Everyone likes to share their predictions for what the future will bring in technology as a new year dawns. But some things seem to manage to stay the same, despite anticipation to the contrary. Here’s where I think the boat won’t rock in 2012. Read more »
According to reports circulating Monday, Apple could be hosting a special media event in January. The event won’t be about Apple’s next iPad if reports are correct, however. Instead, Apple will be talking directly to the publishing industry, and the time for that talk is ripe. Read more »
2011 wasn’t really a year in which we saw a lot of big changes on the hardware front from Apple, even though iOS 5 and iCloud made big splashes in software. But I think we can expect a lot of device changes in 2012. Read more »
100 Rogues is a role-playing game that challenges the bond between a player and their character, which is normally a valued relationship in RPGs. How does it do that? By killing your chosen character, over and over, again and again. Read more »
Call it the year of lessons learned, if not quite bubbles burst. In 2011, several trends in the connected consumer space that appeared inexorable at the start of the year seemed disorganized by the end. What does that mean for the next 12 months? From cloud-based media storage to daily deals to the fight for the digital living room, 2012 will be a year of consolidation and integration. Both entrepreneurs and investors will figure out that many once-promising standalone business models need to be grounded on more solid, integrated platforms to create real value. Companies mentioned in this report include Hulu, LivingSocial, Netflix and Zynga. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The past year in mobile has been even more eventful than most of us would have predicted. Our appetite for mobile data grew dramatically; Google’s Android continued its march to worldwide dominance; Amazon joined the tablet bandwagon; and AT&T tried and failed to acquire T-Mobile USA, among many other things. All of that activity lays the groundwork for a very promising — and very challenging — 2012. This research note serves both as a review of the major trends and events of 2011 as well as a forecast for the coming year. Companies mentioned in this report include Millennial Media, Quattro Wireless and Samsung. For a full list of companies, and to read the full research note, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Apple’s App Store is doing well thanks to the successful launch of the iPhone 4S. For the second month in a row, it posted record downloads among the top 200 free apps, with around 5.6 million per day, according to mobile app marketing firm Fiksu. Read more »
Some games just have a knack for getting your heart racing. Fast-paced, simple action games where success is measured by hand-eye coordination are a perfect example. That’s certainly an apt description of Stay Alive, a universal game available now for iPhone and iPad. Read more »
Analysis by Xyologic found that of the top 150 apps downloaded on each the iPhone and Android in 2011, Android leaned toward apps, with 85 of 150 being non-gaming apps, while 100 of the top 150 apps on the iPhone were games. Read more »
Earlier this week, I grilled Amazon for attempting to control web browsing activities on its Kindle Fire as the device was blocked from browsing Google’s Android Market website. With the new Kindle Fire software update, Amazon no longer blocks access, which is the right move. Read more »
According to a new report from app market research firm Distimo, the App Store, which has traditionally been dominated by U.S. downloads, is seeing another major driving force on the rise as more and more Chinese shoppers pick up iOS devices. Read more »
App analytics firm Distimo said the iPhone App Store is generating about four times as much revenue for the top 200 apps compared to the top 200 apps in Android Market. The app revenue gap is prompting developers to look for creative ways to make money. Read more »
Asymco.com blogger Horace Dediu has come from no where and become one of the most followed Apple analyst. His accurate track record and his ability to sift through mounds of publicly available data has made him many fans, especially amongst those who follow the phone business. Read more »
Amazon’s successful 7-inch tablet, the Kindle Fire, is locked down more than people might think: browser requests to Google’s Android Market are redirected to the Amazon AppStore. Imagine buying a new car and then being told you that it can only be driven on certain roadways. Read more »
Throwing paper into trash cans is always fun, but doing it virtually on your iPad or iPhone in a whimsical, visually pleasing environment where you can’t get caught by the boss and don’t need a steady supply of real paper is even better. Read more »
The Mac App Store is not quite a year old, and it just passed the 100 million download mark, according to Apple. Originally launched in January, the Mac App Store is now the “largest and fastest growing PC software store in the world,” Apple says. Read more »
Apple revealed iTunes Rewind 2011 on Thursday, its latest installment of the annual feature where it lauds the best content available on its network of iTunes media stores. The list highlights the best in music, apps, tv shows, movies books and podcasts for the past year. Read more »
After launching a little over three years ago, Android Market has caught fire with downloads, hitting 10 billion over the weekend. Google’s mobile application store is now up to 1 billion downloads a month, and growth is accelerating as the number of Android devices sold soars. Read more »
The original Infinity Blade set standards for iOS gaming, in terms of graphics and also for gaming mechanics. The new sequel, Infinity Blade II, hit the U.S. App Store on Thursday. How does it match up to the original’s shining example? Read more »
An iPhone application called iTether that would let iPhone users run their Mac or PC over the phone’s data connection without paying their c… Read more at paidContent »
The Entertainment Software Ratings Board intends to apply its familiar game-rating stamps to mobile apps, providing a way for parents to monitor and restrict the games and content their kids download. Five mobile operators and Microsoft have signed on but Apple and Google are missing. Read more »
One of the first computer games I ever played at home was Zork. It was a text-based game that guided the player through a narrative of obstacles and challenges. Then came PC/Mac games like Myst and more recently Silent Hill. Now, there’s Dark Meadow on iOS. Read more »
Apple has done a lot in terms of pushing sometimes marginal technology to the fore, something it may be able to do with NFC soon, too. But narrowing down that list to a few choice selections that stand out above the rest is surprisingly easy. Read more »
Apple’s iOS App Store will almost certainly see a lot of sales this upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, but when are the best times to shop the store in general? That’s one question European advertising network madvertise set out to answer in a new study released Wednesday. Read more »
Apple will now be publishing weekly rankings for the App Store in the UK. In partnership with the Press Association, the charts will appear weekly and detail the top 10 in four categories, providing a slightly different perspective than the up-to-the minute internal App Store rankings. Read more »
Apple will be letting game publishers use in-app subscriptions, too, according to a new report from Bloomberg. Big Fish Games is the first publisher to use the feature and will allow users to access dozens of its titles for a recurring fee of $6.99 per month. Read more »
We’ve observed a lot of western companies looking to cash in on the explosive growth of China’s mobile population by taking their products i… Read more at paidContent »
Apple’s market share may be slipping, but its share of app revenue is huge and not looking like it will slide anytime soon, according to Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster. Using recent numbers, Munster figures Apple owns about 85 to 90 percent of current mobile app spending. Read more »
Apple’s iPad makes up 65 percent of customer demand for tablets, according to a new survey. But for the first time, another competitor has emerged to catch a very healthy percentage of attention: the Kindle Fire. Still, here’s how Apple can win back total market dominance. Read more »
I’ve always been a fan of side-scrolling shoot-em-up action games. Defender is one of my all-time favorite arcade games. Now I’m playing Chopper 2, and what a difference 3D makes to this type of game, especially with the litany of display options the game provides. Read more »
Apple has made a change to the scope of its lawsuit against Amazon regarding its “App Store” trademark says CNET, addressing claims made in recent advertisements for the online retailer’s new Kindle Fire Android-based tablet. Amazon’s marketing threatens the App Store brand, says Apple. Read more »
Apple wants to make it easier for customers in its fastest-growing market to get their hands on software, which is why it started accepting Chinese yuan for App Store downloads on Friday. The change is designed to curtail piracy and grow Apple’s software ecosystem. Read more »
The hype surrounding the Kindle Fire appears to have caught Apple’s attention. The iPad maker cited Amazon’s gadget and added a new claim in… Read more at paidContent »
Google has re-introduced its native iOS Gmail app to the App Store, with a new version number and instructions to delete the old version if you managed to grab it before it was pulled prior to installing this one. Besides bug fixes, little has changed. Read more »
With 500,000 apps for sale, standing out as a developer in Apple’s App Store is intimidating. Apple’s done some curation, but it could do much more by creating separate stores based on content themes, and perhaps creating new pricing models to go with it. Read more »
Tapjoy, which ran afoul of Apple’s ban on incentivized install campaigns, is getting back into the business of helping drive downloads of iOS apps with a new web app called Tapjoy Games that allows it reach out directly to consumers. Read more »
When your kids quickly become addicted to a game, you know it has to be good. That’s what happened with Gears ($2.99) by Crescent Moon Games. Gears lures you in and then ramps up the challenge, but not so fast that you can’t keep up. Read more »
iPhone rumors are an integral part of the hype engine surrounding new product launches, but Apple noted during its most recent conference call that they hurt device sales for the quarter. Now a new report says they may have slowed down app downloads, too. Read more »
I’m a simple man, and at times I like simple games. At its core, Monster Hunter Dynamic Hunter ($0.99 until Oct. 24) is a simple game. The object is to defeat various monsters in an arena setting, and it does a good job of delivering that. Read more »
Whether you’ve got a new iPhone 4S, an iPad 2 or on older iOS device, Instapaper is a must-have application. Now, a huge new update ups the game all around for an already great product. Here’s a first-hand look at what’s new and notable. Read more »
