sales hit 100,000 as of last week (December 11th, ’09). At that rate they’ll sell over 600,000 phones per year – and that’s without added momentum from price reductions, new features, killer apps, and the diminishing appeal of gray market phones. I’m going to be non-conservative here and guess that official iPhone sales will have surpassed 1 million units by this time next year. Things that will help drive iPhone sales for China Unicom:

* Young Chinese see cell phones as fashion accessories and love to update every 3 to 6 months.
* Most high-end cell phones here are the price of the iPhone (Chinese youth and professionals have been spending 300-800USD on phones for several years).
* Unicom is offering amnesty for gray market phone owners – allowing them to switch to legit accounts while gaining access to 3G.
* Better and faster network performance from anywhere will gain importance as people see their friends leveraging such access.
* Rumors abound that Unicom will unlock WiFi before long, when that happens watch out!
* More and cooler China-specific apps will drive interest in the device (as happened in the US).

For me, the biggest hurdle in switching was that I had to change my cell phone number. In China numbers are a big deal – everyone loves 8’s (very auspicious) – so phone numbers, license plate numbers and the like are chosen carefully and coveted. Fortunately, there’s little interest in 6’s, so I was able to secure a sweet ‘666’ number. Now that I’m on the new network I couldn’t be happier. It’s fast, reliable and price competitive – especially when compared to the so-so performance I was getting with my iPhone on China Mobile’s GPRS network.

For Spicy Pony, the rapidly expanding Chinese iPhone market is a phenomenal boon. Our studio and expertise are perfectly aligned to address the new Chinese and existing Western markets. It’s an exciting time to jump into the fray. We’re going to leverage our talents against development of original concepts for China and the West – and we’re cooking up a big license-based game I’m sure everyone will find quite wonderful.

Keep an eye on the Spicy Pony site for details and updates.

Check out the new Spicy Pony Website!
Check out the latest Spicy Pony game DexIQ!

And remember, DexIQ is FREE for a limited time. Enjoy!