It’s election day, and it’s time to see where all that money from ads from SuperPACs and other outside groups has gone between April 10 and October 10, 2012. Also included, Tickle talks about what he would do if he was made President of the United States and Chris Rock being his hilarious self.
Instagram has introduced web-based profiles. The Facebook-owned company’s new format is incredibly reminiscent of Facebook Timeline in aesthetic, and essentially nothing more than a desktop version of its app with a few added bonuses especially for brands.
For one, bigger screens mean easier and more frequent interactions. Now, user profile pictures are housed much more prominently, bios are clearer, and, similar to Facebook Timeline, there is a larger chronological stream of user content to engage. Users should find it easier to share photos, post comments and discover other users and brand pages.
While the web addition could lay down the foundation for a deeper Facebook integration in the future, Instagram is remaining true to its original format. For now, users are not allowed to upload or filter photos directly from the website.
As Instagram makes its web version public over the next week, it will be interesting to see how brands utilize their new slab on the internet. Users can currently see who and what’s available in the new format by typing in ‘instagram.com/ [username]’.
Source: Mashable.com
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Disney promos for Wreck-It Ralph have included a few treats for old-school gamers, from actually developing the Fix It Felix Jr. game from the film and putting arcade cabinets in theaters to producing a mock 1982 TV ad for it. Now along with the almost compulsory console games aimed at kids, Disney has an iOS game.
The 99-cent app features the “original” arcade game and the ones Ralph ‘game jumps’ into in the film, Sugar Rush and Hero’s Duty. As far as homages to classic arcade games go, Fix It Felix Jr. is spot on. Hero’s Duty is a top down shooter, think Smash TV (or Robotron to the really ‘old-core’). Sugar Rush has elements of Doodle Jump.
Look for a video interview this week in [a]list daily featuring Wreck-It Ralph director Rich Moore, where he talks about how involved he was with the development of the arcade game.
Halo fans hoping to level up their soldiers in Halo 4 can pick up Mountain Dew and Doritos products to earn double experience points.
Beginning October 15, players who purchase Mountain Dew’s special Game Fuel soft drink and specially marked Doritos products can begin entering codes through the promotion’s website. Load up on Double XP before the game launches beginning November 6, 2012.
Halo 4 fans can also get their hands on the new app that uses location-based augmented reality. The game app will work on both the iPad and the iPhone, and is designed to help promote Halo 4, Mountain Dew, and 7-Eleven stores.
The app is available worldwide, but is focused on the U.S. and Canada and is designed to allow players to fight to be the King of the Hill at their local 7-Eleven store.
The app allows players to win all sorts of in game awards, including digital Halo 4 gear such as Double XP and an exclusive Custom Locus Helmet for U.S. players. Players in Canada can win a custom Ghost Prop Avatar. The game app requires players to scan their favorite Halo 4 themed Mountain Dew and Doritos products to get supplies in games to keep the battle going.
Nintendo is starting to push out demo units for the Wii U for Best Buy, Target, Walmart and Toys R’ Us. Expect to see over 5,000 kiosks in stores all around the U.S. set up with games that include Rayman Legends, Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Bros. U, Sing Party and Zombi U.
“Depending on which type of Wii U sampling station is available at a given store location, visitors may be able to experience hands-on game play or enjoy specially created video content that highlights the console’s wide variety of available games and features,” stated Nintendo.
The International Data Corporation (IDC) indicates that Apple’s share of tablet devices has gone down in the third quarter of 2012. Apple’s had a share near two-thirds of all tablets before, but that has diminished to barely over half in the third quarter.
Samsung, Amazon, Asus and Lenovo gained market share at Apple’s expense. Samsung shipped 5.1 million units worldwide in the third quarter, up 115 percent from the second quarter, by far the most impressive of all the makers.
Amazon began shipping a new 7-inch HD Kindle in mid-September. They boosted Amazon’s global market share from 4.8 percent in the second quarter of 2012 to 9 percent in the third, despite shipping only in the U.S.
IDC said share growth for Asus was backed by strong shipments of its Google-branded Nexus 7 tablet, while Lenovo’s gains were driven by strong shipments in China. Worldwide tablet shipments totaled 27.8 million units in the third quarter of 2012, according to IDC and the tablet market grew 49.5 percent year-on-year in 3Q and 6.7 percent over the second quarter.
Source: EE Times
Apple announced that it sold 3 million iPads since Friday’s debut of the new iPad Mini and the fourth edition full-sized iPad tablet. This doubled Apple’s previous three-day sales record of 1.5 million iPads, which was set in March after the debut of the third-generation iPad.
“We set a new launch weekend record and practically sold out of iPad minis,” Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said in a statement. “We’re working hard to build more quickly to meet the incredible demand.”
While sales were not broken down into which version sold more, analysts estimate that about 2.3 million of the new iPads sold over the weekend were the mini-tablets, surpassing expectations of 1 million to 1.5 million.
Source: Chicago Tribune
Zelda Reorchestrated is currently offering orchestral arrangements, a live choir and over 100 professionally recorded live elements including violin, viola, French horn, oboe, English horn, guitar, male and female vocal soloists and a ocarina on CD. This is a limited run offer, but it can still be yours for $49.99 if you act now!
Source: Twilight-Symphony.com
There is an expectation by many that Microsoft and perhaps Sony will launch their new console in 2013 after the Wii U comes out this November. However, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida isn’t willing to declare this the start of a new console generation just yet.
“Not necessarily. Since the launch of the PlayStation 3 six years ago, graphics have evolved, resulting in titles like adventure game Uncharted 3 and Beyond by Quantic Dream. The life of consoles is also extended by online services, which continue to make a new offer cloud and new social functions. It is therefore too early to talk about the end of this generation of consoles,” he said.
Speaking of cloud offerings, Sony recently purchased Gaikai for hundreds of millions of dollars, and Yoshida says the benefits of this purchase will be felt across Sony’s lineup of services. “The value of cloud goes beyond the game industry with cloud computing; you can imagine services like video and all types of media without any download,” said Yoshida. “But this technology is dependent on the Internet connection of users and requires large capacity servers. That is why we decided to add this type of functionality gradually.”
Yoshida also addressed the situation with the PS Vita, which Sony has admitted is below expectations. “These results are below our expectations, and explain first the players’ equipment. Consumers now have multimedia devices, such as smartphones. These devices include the ability to play and it is difficult for us to justify the purchase of an additional machine. We want to to produce added value to attract players to the PlayStation Vita.”
“The other reason is the number of content available on the console,” he added. “With the rise of mobile gaming studios have begun a transition in part, allocating more resources to this type of production. Even if the creators want to develop games on Vita, they unfortunately fewer resources to do. One solution is to encourage the support of the platform by smaller development studios.”
On Sony’s own mobile division, Yoshida said, “With our mobile division, we want to reach new populations, which are not necessarily gamers. It is the same for developers; previously, it was not necessarily easy to get access to development tools for small independent studios. Our certification procedures were too stringent. Now studios can directly download the SDKs on PC. We also realized the need for a release schedule much more fluid.”
Source: Le Monde
Verizon has announced that its store for Android and Blackberry devices will be shutting down starting in January 2013 with the goal of completing the closure by March 2013. App submissions will stop during this month and apps that require a monthly license check will also be removed from the Verizon app catalog this month.
“Most apps existing on Verizon Apps are already available on multiple app storefronts, such as Google Play, Amazon and BlackBerry App World. Business applications submitted to Verizon’s Private Applications Store for Business will continue to be available for purchase and download to enterprise customers,” the company announced. “We’ll be introducing new merchandising strategies, starting with AppLuvr: an app that can help get your Android app discovered by millions of Verizon customers.”
Source: Verizon.com
