AllThingsD reports that Frogmind’s Badland is now available on Android.

The addicting and arty game launched on iOS in March for $4, and last month came to BlackBerry World at the same price. But, after talking with other mobile developers, Frogmind decided to go free-to-play for the game’s Android release, adding 15-second interstitial ads and two in-app purchases: One just removes the ads, while the other removes the ads and unlocks the second half of the game, for a total of 80 levels.

I really like Badland. To say that it is addictive is an understatement. I got it when it was first released on iOS and I was sucked into the game until I completed it.

I suspect that Frogmind chose this business model on Android to appeal to the different kind of buyers in the Google Play store. With the popularity of its iOS and BlackBerry versions, I believe that making the app available for free will propel it to further success on Android.

It is a no-brainer to download the game since it is free. Go get it now if you are on Android. I won’t be surprised if you end up paying to unlock the full game.

AllThingsD reports that Facebook is testing a way to resurface past News Feed posts.

Facebook confirmed the new feature in a statement: “We’re testing a new way to help you remember favorite moments by making it easier to revisit previous News Feed posts,”

“When you click on this notice, you will see a selection of some of the top posts from your News Feed from a year ago. This is just a small test at this stage.”

TechWeekEurope reports that Fujitsu has launched a laptop that scans the palm to authenticate its user.

“Vein authentication” uses image recognition and optical technology to scan the normally invisible vein pattern of the palm, back of the hand and fingers. It works by radiating the hand with near-infrared rays. The deoxidised haemoglobin in the palm veins absorbs these rays, thereby reducing the reflection rate and causing them to appear as a black pattern. This vein pattern is then verified against a pre-registered pattern to authenticate the individual.

So the next time you see people holding their palm at their laptop, know that they are not asking their laptops to talk to the hand.

Business Insider reports on the difference between iOS and Andriod usage for shopping during the holidays.

Adobe tracked visits to over 2000 US retailers’ websites on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

iOS-based devices drove more than $543 million dollars in online sales, with iPad taking a 77 percent share. Android-based devices were responsible for$148 million in online sales, a 4.9 percent share of mobile driven online sales.

…iPads drove the vast majority of online sales with $417 million while iPhones were responsible for$126 million. In comparison, Android-based phones generated $106 million, Android-based tablets$42 million in online sales on Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

This sums it up.

However, this is still a jaw-dropping gap in usage between the two platforms. It suggests that the focus on smartphone market share misses a bigger picture about how the platforms are actually used.

Android owners I’ve come across so far use their devices mainly as glorified video players.

BCN’s list of the top 10 sales ranking of smartphones in Japan.

The tenth ranked product was a ZTE phone. It is surprising that none of the local brands appeared in this list.

These photos from the recent book on Jony Ive are really interesting and provide an insight into his early design ideas.

Check Out The Earliest Work Of Apple’s Design Leader Jony Ive

Kahney highlighted this quote from Paul Kunkel in a book about Apple design: “Unlike most of his generation, Ive did not see design as an occasion to exert his ego or carry out some pres ordained style or theory. Rather, he approached each project in an almost chameleon-like way, adapting himself to the product (rather than the other way around) … for this reason, Ive’s early works have no ‘signature style.’”