iLaugh puts a database of over 50,000 jokes in the palm of your hand. Vote on your favorite jokes, compile a list of your favorites, share jokes with your friends via Twitter and Facebook, and most importantly, have a good laugh.

With iLaugh, you have complete control over which jokes you want to read. The Categories feature gives you the ability to only read the jokes that interest you. Additionally, you can filter out adult jokes or jokes voted down by the community.

Today, after three whole months in review (seriously, I’m not making this up!), they decided to finally tackle the issue and issue me a rejection for no other reason other than “because we said so.”

See for yourself.

Please note, this is for iLaugh 1.1.1. iLaugh 2.0 is still in review, as a new application, and there’s no reason it should be rejected. In fact, the premium edition has already been approved and is already live on the App Store.

Speaking of iLaugh 2.0 – the first public screenshot ever:

The latter tend to blame the App Store for the failure of their application(s). Granted, the App Store is a harsh market which has both its advantages and its flaws. But, in my humble opinion, a good craftsman never blames his tools.

The App Store has trends that can be analyzed, and if you’re going to be developing for the iPhone, you need to learn how to adapt. I have learnt this first-hand through experimentation, and have learnt many valuable lessons along the way.

Last September, while working on a much bigger iPhone game, I thought it would be cool to create a quick one-trick application for viewing jokes. I never envisioned that iLaugh would become my most lucrative app that would keep me going while I develop the aforementioned game.

The Y-Axis shows daily revenue in US dollars.

Let’s leave the end of the graph (Feb-Apr) aside for a minute, we’ll get back to it.

You can see the initial release spikes, typical of the App Store, and then a very depressing downwards trend right after release. For the second release, 1.1, I upped the price from $0.99 to $1.99. Which slightly lowered the initial spike revenue. But at that stage, I had a much more mature app which unfortunately, due to lack of effective marketing stagnated at a sub-$20 daily revenue.

But in February, I made pretty much the best decision I have ever made. That, of course, was to release a Lite version. I initially thought it would be a nearly cost-free way to get some free advertising for the premium version. The main reason I put ads inside the Lite version was actually not to create revenue, but rather to give users a reason to upgrade. But, other than that, the Lite version was an identical, fully functional copy of the premium version.

As you can see, it did a pretty decent job of advertising the premium version. Since the mid-Feb release of iLaugh Lite, daily revenue for iLaugh has been much higher than it previously was.

Fortunately, iLaugh Lite became quite popular on the iTunes App Store, and while never entering the global top 100, it has charted as high as #29 on the Entertainment chart, and has been in the top 40 entertainment apps nearly since its release.

While this did have some unexpected consequences, like bringing my entire server down due to excessive traffic which brought the iLaugh service down and forced me to upgrade to a better server, the benefits were pretty clear.

This graph shows daily iLaugh Lite downloads.

This equates to about 100,000 monthly downloads.

Here’s a graph that shows the web-service traffic this generates (since each joke is fetched from my server, this gives me a pretty good overview of the actual usage of the app). Unfortunately, I only started using this particular analytics package on March 2nd, so that’s when the graph starts.

To date, iLaugh has served over 6 million jokes, and it’s going at about one million per week.

So far I left out one pretty important thing: ad revenue. But one always leaves the best for last, right? So here goes:

As the installed user-base for iLaugh Lite grows, so does daily ad revenue. Currently, I’m seeing pretty good numbers. I have around 6 million monthly ad impressions, and as you can see in the above graph, I’m seeing around $100 daily ad revenue.

While these aren’t mind-shattering numbers, I think they give a pretty good overview of what one can achieve as an average developer for the iPhone platform.

Warning: some of these jokes may be rated R

The nun teaching Sunday school was speaking to her class one morning when she asked the question, ‘When you die and go to heaven…which part of your body goes first?’

Suzy raised her hand and said, ‘I think it’s your hands’.

‘Why do you think it’s your hands, Suzy?’

Suzy replied, ‘Because when you pray, you hold your hands together in front of you and God just takes your hands first’.

‘What a wonderful answer!’ the nun said.

Little Johnny raised his hand and said, ‘Sister, I think it’s your feet’.

The nun looked at him with the strangest look on her face. ‘Now, Little Johnny, why do you think it would be your feet?’

Little Johnny said, ‘Well, I walked into Mommy and Daddy’s bedroom the other night, Mommy had her legs straight up in the air and she was saying, ‘Oh! God, I’m coming! … and if Dad hadn’t pinned her down, we’d have lost her’.

The Nun fainted

Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He’s all right now.

“Dairy farming s’a rough life”, one young man lamented, “what with my two brothers and me having to divvy up the milking of two hundred cows each morning.”

“Wow, that does sound exhausting” remarked one onlooker.

“Yea, well, it’ll be better soon when my pa gets another hundred head.”

“How can it be better with more cows to milk?”

“Well, shoot! Any fool can divide 300 by 3.”

At the exact same time there are two young men on opposite sides of the Earth. One is walking a tight rope between two skyscrapers. The other is receiving oral sex from a 98 year old woman. They are both thinking the exact same thing:

Don’t Look Down!

Q: Why do men like women dressed in leather?

A: They smell like new car.

Your mom is so fat that when she fell in love, she broke it.

Your mom is so fat that when she tried to sit up, she rocked herself to sleep.

An infinite number of mathmaticians walk into a bar. The first mathmatician says to the bartendender, “I’d like a beer, please.” The second mathmatician says, “I would like a half a beer, please, sir.” The third mathmatician, smiling, says, “I’d like half of a half of a beer, please, good sir!” The bartender, glancing down the line, says, “You’re all morons!”, pours two beers and walks away.

A priest and a rabbi are at a wedding. They see a kid bending over to tie his shoe. So the priest goes to the rabbi: “Oh man, I’d really love to screw that kid”. The rabbi says: “Out of what?”

A priest offered a Nun a lift.
She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg.
The priest nearly had an accident.
After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg.
The nun said, ‘Father, remember Psalm 129?’
The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again
The nun once again said, ‘Father, remember Psalm 129?’
The priest apologized ‘Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.’
Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way.
On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, ‘Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.’
Moral of the story:
If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings.
The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs.
When she opens the door, there stands Bob , the next-door neighbor.
Before she says a word, Bob says, ‘I’ll give you $800 to drop that towel.’
After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob , after a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves.
The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs.
When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, ‘Who was that?’
‘It was Bob the next door neighbor,’ she replies.
‘Great,’ the husband says, ‘did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?’
Moral of the story:
If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Subscribe to the mailing list now!

Here’s the deal, if you manage to make me laugh out loud with a joke, I’ll reward you with a free iLaugh promo code. While supplies last. (There’s only about 40 codes left for me to give away.)

Show me your best joke in the comments.

At the end of the contest, I’ll compile a list of the very best jokes, and publish them through iLaugh as a new source, as well as on this blog.

Check out the free version!

Update: if you can, rather tweet me your joke @SeoxyS.

Chuck Norris reads iLaugh!

Just freshly released merely minutes ago are two brand-new awesome sources, Chuck Norris Facts, both in english and french versions.

Comedy Central back up

The source jokes.com has been down for a while, but everything is back to normal since a few days.

Get iLaugh for FREE!

Yes, the Lite version of iLaugh is finally here. And the best part is that it’s completely free, yet has all the same great sources that the full version offers. The catch? A small portion at the bottom of the screen is taken up by a classy AdMob ad.

Get iLaugh Lite!

TUAW reviews ilaugh

A big thanks to TUAW for reviewing iLaugh today.

For the past several months, I have been working with the talented guys at MacMage on a very exciting project that I have the pleasure to announce today.

Anigma is an iPhone and iPod Touch game based on an all-time favorite 80’s classic. It sports amazing eye-candy and music, has a futuristic theme, and adds new gameplay twists.

We are planning on a December or January release, and we will be giving away more information about Anigma as the month progresses.

We will also all be at MacWorld 2009, so look for us there. We will not be exhibiting, but we’ll be wearing MacMage shirts

Also check out the MacMage site, teammate Ernest’s blog, the Azure Talon site, and the official Anigma site.

Azure Talon Software is proud to introduce iLaugh 1.0, their joke database for iPhone and iPod Touch. For the price of a song, iLaugh is a fun little application that contains an endless database of hilarious jokes. It’s a handy sidekick when entertaining guests, speaking to an audience, killing time or simply to cheer up a friend when they’re feeling down.

iLaugh is quite easy to use, and a perfect companion for comedians who’re searching for that perfect punch line. With sources containing a total of over twenty thousand jokes (some of which are 100% clean), users are guaranteed to always find a new joke. Azure Talon will be releasing two, completely new and great sources very soon.

Supported Languages:
* US English

System Requirements:
* iPhone or iPod Touch 2.0

Pricing and Availability:
iLaugh 1.0 for iPhone is only $0.99 (USD) and available exclusively through Apple’s App Store.

Azure Talon Software

Download and Purchase

Azure Talon Logo

iLaugh Icon

Main Screenshot

Based in beautiful Gimel, Switzerland, Azure Talon Software is a small privately funded company founded in 2004 by Kenneth Ballenegger. Leveraging their longtime experience developing for the Mac platform, Azure Talon’s aim is developing well-made software, complemented by first-class customer support. Azure Talon Software makes apps that make the user’s life more enjoyable. Copyright 2004-2008 Azure Talon Software. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries.

###

Kenneth Ballenegger
CEO
 info@azuretalon.com

When you upload an iPhone application to the App Store through iTunes Connect, you’re presented with a few screens of information to fill in. First, there’s the screen where you put the Application’s description, category, and any other textual information about it.

Then there’s the screen where you upload the binary, the icon(s), and screenshots. And lastly there’s a screen to set the price. Unlike what I thought would be the case, you cannot chose a specific price. You get to chose from several price groups. A price group has a price in US Dollars, and a price in different currencies usually of a similar value. (For example, a $0.99 app in Switzerland is CHF 1.10)

At the top of this page, there is a little warning message that says you need a contract with Apple if you’re going to put up non-free apps. I did not pay too much attention to it, and the rest of the process seemed to go smoothly, eventually leading back to a page where I could see my app was “In Review”.

I was still slightly confused about this contract message, and decided to find out what it was about. I asked a few fellow developers, and found out that Apple would not sell my app until the contract was taken care of.

In iTunes Connect, there is a section on contracts, with a link to create a new contract. A contract is made of three parts; Contact Details, Banking Details and Tax Details.

• Contact Details

  This is very straightforward. I just had to fill in my full contact details. (Including physical address.)

• Banking Details

  This is slightly more complicated. I’m with one of the smaller Swiss banks, and I wanted to use this account for my App Store revenue.

  One of the things Apple requires is a SWIFT code. Luckily, I’m with a Swiss bank, and these tend to be very professional. I just had to give my bank a phone call, and I had my SWIFT code. However, after reading a recent topic on the MacSB mailing list, it appears to be very common for many of the smaller banks in the US and other countries not to have SWIFT codes. In which case you’re screwed and you’ll have to open a new account with a bank that has a SWFT code. (Apple recommends Bank of America.)

  Another thing required by Apple is the IBAN. International Bank Account Number. My bank informed me that they printed these on all the bank statements they issued. However, I didn’t have any bank statement around. It wasn’t too hard getting this number. Switzerland has a standardized way of building these numbers from your CB Number (Clearing Banquaire - this is what we call Branch IDs) and your account number. A handy little script I found on the web would take this info and convert it into an IBAN. (I later found one of my Bank statements, and the IBAN generated did indeed match the one on the statement).

  Apple also asked for the Branch ID (I put my CB number for this) and account number, and another number called the SIC / Short Code. I researched it a bit, and it looks like I didn’t need it. I just left that field blank.

• Tax Details

  This is where it gets nasty. Note that this is not an Apple thing, this is government tax regulation. Apple provides an online version of the government form W-8BEN. It seems I am not obligated to fill this form in, but if I don’t, Apples keeps another 30% of my revenue as anticipated taxes. This, with the 30% commission they take from every sale, leaves me with only 49% of my gross sales. (70% * 70% = 49%)

  This form is extremely cryptic, and I filled it in to the best of my knowledge. This, however, wasn’t enough for Apple. The form complained about missing information. It’s only then that I realized that Apple provides a handy tip sheet explaining how to fill the form in, and what are the most common answers.

  With this information, I was able to understand and fill in most of the form. Except for one field: Taxpayer Identification Number. Since I’m not a US resident (although I’m eligible for citizenship by blood, and plan to apply soon), I did not have this information. Apple’s tip sheet luckily had a small paragraph regarding this. An EIN (Employer Identification Number) would do. To get an EIN, I had to download another form entitled SS-4.

  This form was even more cryptic than the previous one. It is obviously made for more traditional companies, and had questions asking how many employees I have in different field, how much wages I paid them, where and when my company was incorporated, and a bunch of other tax-related questions. It also asked a few things I couldn’t fill in, such as my SSN (Social Security Number - I don’t have one). I phoned the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) - the government entity I had to submit the form to - and it turned out this field wasn’t necessary. In response to the question “Check one box that best describes the principal activity of your business”, there of course wasn’t anything about technology. I had to tick “Other (specify)” and enter “Royalties”.

  There is three way you can submit the form. Firstly, you can do it the traditional way of mailing it by post. But this would take a minimum of 4 weeks. Second way would be by fax, but this would also take at least 1 week. The third way is actually pretty clever. You fax while you’re on the phone.

  Problem: my phone and my fax are on the same phone line. Meaning I can’t do both at the same time. I do have a cellphone, but phoning oversees for a good half hour at least from a cellphone would be so outrageously expensive it didn’t make any sense. Luckily, I though of a brilliant idea, and opened a Skype Out account. The audio quality wasn’t very good, but at least it worked. After another hour of phoning, I finally had my EIN and could submit the W-8BEN form to Apple.

Everything seems to be in order as of now. My app is still in review, but expect it in the app store soon.