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Tons of apps on sale to kick off Memorial Day weekend
It seems like it's been a while since we had a big holiday weekend full of app sales, but the wait is over: Memorial Day is coming up in just a few days, and app developers are bringing down prices all over the store to celebrate! EA's got most of its games on sale for just 99 cents, including Flight Control Rockets, Trenches 2, and Burnout Crash. Some really great deals in there. Because We May is a big coordinated indie gaming sale going on, and pretty much every great indie game on iOS has been brought down to 99 cents. Too many great titles in there to list: Puzzlejuice, Swords and Soldiers, Fieldrunners, Super Mega Worm, 1-bit Ninja, Aftermath, League of Evil 2, and a whole lot more. Seriously -- go buy some iPhone games. Above has dropped to free. Cut the Rope: Experiments is free. Mini Motor Racing HD has gone free. And side scroller racing game Dream Track Nation has gone free as well. Business Card Reader from Shape Services is now $2.99, down from $4.99. Man oh man that's a lot of great, really cheap games. Especially that Because We May sale -- seriously, go look at it, both for iOS and Steam.
Apple, Microsoft asked to explain pricing to Australian government
Apple and Microsoft are among a few tech companies going before the Australian Parliament this week, asked to explain what many are seeing as price gouging in the Australian market. Here in the US, for example, Apple's Mac OS X Server 10.6 sells for $499, but in Australia, the same software sells for $699. Similarly, iTunes albums that sell for $9.99 in the US often sell for more than $20 overseas, despite the Australian and US dollar being less than a few cents different. In the past, electronics companies have claimed that Australia is a smaller market to deal with, and that setting up support structures and other delivery systems there raise costs. But Parliamentary representatives are saying those excuses aren't good enough, and are inviting Apple, Microsoft, and others to represent themselves in Australia this week. [via TechCrunch]
Nikon offers cashback on D3100, D5100 and D7000 in the UK and Ireland
If you're still poring over the specs of Nikon's current DSLR consumer models, then you've managed to dally just long enough to snag a tidy cashback offer. At least, that's if you're in the UK or Ireland and can make your purchase before the end of May. Nikon has confirmed to us that this is a local promotion, but we're on the case to see if a similar deal is coming to the States. In the meantime, these discounts range from £30 ($50) on the D3100, £50 ($80) on the flip-screen D5100 (shown above) and £80 ($130) on the D7000 when purchased body-only, or slightly more if you pick up a Nikkor lens at the same time. On the other hand, if you're casting about more generally for a kit upgrade, and if you can bear to stall just a little longer, then this could potentially hint at new models coming soon -- although it's not the first cashback offer to hit this range. You'll find further details after the break.
Random House drastically raises the price of e-books for libraries
Oddly, Random House deciding to triple the price of its e-books for libraries is being considered a compromise. While others, like Penguin, are pulling their electronic tomes from the virtual shelves of our lending institutions, Random House is at least willing to still play ball -- even if it's making its wares prohibitively expensive. Now titles from the company start at $25, with many popular books going for more than $100, though, releases are available on day one and wont have an expiration date. Obviously, the fact that e-books can be pirated and never need to be replaced as their pages tear or bindings wear down is of concern to publishers that are losing out on a continuous stream of revenue. However, many of our libraries are underfunded and will likely balk at the new sky high prices. But, we suppose, a higher one-time cost is easier to swallow than an annual licensing fee.
Zynga's paid $300 per new user in the past nine months, says analyst
Zynga has been struggling with its stock price since the IPO late last year, and Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia says there are more dark days ahead. When you compare Zynga's $120 million marketing budget to its recent rise in only 400,000 new players (about $300 a person), the numbers don't look good: "We know that, on average, these people are spending about $150 or so," says Bhatia, which suggests that Zynga is spending about $300 for every $150 in profit. "That math won't work for very long," obviously.Zynga's spending is indicative of a few trends in social gaming. First, the company has discovered it's very hard to earn new players. Many of Zynga's games are similar, and without really experimenting, it's going to be hard to generate uniques. Second, Zynga's earnings are based on "whales": A small percentage of players who spend big. You need to find a lot of unique free-to-play players to land a few whales, and Bhatia doesn't see Zynga doing that lately.So what's the solution? "Zynga will have to find their next FarmVille," says Bhatia. Until the company finds another phenomenally popular hit and the surge in new players that comes along with it (which is incredibly tough to do), Bhatia expects to see even more problems with Zynga and its stock.
World of Warcraft is going down in Europe... in price, that is
Reports of the demise of World of Warcraft have been greatly exaggerated, but the price of the game is falling. This isn't entirely unexpected, but the game's two more recent expansions have just seen a significant drop in their EU prices, with Wrath of the Lich King dropping to €19.99 and Cataclysm dropping to €29.99. If you've been playing the game in Europe but have yet to pick up the later expansions, this might be your incentive. While some retailers have instituted their own price cuts in the time since the release of these expansions, these latest price drops come from the upper management at the company rather than being a limited-time sale or a reduction of overstock. The price move seems to be a result of the newly free-to-play nature of the early game and the upcoming Mists of Pandaria. No word yet on whether or not a similar official price drop will be mirrored in the US.
Zynga stock falters, holds on first day of trading
Zynga stock finally roared out of the gate and on to the trading floor yesterday at $10 a share, but investors weren't hugely impressed with the social gaming company. The stock started up a dollar at $11, and then dropped back down two, and then thirty, and then fifty cents during the day, leveling off at $9.50, which Forbes says was thanks mostly to "a stabilizing bid by Zynga's underwriters," which means Zynga's investors stepped in and bought up enough stock to keep the price up. So what happened? Shortly put, Zynga's stock wasn't really worth what it was priced out at. An initial public offering is designed to be priced a little low, in order to drum up demand for a company's stock from the public (not to mention raise some money). But Zynga went high and, as a result, didn't quite get the graph it wanted today. They didn't sell the FarmVille, so to speak -- ZNGA will likely be trading fine on Monday (and $9.50 is fine for the highly competitive gaming industry; THQ is sitting down at 75 cents right now). But Zynga's hype phase appears to be over. Now the company needs to prove it can sell more than just cow clickers.
Daily iPhone App: Another World
Yep, it's out -- Another World has finally made it to iOS, in a special anniversary edition celebrating the game's 1991 debut. The game features completely remade graphics, sounds and effects, and you can switch between the original graphics and updated HD display at any time. There are now three difficulty modes to play with, and there are even Game Center achievements added in to the mix. Nearly all the ratings on the app are positive so far, and while I was never really a big fan of the original game (I definitely think it's a great achievement, though the style of gameplay never appealed to me), I can appreciate the fact that we now have it playable on iOS. The app is available in a universal version for US$4.99 right now.
Refurbished iPads now just $299
Apple's got a new price on a refurbished iPad (that's an iPad 1, not the latest 2), and it's likely the lowest official price you'll ever pay for the tablet. $299 is the new magic number, for a 16 GB iPad Wi-Fi. Of course, that presumes that the unit will come back into stock, but it likely will before long. That price is the lowest available from Apple, so if you want to get an old iPad for cheap without going the used route, that's the best way to do it. The 32 GB Wi-Fi version is available for $399 refurbed, which is cheaper than new, but I'd say unless you really need the extra memory to the detriment of everything else, a brand new iPad 2 16 GB is only a hundred smackers more than that. Probably worth the extra cash in that case. Other sites will occasionally have the iPad for even cheaper than these prices, and of course there's always eBay or Craigslist if you want to pick up a used unit. If you're looking to buy and price shopping around, good luck!
Australia fights with Apple on pricing
Apple apparently hasn't answered back the Australian government just yet about its query this week on pricing for both apps and hardware. The Australian Parliament, including Labor Minister Ed Husic, has been knocking on Apple's door trying to figure out why the company charges more for its products in that country. Originally the issue was partially based on the difference between the American dollar and the Australian currency, but in more recent times, that difference has narrowed, to the point where they're only a few cents' difference. Apple already brought down app prices once this year, but those prices are still relatively high, and the company hasn't moved on hardware prices, sometimes selling computers for hundreds of dollars more than they'd sell for the US. Apple isn't the only company with higher prices down under -- Australians also face higher prices on video game consoles and their software (which is another issue that the local government is fighting with companies about). A certain percentage of this is politicians rabble-rousing, I think, but Husic is at least threatening more consequential action, suggesting that it might be "time for our pricing watchdog, the ACCC, to take up the case for long-suffering consumers and carry out a formal inquiry." Certainly in the case of digitally distributed software, there shouldn't be a reason for this phenomenon, which Aussies themselves are calling the "tech tax."
AAPL hits all-time record high
Perhaps because of optimistic analysis going into tomorrow's conference call, Apple's stock price has hit an all-time high today. While the Dow Jones average was down overall, AAPL rose $6 at one point, hitting $371.06 as a high. That's huge -- bigger a stock price than it's ever been before. Analysts say that there are a few factors here, with the big expected earnings only one of them. The HTC patent ruling was another big piece of good news to Apple's investors, and a lot of Apple's moves in general have really been turning out well lately, from the integration of iOS subscriptions and Apple's deals with both media providers and developers, to more recent innovations like iCloud and the new versions of iOS and OS X coming soon. In short, Apple's hitting its stride in a whole new way, and there's still a lot of room to grow yet. Note: Past performance is never an indication of future stock prices. This post should not be considered sound financial advice.
Apple App Store shifts minimum pricing in multiple countries, for better or worse
Oh, how the mighty App Store prices have fallen... or risen, depending on which country you reside in. Apple quietly adjusted rates in several international App Stores, dropping the minimum cost in Australia while bumping it up in the UK, Mexico, and Norway. The bottom-line pricing didn't change by leaps and bounds -- the UK rose by £.10, while Oz fell by $.20 -- but these particular shifts have us wondering whether we should expect to see other countries get the switcharoo as well. No official word has been given from Apple on why the changes were made or the reasons behind choosing these particular nations, but this much is assured: we love it, we hate it, and we're indifferent to it. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Research shows Apple customers buy more apps, pay more for them
A new report by analyst Gene Munster at Piper Jaffray says that not only are Apple users buying more apps this year than in previous years, but they're also generally paying more for them. The average iPhone user will buy 83 apps in 2011, according to Munster's research, which is 61% more than the year before. And the average price per app, after falling down to the bottom a few years ago, is rebounding at an increasing rate, as developers find more and more ways to add premium value to apps and games. In terms of background, part of the reason for this is the sheer size of Apple's App Store, which now encompasses over 425,000 apps. With that many available, it's no wonder people are finding more and more to download. The average app price rising can also be attributed to iPad apps, which Apple has generally been able to set up at a higher price, given that the iPad versions of apps are often very different experiences from their smaller-screen brethren. All good news for developers in terms of keeping the App Store growing and sustainable. And with rumors of even more iOS devices due out later this year, that's something Apple will need to depend on going forward.
Virgin Mobile preparing to alter pricing, send love to BlackBerry users?
With price hikes trending as the mobile industry's latest fashion faux pas, it appears that Virgin Mobile is readying its latest summer styles -- and yes, it may cost you. Sir Branson's minute misers will pay an extra $10 each month ($35 total) for the same 300 minutes, and casual chatters will pay an additional $5 each month ($45 total) for their familiar 1,200 minutes. Fortunately, those with an unlimited voice plan will actually pay $5 less, thanks to the new $55 plan, and the company seems prepared to eliminate its $10 monthly tax on Blackberry users -- not a bad move, since they've got it hard enough already. Hey, at least a few will be thankful for the Rebel Billionaire's latest move.
Verizon data charges leak continues, $30 tethering for 4G customers
The scan above purports to show a Verizon customer brochure that will appear in stores next Thursday, revealing nothing beyond the detailed leaks we've already reported but at least providing some reassuringly crinkled corroboration of the salient details. New customers will barred from the happy land of unlimited data, and will instead have to cough up tiered monthly fees ranging from $10 for 75MB up to $80 for 10GB, plus an extra $20 for tethering rights. In a separate turn to this tale, we hear that customers who want to tether to a 4G handset will have to pay $30 per month to keep Big Red happy. This might come as a shock if you've been living it up on the free tethering offer that ends next week, but we had a strong inkling it was coming. Besides, it's not all bad: those 30 bucks will get you unlimited data on the fastest LTE network around, whereas the $20 crew must make do with a mere 2GB monthly. [Thanks, Verizon Guy]
Telus makes it simple to terminate contracts, replace your feature phone
Taking a page from its own playbook, Telus Mobility has extended its Clear and Simple Device Upgrade program to the logical conclusion of contract termination. Now, if a customer chooses to cancel their service, they must pay only a $50 administrative fee and the remaining portion of their phone's subsidy -- it could still result in a lot of loonies, but the amount decreases monthly according to a fixed schedule. Similar to Rogers, Telus offers its customers early upgrades by allowing them to pay this unrecovered subsidy and commit to a new contract. To make the process even easier (and more tempting), the carrier is now including this magical number with its monthly bills. So, as you dream of getting cozy with a new Nexus S or Optimus Black -- or ditching the Telus network -- just follow the break for the PR.
T-Mobile G2x gets a $50 price bump, still no stock in sight
It looks like the G2x saga isn't over quite yet; after first disappearing from store shelves due to quality concerns "high demand," the dual-core Android smartphone is getting a slight price hike from T-Mobile. As of May 27th, the out-of-stock Froyo handset decided it was worth an extra Grant (quite the presumptuous fellow, no?), dialing in with a new price of $249 after rebate. An internal screenshot describes the price hop as a reaction to inventory constraints. The supposed effects of supply and demand aside, this price adjustment feels a little shaky amid reports of botched WiFi handoffs, overheating, light leakage and reboot issues. With any luck, the G2x will return to store shelves sporting a worry-free update to Gingerbread; but if you aren't counting on it, you can still snag one at Amazon to the tune of $99. Oh, and look: plenty in stock, too!
AAPL shares survive rebalancing on Nasdaq today
Last month the stock index Nasdaq announced that it would be rebalancing the weighting of AAPL shares to better reflect the actual number of shares floating on the market. At the time, AAPL accounted for 20.5 percent of the Nasdaq. After the rebalancing today, AAPL now accounts only for 12.5 percent of the Nasdaq. When Nasdaq made the announcement, it issued a warning that the rebalancing might affect AAPL shares in the short term due to fund managers readjusting their holdings. However, it seems that any negative effect on AAPL's share price was negligible. Apple closed down only 1.1 percent today to end at $346.45. Many see AAPL advancing to upwards of $540 a share by January, and some even think Apple will be the world's first trillion dollar company. Disclaimer: The author holds a position in AAPL. TUAW does not provide investment advice; consult an expert before buying or selling equities.
Nintendo cutting Wii price to $150 on May 15th?
Nintendo's miniature white monolith has sold like gangbusters for long enough that we're wary it'll ever get cheap, but a trusted source tells us a price cut is indeed headed our way -- and that the Nintendo Wii will cost just $150 starting May 15th. The timing would make some sense, given how Nintendo's profits have tanked for a while due to flagging hardware sales, and just last month Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime hinted that the Wii's price might be a potential variable to change that in an interview with Gamasutra. Still, we're not fully convinced that Nintendo would announce a price cut then, rather than, say, at the Electronics Entertainment Expo in June, and it's not like the company to let this sort of announcement leak out. Still, if you find a shiny new copy of Mario Kart Wii in a $150 console bundle this time next month, don't say we didn't warn you.
Sprint dropping Galaxy Tab to $200 on contract starting April 3rd
An early prank this isn't. Based on our sources (and the pictorial evidence above), Sprint's fixing to whack a full Benjamin from the current $299.99 asking price on its Samsung Galaxy Tab starting on Sunday, making it one of the more affordable ways to get your hands on a 3G-enabled tablet of any kind -- let alone a Froyo-based slate that's received its fair share of compliments. Granted, the original Tab is aging at this point, and we still aren't sure we'd be down for selling our cellular soul for two years just to get a spiffy up-front discount, but hey -- at least you know the option awaits you. Oh, and if spending $429.99 sounds a lot better than $199.99 in addition to 24 months of obligation, that'll apparently also be possible. [Thanks, Anonymous]
