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Google Play celebrates first birthday with week of free downloads and discounts
It's already been a year since the Android Market was renamed Google Play, and the folks in Mountain View are offering up a boatload of free party favors throughout the week to celebrate. Technically, the store's birthday is March 6th (yes, it's a Pisces), but Page and Co. have already begun serving up free music downloads, in-game content, TV shows, books, discounts and more. Though the selections vary by country, folks in the US can currently pick up a free tune from LCD Soundsystem, $20 in free gift cards through Gyft and a gratis download of Breaking Bad's pilot episode among other things. Hit the bordering source link to partake in the festivities or head past the jump to catch a video of how some games on the digital storefront are celebrating the occasion.
France mulls extending piracy laws to include streaming and direct downloads
ISPs in the US are just getting around to enforcing a "six strikes" policy against illegal P2P sharing, but France is now contemplating a crackdown on the streaming and direct downloads of pirated content. Hadopi, the government organization behind the country's existing "three strikes" law, released a new report that proposes websites take a page from YouTube's book and actively monitor content by using recognition algorithms and the like to take down things that are presumed illegal. If a site weren't to cooperate after a round of warnings, it might face penalties including DNS and IP blocking, domain name seizures and even financial repercussions that involve having their accounts with "payment intermediaries" (think PayPal) suspended. As for enforcement of this potential government mandate, the dossier posits that it could lean on internet service providers instead of hosting services, which according to EU law, can't be forced to conduct widespread surveillance. For now, these suggestions aren't being made policy, but Hadopi is mulling them over. [Image credit: keith.bellvay, Flickr]
CES 2013: FileMaker celebrates half a million iOS downloads
FileMaker was here in attendance at the Digital Experience event last night at CES in Las Vegas, and they had some big news to announce: The company has reached a full half million iOS downloads for its database-driven software solutions. That's a big milestone for the company, and while iOS installs still pale in comparison to the huge amount of desktop users, a rep from the company told us that this many downloads signifies a big shift that FileMaker is going through. Initially, we were told, when devices like the iPad first arrived, they were seen only as content reading devices -- even Steve Jobs sat down on stage with the iPad and showed off how it worked as a content reading device. But what FileMaker's seen since then is that users have started bringing their iPads to work, and using them to actually browse through and compile business information. The third phase, said the FileMaker rep, is actual creation on the device itself, which is what they say is driving adoption of their apps. FileMaker's apps can not only create databases and information files, but the apps can also deliver some custom interactivity as well: The staff showed off a point-of-sale solution, as well as even a very simple math game, all put together with FileMaker's software. The company said that the biggest challenge in acquiring new users is just teaching them how versatile the software can be, and just what it's capable of. Finally, we asked about the emerging trend of "bring your own device" among iOS devices, where users are bringing their own personal iPhones and iPads to the work environment. FileMaker said that it has benefited from that trend for sure, and that it's just one of many drivers for their iOS popularity. FileMaker is one of the oldest brands around in Apple software, and it's interesting to see that it's finding such success on Apple's newest platform.
Apple: App Store just hit 40 billion total downloads, half of those in 2012
Considering that Apple's App Store only crossed the 25 billion mark in March 2012, today's announcement of the 40 billionth unique download certainly looks like proof that the market is more vibrant than ever. Thank you, Rayman Jungle Run.
Spotify halts music purchases in the UK, says it's 'simplifying' the service
We're not sure how many Brits use Spotify to actually buy individual tracks, considering that the service is mainly known for streaming and "offline" playback, but the question has suddenly become academic. Anyone in the UK who tries to use the desktop app to buy new music will now be confronted with the message above. It offers little explanation of what's going on but does at least link to a help page that reassures those who already possess unused download credits or gift cards. Spotify sent us the following statement, which is pretty abstract but makes it clear this is more than temporary: We recently updated Spotify to further simplify the service and pave the way for new features announced at the end of last year. In-app purchases aren't part of this update but we're not ruling out their return. Credits/gift cards already purchased are still redeemable. Update: We hear from a reader in Sweden that the same thing has happened in that country -- so it probably applies internationally, wherever the download option was originally available. Spotify in the US was already streaming-only, so American users will likely notice no change.
App downloads spike over the holiday, though not as high as expected
The Christmas holiday saw a record number of iOS device activations, and as usual, a nice spike in app downloads for developers (thanks to all of those new devices on the market). But Distimo just shared a report that says Christmas might not have been as merry as we thought for app developers this year. While iPhone app sales and downloads did spike, up to 87 percent above the average for December, that spike is nothing compared to last year's 230 percent spike. In other words, the trend of big sales around the holiday season appears to be leveling off just a bit. The iPad fared slightly better, with downloads seeing a 140 percent spike. That's sizable (and it speaks to how popular the iPad mini especially has been this holiday season), but it's not the kind of jump we saw just a few years ago, when all of this holiday commotion started. So what does this all mean for the big picture? I suspect it means that we might not see developers quite so eager to go for big holiday sales in the next year -- there were some incredibly huge sales in the past few weeks, and those were put in place partly because developers expected this big spike in downloads. But if the spike isn't as big, devs might be more convinced to hold to their standard prices, or try other tactics to drum up sales over the holiday season. This trend of big sales and spikes over the Christmas holiday has been growing for a few years now, but this is the first sign we've seen that it may be heading in the other direction. [via BGR]
Vudu launches movie streaming / downloads to Android tablets, Xbox 360 app supports 1080p
Coming about a year after its launch on iOS, Walmart-owned Vudu has opened up access to its (UltraViolet-connected) movie library on Android. Interestingly, it's included a key feature not currently available in the iPad and iPhone Vudu Player app: users can download videos for offline viewing just like they do on PCs, not just streaming over WiFi in the browser. A free app ready for download to "select" Android tablets, there's no word on when or if it will appear on phones, but we're told the list of supported devices will continue to grow. Vudu also notes in the press release (included after the break) that as of last month, its Xbox 360 app has been updated to support 1080p HDX streaming video. Do you really need another reason to give it a shot? If so, try this one on -- all new users who activate an UltraViolet account between now and March get 10 free movies. There's still the pain of creating multiple logins for the virtual locker, but between Vudu and Flixster offers you should be able to snag a bunch of free flicks watchable anywhere on your Android device without spending a cent (or hunting through torrents and the like, your choice).
Amazon publishes vague numbers surrounding Appstore performance, but they're sure looking good
At this point, expecting Amazon to actually divulge genuine numbers surrounding its Kindle business would be akin to expecting that so-called "fiscal cliff" to just vanish overnight. That said, the company's playing a little less coy than usual in a new press release that announces A/B testing capabilities for app developers. The useful nuggets are here: app downloads in the Appstore have grown more than 500 percent over the previous year, and the number of GameCircle enabled games available on Kindle Fire has more than doubled since the launch of Kindle Fire HD. We're also told that total downloads of the SDKs for In-App Purchasing and GameCircle have more than doubled since the Kindle Fire HD launch and availability of the Kindle Fire HD development resources, while the number of devs with In-App Purchasing incorporated in their apps more than doubled in the third quarter of the year. Of course, it's hard to draw any serious conclusions without knowing a serious baseline, but much like another company in Washington, it seems that blasting out hard figures is something reserved for those "want-to" moments.
Kongregate breaks free of the browser, serves up downloadable games
Kongregate has stepped out of its web browser boundaries by offering free-to-play downloadable desktop games alongside its existing catalog of browser-based titles. Only Super Monday Night Combat, Smashmuck Champions and Bomb Buddies are available for desktop play, but the outfit is set to beef up its selection in the following weeks. It's not likely that this development will cause Steam to nervously eye its rearview mirror for a competitor on its coattails, but it's interesting to see GameStop's F2P game venture ever so slightly dip its toes into Valve's territory. However, Gabe Newell's platform may yet have some fiercer competition in the brick-and-mortar retailer's Impulse storefront. Ready to stock up on the gratis Windows games? Hit the bordering source link to get started.
Cooliris passes 250 million photo views, adds more sharing options
With a wealth of photo sharing apps already available for iOS devices, newcomers to the category have their work cut out for them. TNW reports that despite launching its iOS app just four months ago, Cooliris is already well on its way to being a household name. the app has already tallied over 1.5 million installs and 250 million photo views. New in version 2.2 is the ability to share photos from Flickr, Picasa, Google+ and Google Drive. This is on top of the already supported photo portals like Instagram and Facebook. The app has also been redesigned for optimized compatibility with the iPhone 5 and the iPad mini. The app is completely free to download, letting you browse photos to your heart's content.
SingStar becoming a 'free download,' mic still required
Sony's SingStar Viewer app for the PlayStation 3 previously just allowed players to check out SingStar content for free; they'd have to put the game's disc in if they actually wanted to sing along with any of the game's songs. But a new message in the app hints that will be changing very soon. The Viewer app has reportedly been discontinued, and a message when the app is loaded says that "The complete SingStar experience will be available as a free download very soon!" Presumably, that means that anyone will be able to download SingStar, and then play Sony's karaoke game for zero cost (with extra songs being purchaseable separately).The one catch: The game will still require a mic, so if you haven't bought one of those yet, you'll need to do so. But the good news is that the mics are available for just a few bucks in certain places, so those interested should be able to pick one up easily. We'll look for more official news on this next week from the PlayStation Blog.
Google Play hits 25 billion app downloads, holds celebratory yard sale with $0.25 games
Google Play crossed a rather significant milestone this morning: something to the tune of 25 billion app downloads. While the accomplishment is weighty enough on its own -- especially given that the store also offers books, music and movies, which aren't included in this tally -- Google is celebrating in symbolic style with a number of apps and games for sale at just $0.25 over the next five days. Among the mix of discounted titles, you'll find publishers such as Gameloft, Electronic Arts, Rovio, Runtastic and Full Fat. Not to stop there, shoppers will also discover a curated collection of 25 must-own movies, 25 banned books, 25 albums that changed the world and 25 top-selling magazines. With today's announcement, it was revealed that 675,000 apps and games now live in Google Play -- a healthy increase when compared to 600,000 titles and 20 billion installs just three months ago. As you might expect, Apple still claims the largest selection with 700,000 titles in its App Store, although with such a thin separation between the two, we may see Google Play eclipse its rival in short order.
New and updated on the App Store: Skype, Kartrider Pit, King's Bounty: Legions, Spell Sword and more
This Tuesday has for some reason brought a bevy of new apps and updates to the App Store, so if you're looking for something to download (or wondering what that little red circled number on your App Store icon means), here's what's new right now. Both Skype for iPhone and Skype for iPad have a big new update the improves performance, and adds a few features into the mix as well. You can now share photos directly with the app, for example, so that should save on MMS charges. King's Bounty: Legions is a popular turn-based strategy game on Facebook that has arrived on the iPad. It looks good, though I haven't tried it out just yet. Nexon, fresh of its success on iOS with KartRider, has introduced a spinoff called Kartrider Pit, that takes the cartoony racing gameplay of the first title and adds a time management layer to it. A big success here would mean lots more Nexon on the App Store, I think -- the game is free to play right now. Spell Sword is a really excellent arcade platformer title that's gotten a big update, most notably changing the game into a free-to-play app. There's lots of new content as well, including new enemies to fight, new Spell Cards to collect, new missions to play, and lots of new items to equip for various stats and upgrades. And finally, Organ Trail, the zombie-themed homage to the old Oregon Trail simulation, has received a big update as well, with lots of bugfixes and lots and lots of gameplay balance changes. It's practically a whole new game, and you can grab it for $2.99 right now. We'll expect more releases later on this week on Thursday, but for some reason Apple slipped these in right away. If you've got these installed or want to try the new ones out, they're all available in an App Store app near you.
HBO and Blinkbox offer second season of Game of Thrones online before DVD / Blu-ray release in UK
Folks in North America may have to wait for the upcoming DVD or Blu-ray release to purchase the second season of Game of Thrones, but those in the UK have another option thanks to a new partnership between HBO UK and the Tesco-owned Blinkbox video-on-demand service. That deal sees both the second seasons of Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire making their debut on the online service well ahead of their traditional home video releases, where they're also available alongside the first seasons of each show and a number of other newly available HBO titles. In the case of Game of Thrones, you'll pay £17.99 (or about $30) for each season or £1.79 (or $3) for individual episodes, and you can choose to either download or stream the episodes and view them on a variety of devices (including game consoles, the iPad and some smart TVs).
Xcode 4.4.1 released as standalone app
Apple has finished smoothing out its Xcode releases with version 4.4.1, which finally brings Xcode out as a standalone app. Instead of just including the developer tools (such as legacy simulators and optional command-line tools), it now has sectioned those off into a separate downloads preference pane. This is a smart way to go about things. It allow for Xcode to be easily updated from the Mac App Store. You can get Xcode 4.4.1 for free, though remember that actually submitting apps or developing on iOS will require a developer subscription, from the Mac App Store.
Poll: Is Mountain Lion devouring your Mac's battery life?
We've seen plenty of users report that Apple's latest OS, Mountain Lion, has caused a massive drop in battery life. While we haven't been able to confirm any decrease in longevity with our own OS 10.8 machines, which include previous generation MacBook Pros and the company's latest Retina model, it's clear that some of you who were able to get the operating system downloaded and installed have experienced some not-so-favorable side effects with your Pros and MacBook Airs. While there are plenty of theories, there has yet to be a fix, though Apple is reportedly investigating the issue. This isn't the first time users have reported decreased battery life after an OS update, with a lengthy support thread popping up after Lion's release last year. So, how has the upgrade affected you? Sound off in the poll below to let us know.%Poll-76894%
Apple reports 3 million Mountain Lion downloads in four days, 'most successful OS X release'
We heard some rumblings ahead of the weekend from third-party sources, and like clockwork, Apple has kicked the week off with its weekend box office returns. According to Cupertino's numbers, the latest version of OS X hit 3 million downloads in four days, making for "the most successful OS X release in Apple's history." Price has surely played a role in Mountain Lion's speedy success, running $20 for 200-plus features, according to Apple's numbers. That list includes big additions like Notification Center and AirPlay Mirroring and a selection of smaller tweaks to the decade-old operating system. More information can be found in the customarily self-congratulatory press release, after the break.
Chitika: Mountain Lion accounting for 3% of web traffic
Web tracking firm Chitika has a stat that's actually not all that surprising: Mountain Lion downloads accounted for a relatively huge percentage of web traffic this week. For all web traffic coming to and from Mac computers, Mountain Lions downloads specifically make up 3% of the total. And when you consider just how much bandwidth is being used, that means that Apple almost certainly sold plenty of copies of the new US$19.99 operating system. Chitika also did the math, and believes that Apple users downloaded 2.11 million copies of Mountain Lion in just the first 48 hours after release. Obviously, that's downloads, not purchases -- it's possible that users purchased the OS without downloading it. It's also possible, however, that users were able to download the software without paying for it (through promotional or other means). But even if 90% of those downloads were legitimate purchases, Chitika calculates that Apple has picked up $38 million in revenue from Mountain Lion already. Pretty phenomenal. The lower price and digital delivery options have apparently made Mountain Lion an early hit. We'll have to wait for official figures (and there may be even more adopters over the weekend, when people have time to actually upgrade an OS), but already, it seems like Mountain Lion is a nice success for Apple.
Nintendo 3DS gets first downloadable titles next week: Super Mario and Brain Training sequels
As Nintendo attempts to get its eShop up to speed with Sony's PS Vita provision, it's finally announced a July 28th launch date for its first two downloadable games. Alongside the in-store release of the 3DS XL, the full versions of both Super Mario Brothers 2 and the latest iteration of Dr. Kawashima's Brain Age / Training will be available for online purchase in Japan, priced at 4,800 yen (around $61) and 3,800 yen ($48), respectively. Nintendo already offers a mixed bag of retro titles and demos to download, but this is the first time it'll wheel out fully-fledged 3DS games.
Apple reportedly shutting down unauthorized third-party beta sales, restricts iOS 6 to licensed devs
Apple has been arguably more generous when it comes to software sneak peeks than it has been with hardware, but while dues-paying developers are given the go-ahead to download operating systems ahead of their release, consumers have had to sit tight until after each iteration hits GM status. Some internet entrepreneurs have taken it upon themselves to game Apple's system, however, which until recently appeared to have been loosely guarded, with third parties selling beta access for years without intervention. iOS 6 is shaping up to be the end of the line -- Apple has reportedly begun targeting businesses selling early access, citing copyright infringement and contacting hosting providers to shut down sales sites. The operations can be quite profitable, with income approaching six figures for iOS 6 alone, so it's likely that we'll see businesses open up shop under different domains in an attempt to continue to collect. Still, if you're running such an operation of your own, it may be worth your while to peruse Apple's non-disclosure agreement in full -- a site shut down could be but the beginning of the company's actions to control OS releases, and prevent third parties from illegally capitalizing on Cupertino's creations.
