Rovio’s Angry Birds Toons may very well be the first-ever mobile video show that reaches an audience of millions – but that doesn’t mean that startups are having it any easier. Read more at paidContent »
Five finalists have been chosen in 20 different categories for the 2012 Crunchies awards, and we’re proud to release the worthy nominees today. Voting for the winners starts today, and the winners will be announced January 31st. Read more »
Rovio, the team behind Angry Birds, is launching Bad Piggies, a game told from the pig’s perspective. The game is still physics based but it doesn’t have the same visceral fun of throwing birds and bringing down structures. Read more »
Angry Birds maker Rovio generated $106.3 million in revenue last year based on the success of three games and a booming merchandising business. The tenfold improvement over the previous is a strong showing for the company as it looks ahead to an IPO next. Read more »
UPDATED: Angry Birds Space is another huge hit for Rovio who said Thursday is won’t be building a version for Windows Phone, according to Peter Vesterbacka, the chief marketing officer of Rovio. Rovio, however, reversed course Friday and said they would develop a WP7 app. Read more »
Neil Young put a lot of the media industry’s hysteria about file-sharing into perspective when he said in a recent interview that “piracy is the new radio — that’s how music gets around.” In fact, a certain amount of “piracy” can be good for business. Read more »
Samsung, on a high after releasing some strong mobile numbers last week, today became the latest consumer electronics brand to hang its name… Read more at paidContent »
Angry Birds has soared into some rarified air with the news that it’s eclipsed 500 million downloads after launching less than two years ago. Mikael Hed, aka Mighty Eagle made the announcement on stage at the Slush Conference in Helsinki. Read more »
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but this may be stretching the expression a bit too far. Cut the Birds, a game release… Read more at paidContent »
Europe’s web scene is now thriving, and we’ve compiled a list featuring some of the best and brightest European web startups — what we’re dubbing the GigaOM Euro 20. Depending on how closely you watch Europe’s online scene, some of these companies may be familiar to you. Others you may not have heard of. But all of them are worth watching closely. In this report, we profile the 20 startups that we feel best represent Europe’s current tech scene. We have organized our list around perception, and as lists go, it is intended to be a guideline rather than a rule book. It’s not exhaustive, and clearly, with such a diverse and vibrant continent as our playing field, it never could be. Companies mentioned in this report include GetJar, Huddle, Made.com and Songkick. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Angry Birds creator Rovio is using predictive analytics software from Seattle-based startup Medio in an attempt to improve the gaming experience and keep users playing. Mobile and social games might appear to be cute diversions, but they’re generating lots of money. Read more »
Roku has raised another $8 million, according to an SEC filing. The round comes just a few weeks after Roku launched the latest version of its broadband set-top boxes, which in addition to streaming video, also features casual games. Read more »
Mobile payments — payments initiated by a phone for a transaction at a physical point of sale or online — will total over $750 billion worldwide by 2015, and many predict they will soon begin to replace a typical credit card transaction. This report analyzes and forecasts the mobile payments industry, from its current technologies to the companies implementing them and the trends we can expect in the coming months. Much of the near-term growth of mobile payments will be driven by near-field communication (NFC) technology, but QR and 2D bar codes, mobile POS systems and SMS transactions are also important platforms for companies to consider when creating business models and strategies. Meanwhile, services from the likes of MasterCard, Nokia, Amazon and Google offer examples for others to follow and clues into the future of the industry. Additional companies mentioned in this report include Research in Motion, T-Mobile, Zong and Groupon. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The average European startup might struggle to get the same attention as the latest hot prospect outta Silicon Valley, but some of Europe’s biggest names are famous across the globe. In our first installment of GigaOM’s Euro 20, we chose these five startups as Super Stars. Read more »
The next generation of Roku media streaming boxes will roll out soon, with a new, smaller form factor and more powerful graphics. With the release, the company is betting big on casual games becoming available on new Roku 2 devices, including Rovio’s Angry Birds. Read more »
Zynga is ramping up its mobile efforts as it prepares for its IPO. Here are a few key strategies the social gaming company should pursue as it prepares to take on established developers in the fast-moving world of mobile gaming. Read more »
Rovio wants to take Angry Birds local by enhancing game play for users when they visit real-world locations. The feature builds off an NFC feature for certain Nokia phones, and unlocks new levels when users tap their phones together or tap in at a location. Read more »
Rovio, the maker of Angry Birds, has a huge hit on its hands — 200 million downloads and ambitious plans for toys, animated series and even a movie. But is the company really thinking about the future . . . or just trying to cash in while it can? Read more »
Roku will soon add support for casual games, starting with Rovio’s ultra-popular Angry Birds franchise, which will be launched on a new generation of devices. Angry Birds and other casual games will be rolled out this summer, as Roku adds new products to support the launch. Read more »
Outfit7, the company behind the fast-selling Talking Friends apps, is looking to build what may be a next-generation Disney-like digital entertainment company. And with 100 million downloads in ten months, the company is on its way to achieving its goal. Read more »
NFC can be used for a lot of things, now including unlocking levels in Angry Birds. Rovio is partnering with Nokia to offer a Symbian version of its popular title, called Angry Birds Magic, in which most of the levels will be unlocked through NFC. Read more »
Angry Birds developer Rovio is launching its follow up game Rio exclusively on the Amazon App Store for Android, giving Amazon’s new market a marquee title as it prepares to open for business. Here’s what the deal means for Amazon, developers and Google. Read more »
I went to an Austin cake show today, and amid several superhero cakes, wedding confections and some impressive feats of fondant I stumbled upon an ode to Angry Birds. I wonder if it tastes as good as it looks. Click through to see the whole thing. Read more »
More exciting than examining the previous quarter is looking forward into the next 12 months and using the trends of 2010 to predict the realities that will surface in 2011. Throughout this past December, GigaOM Pro’s curators did just that, making trend predictions, pointing out companies to watch and even telling us what not to expect. Connected Consumer curator Michael Wolf’s thoughts, analyses and predictions are compiled here in a single report. Companies mentioned in this report include Netflix, Hulu, Facebook, Apple and Boxee. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Rovio is taking its success with Angry Birds — 50 million downloads and counting — and using it to launch a new carrier-billing payment system. The mobile developer said it is launching Bad Piggy Bank early next year, allowing one-touch in-app billing to a user’s wireless bill. Read more »
Until recently, GetJar was probably one of the biggest app stores that few people had ever used. That ended on Friday, however, when it offered an exclusive on Angry Birds for Android, touching off a frenzy of downloads that overwhelmed GetJar’s servers. Read more »
Angry Birds just passed 2 million downloads on Android, making it the fastest downloaded app on Android Market ever. The successful launch on Friday says a lot about the game and about the state of Android Market. Here are five things we learned: Read more »
The Apple TV is admittedly a better bargain at $99, but it still isn’t really whetting my appetite, but a couple of rumored additions could help that change. According to some, Live TV and PVR capabilities are next in line for Apple’s favorite living room hobby. Read more »
