pre-teens
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iPod touch passes iPhone in holiday app downloads
Well, Merry Christmas to the iPod touch! According to mobile analytics firm Flurry, iPod touch downloads from the App Store saw a nice 1000% jump on Christmas Day, presumably due to all of those new iPods being unwrapped from under the tree. That surge sent iPod touch downloads up above iPhone downloads for the first time ever. Considering that teens and pre-teens are heavy on the app usage, Flurry speculates that a lot of those iPods went to younger users, who than ran to the App Store and started marathon downloads. Overall, the App Store saw download increases of 51% compared to November. There was good news for up and comer Android too: the Android market saw a healthy 20% bump in app sales, largely helped by sales of the Motorola Droid. A full 49% of Android app sales were for the Droid. But Motorola can't celebrate quite yet; App Store downloads are still running 13 times higher than the Android market. With all the publicity over the iPhone, it's good to remember that the other device behind a lot of the momentum driving the App Store is the iPod touch. Who knows, maybe an iPhone OS based tablet will make the numbers even more impressive. [Via MobileCrunch]
Nexon unveils MapleStory's Crimsonwood Keep expansion
Big news for MapleStory players: Nexon America yesterday made public Crimsonwood Keep, a big expansion for the game. The expansion 31 adds new maps -- mostly to the continent of Masteria's Phantom Forest. Also added: "11 unique enemies, 12 extensive, story-focused quests and a collection of new weapons and objects."The platformer/MMORPG hybrid (which is particularly popular with pre-teens) is updated pretty frequently, but this expansion is a bit bigger than usual. Its launch coincides also with the opening of a new server (called Yellondale) and more Summer Break Events.MapleStory -- which originated in South Korea -- is a huge success story. The expansion-related press release boasts of 5.9 million North American players and 87 million users across the globe. Keep in mind, though, that such numbers are a bit fuzzier and less conclusive with regards to a free-to-play game than they would be for a subscription-based MMO which has a financial barrier to entry for new users, and guaranteed income per user for the developer and/or publisher.
