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Best App Ever winners announced, Angry Birds wins big
148Apps' own Jeff Scott just handed me an actual piece of paper here in the Macworld press room, and on it there are all of the Best App Ever winners listed. You can read the full list online in PDF form, but we'll spoil a few of them for you. Best App Ever for 2010? None other than a little app you may have heard of called Angry Birds. Sure, it's not a choice too far off the reservation, but you have to admit that in terms of exposure and playtime, there was no real equal. Chillingo and Clickgamer also walked away with the most wins -- Angry Birds showed up on the list seven times in its various forms, and Cut the Rope also nabbed an award for Best Puzzle Game. Flipboard is the most award-winning non-game app of the bunch, picking up three awards, including Most Innovative App and Best Visual Design on the iPad. And Spacetime Studios' Pocket Legends, a full-featured iOS MMO that has received relatively little press so far, picked up three wins as well. There are lots and lots and lots of excellent apps in the various awards and their runner-ups and honorable mentions -- it's been a terrific year for the App Store, and in its third year running, the Best App Ever awards are a great indicator of what's popular and well-made out there.
The best Angry Birds birthday cake ever
Although some of the staff here at TUAW have managed to avoid succumbing to the addictive wiles of Angry Birds, many of us have spent countless hours lobbing angry birds at pigs. Readers often send us pictures of Angry Birds birthday cakes, food, clothing, Halloween costumes, and other items showing that they have spent way too much time with the game. With the Angry Birds fever showing no signs of abating, most of these missives end up in our trash can, but one today was so incredible that we had to show you. TUAW reader Adam Riggins recently turned 31, and his girlfriend Melanie decided to treat Adam with an awesome Angry Birds cake. The attention to detail, as seen in the gallery Adam has posted, is incredible. Adam said that under that fun exterior was a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cake. His comment about Melanie? "She's a keeper." We agree wholeheartedly. Watch out, Duff Goldman; there's a new ace in town!
Angry Birds gets real... corporeal (in China, at least)
Let's be honest: you can never get enough of Angry Birds, but for those wandering around Guangzhou, China, you might be able to get your fix at this arcade booth. Like the game itself, there's an actual slingshot for firing your enraged fowls at a bunch of plush doll piggies, except there are no special abilities like explosion or splitting -- maybe the next version will take care of that, unless Rovio Mobile decides it's game over for these guys.
Angry Birds creators: Apple still does mobile apps best
In a recent interview, Peter Vesterbacka of Rovio (the makers, if you haven't heard by now, of Angry Birds) says that from a developer viewpoint, Apple is the platform to go with. "They have gotten so many things right," says Vesterbacka, "and they know what they are doing and they call the shots." He says that Android's issue isn't so much about device fragmentation as it is "ecosystem fragmentation" -- by spreading itself out so much, Google's smartphone OS has "so many different shops, so many different models" running that it's tough for developers to find their own place in all of the chaos. Vesterbacka also makes the point that much of the Angry Birds success has come simply from marketing. His two steps to succeeding on the App Store are first to "create a great app," and then to "get the message out." He repeats that a few times -- Angry Birds itself is definitely a solid game, but part of the reason that Rovio enjoys such success is their effective marketing and reaching the people who are interested in buying their game. You can watch the full video of Vesterbacka's interview with Google after the break. Personally, I think a lot of the success that Angry Birds has had is a "right time, right place" kind of thing. That's not to take anything away from Vesterbacka and Rovio -- his insights are certainly dead-on and he clearly knows what he's doing, and the company deserves all of the success it has earned. But with a platform as big as the iPhone, there was bound to be a killer app at some point, and Angry Birds is definitely one of those. [via 9to5Mac]
The best iOS apps I used in 2010
After looking back over Mac and Mac/iOS hybrid apps, it's time to look at the best iOS apps of 2010. As before, this list comes from my particular experience over the past year with these apps. 1) iCab Mobile (US$1.99, universal) is a replacement for mobile Safari. While it is hindered by the fact that iOS doesn't have anywhere to set a "default browser," and therefore most URLs that you open from the Springboard or email/Twitter/etc... will open in Safari, iCab offers plenty of features that make it worth the effort. It is the first app on my dock, and I much prefer it over Safari. Although it uses the same rendering engine as Safari, it comes with a host of features that Safari doesn't have. iCab Mobile will let you download files, which you can either offload to your computer later or upload to Dropbox from right within the app. Tap and hold an image, and you can save it right to your Dropbox. iCab on the iPad also does "real" tabs, with a visible tab present (it will auto-hide when not needed, if you want). You can set it to open links in new tabs, or open only links to different domains in new tabs. It has content filtering built-in, as well as module support for things like Instapaper, viewing HTML source or even downloading videos from YouTube. It also has a forms manager and a kiosk mode, and as Mike pointed out in November it supports VGA mirroring for presentation use. Web browsing is one of the primary uses of my iPad, and iCab Mobile is well worth the minimal asking price. Find out more at iCab Mobile's website. See the rest of my choices below.
TUAW's Daily App: Burn the Rope
This isn't an iOS port of the great Flash game You Have To Burn the Rope, though an upgraded version of that would be nice to have. Instead, this one is a pretty inventive puzzle title by a company called Big Blue Bubble. The idea is that you touch anywhere along a rope to start up a flame, and then you have to keep that flame burning by tilting your iPhone so that the fire always burns up. It works really well as a physics puzzle game, and each level has certain percentage goals of the rope to burn (and later there are enemies to burn through as well), and whenever your flame splits off at different intersections, you need to watch each side of the flame and make sure it has vertical room to grow. Getting through the levels is not that hard, but burning everything on the screen is both challenging and fun (when you can actually do it). It's a really inventive game. Something only possible on the iPhone, it takes a nice different angle and just iterates on it, similar to popular games like Angry Birds and Cut the Rope. That iteration lasts over 80 levels, and the developers promise even more to come. There's no Game Center integration, unfortunately, but there is a silly theme song, and all of those levels make for quite a bit of game. As of this writing, the game is on sale for a buck, but I think it's worth it even for a few bucks. It's too bad there's no lite version to try out, because the concept really is original. But if you like puzzlers like Cut the Rope and Zen Bound, this one will probably scratch that same itch.
Just got an Android phone? The best apps, accessories, and tips
Taking a smartphone out of the box for the first time can elicit a wide spectrum of emotions, starting with unadulterated excitement that can quickly devolve into panic, chaos, and confusion: what do you do now? How do you make it awesome? How do you emanate an air of "cool" on the subway by using apps specifically designed to make you look like a badass? Well, fear not, newly-minted Android smartphone owner: as always, we've got your back. Read on for all the apps, accessories, and tips you should be investigating right this very second.
Mighty Eagle soars in for the holidays as in-app Angry Birds purchase
The Mighty Eagle has finally landed for Angry Birds fans with an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. Available as a US$0.99 in-app purchase, the highly anticipated new bird character will let you skip a difficult level and unlock the next one, earning points and achievements along the way. There is a catch to this great power now bestowed on you: use of this Mighty Eagle is limited to once per hour. The Mighty Eagle brings some good news for hard-core Angry Birds fans tired of repeating levels. Once you have unlocked a level using your arsenal of regular birds, you can deploy the Mighty Eagle on that level as much as you want. As a bonus, Rovio also threw in 15 new, scorching 'Ham Em High' levels set within a desert environment and a new Golden Egg. These new levels, the Golden Egg, and the Mighty Eagle are available in the latest version of Angry Birds now available in the App Store. Only the eagle requires the in-app purchase. [Via Switched]
Angry Birds nets 50 million downloads, still not enough for a three-star rating
And yet the pigs go marching on. Rovio's Angry Birds is just over a year old now, and in that time it's racked up 50 million in downloads, with 10 million of those from Android. An impressive number in its own right, and that puts it in a very elite group of gaming franchises that counts Bejeweled (50m) and Legend of Zelda (59m) among its members. (Membership includes fancy jackets and fezzes.) Our guess is that includes the iOS "Lite" version, which does downplay the milestone, but with new versions coming to PC, Mac, and the big three game consoles still on stores shelves -- as well as a sequel -- we doubt that asterisk will matter for long. Watch your ever-propagating back, Tetris. [Image Credit: Penney Design via Gizmodo]
DeNA and Rovio Mobile chat from LeWeb '10 in Paris
Stuart Dredge over at MobileEntertainment is reporting live this week from Paris' LeWeb 2010 conference, and quite a few iPhone publishers and developers are in attendance and talking about Apple's platform and beyond. Of the most interest to us are probably the statements by Japanese publishers DeNA (who recently bought Ngmoco) and Angry Birds developer Rovio Mobile. First up, DeNA says it's still got acquisition money to spend, and while most of the company's business is currently running on feature phones in Japan, it's very much seeking out smartphone developers in North America and Europe to run social games on its platform. And DeNA's representative, Tomoko Namba, even says that Zynga would be welcome to join them. DeNA is trying to build a platform, not necessarily specific games. It'll be very interesting to see what happens with DeNA in the future -- it's clear that they don't know a lot about how to run mobile games in the US, but joining up with Ngmoco (and whoever else they pull on board) is a good way to learn how to do that. Rovio Mobile is at LeWeb as well, sharing that Angry Birds has reached 12 million paid downloads and 30 million free downloads on other platforms. The company says that ads have worked out very well on platforms besides iOS, but on iOS, with a trusted store in place, paid still seems to be their system of choice. Rovio also confirms that the game is probably headed to consoles next year and even teases some new, non-Angry Birds related titles coming in the near future. There's no question that 2010 was a landmark year for mobile gaming, so it'll be interesting to see what happens next year.
TUAW's Daily App: Trucks and Skulls
I'll be honest, at the expense of disagreeing with some of you: I don't really like Angry Birds. Sure, I'll admit it's a quality app, and I obviously can't deny all of those sales. But personally, it's just not my game -- I don't find it nearly as fun as some of the other games on the App Store. That said, I know plenty of people enjoy Angry Birds, and for those people, Trucks and Skulls will probably scratch the same itch. Gameplay is almost exactly the same, except instead of birds, you're throwing trucks, and instead of pigs, you're attacking ... well, you can probably guess. There are a few new mechanics, a full level maker and screenshot sharing service, and the stages are obviously different, but otherwise, it's more of the physics puzzle goodness that Angry Birds has, only done with a heavy metal, death trucker aesthetic. Heck, maybe that appeals to some of you even more than Rovio's title. Trucks and Skulls just recently released a free version, and the full game is just US 99 cents on the iPhone and $1.99 on the iPad, with Game Center integration included. If you've already blown through Angry Birds and the recent holiday edition, give Trucks and Skulls a try.
Angry Birds Seasons app available now
Rovio has released Angry Birds Seasons, and it's now available on the App Store. The app is a free upgrade for those that purchased Angry Birds Halloween, or it's available to download for £0.59 in the UK ($0.99 in the US store). If you didn't purchase Angry Birds Halloween, you'll be pleased to know that the 45-level Halloween special edition is included as a free special episode called Trick or Treat -- hence the new title, Angry Birds Seasons. We can only hope that there will be further seasonal episodes to come. Expanding on Angry Birds Halloween, the app introduces Season's Greetings. This brand new festive level is packed with 25 daily surprises to enjoy while counting down the days to Christmas, in much the same fashion as a traditional Advent calendar. Season's Greetings includes new achievements, Game Center support and a very merry golden egg. [Speaking of Advent calendars, both Gameloft and Appvent are counting down the days until 12/25 with a different free app or special preview/discount every day. Don't miss out! –Ed.] If you're an Angry Birds fan, we're sure you must be feeling like Christmas has come early this year. And if you didn't purchase the Halloween edition, well ... at this price, you can't exactly turn up your nose at it. You're now getting a whole lot of Angry Birds entertainment for not very much money at all.
Nook Color finds its roots? Angry Birds say yes
We already knew the Nook Color was capable of something a bit more than its initial offering, having seen Angry Birds run fairly smoothly on a dev unit. In fact, it's exactly what we want in between chapters of Animal Farm, and the xda-developers community, right on schedule, are providing pictorial evidence of its rooting conquests. So far we've seen the aforementioned game / addiction, a few other additions to the extras menu, and even Launcher Pro (image after the break). NookDevs has a page going with instructions, but even it admits to being a work in progress, so we're gonna emphasis a little stronger than usual: don't try this at home unless you're absolutely sure what you're doing -- or don't mind a broken tablet or two. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Angry Birds Christmas to be free upgrade to Halloween edition
Rovio has a free gift on the way for everyone that ponied up the $0.99 for the Halloween edition of Angry Birds. The promised Christmas edition of the super-addictive mobile game will be a free update for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users. @RovioMobile responded to a query on Twitter confirming that the next edition of the game will come gratis. Rovio has not yet indicated whether it will start incorporating iAds into the iOS version of the game and giving it away as they have done with the AdMob-supported Android edition. Fortunately, the 7 million Android users helping the birds recover their eggs will be glad to know that the Christmas add-on will not be an iOS-exclusive like the Halloween edition. [via MobileBurn]
Angry Birds hits 10 million iPhone downloads, coming to gaming consoles
Angry Birds creator Rovio has announced that the game has fetched a whopping 36 million downloads so far, including ten million paid downloads on the iOS platform alone. Those are some pretty incredible numbers -- there's no question at all that Angry Birds is as legendary an app on the iPhone as they come. In the larger mobile picture, Rovio still has a way to go -- the company itself wants to do 100 million downloads on the Android platform (where the game is a free download, and allows for premium purchases within the app), and even then will have to go a bit further to match up with Tetris' 100 million paid downloads on all mobile platforms. But the game has definitely found its place in mobile app history already. Not only is there still that Christmas version planned for the coming holiday season, but Rovio has also announced that it will be releasing versions of the game for the Xbox 360, PS3, and the Wii sometime in 2011. Next year will bring another smartphone version, not a full sequel, but one where the pigs will apparently get a little more of the spotlight than the birds have given them so far. Talk about a bulldozer of an IP -- as big as this game has gotten, we haven't seen the last of it yet.
Christmas Angry Birds bring inevitable addiction to the App Store
You had to see this coming. Rovio is reportedly prepping a Christmas-themed update to the ridiculously popular Angry Birds game for iOS. Finnish TV site MTV3 has the scoop (English translation) with a screenshot showing snow-bound pigs about to receive the wrath of flying snowballs. MTV3 suggests that the game will be out "before December." You'll remember Rovio recently shipped a Halloween version of the app for $0.99. Expect the yule version to cost the same. [Via Pocket Gamer]
Rovio feels the burn of Android fragmentation, plans 'light' version of Angry Birds
So, it's real after all, huh? Android fragmentation is making its way into the news again, and this time it counts. Rovio, developer of a little-known title called "Angry Birds," has just penned a new blog post detailing the night terrors that have come with coding a single program to work on a cornucopia of platforms. In the weeks since Angry Birds was released to Android users everywhere, the company has been inundated with performance complaints, mostly from users with older / underpowered Android devices or phones using Android 1.6 or earlier. A laundry list of smartphones have now been added to the "unsupported" list (shown in full after the break), but thankfully for you, a "lightweight" version of the game is in the works. According to Rovio, that build won't reduce the number of levels (or amount of fun / frustration, for that matter), but will instead be optimized for dawdling processors and Android versions that have been helplessly malformed by carriers. Nice going, guys. [Thanks, Justin]
Capcom's free-to-play Smurfs' Village out-grossing Angry Birds
If you, like me, responded to the release of Smurfs' Village by saying, "Really? A freemium game from Capcom? Based on the Smurfs franchise?" then you probably want to rethink how the App Store works, because apparently it's a hit -- Smurfs' Village has topped even Angry Birds recently for the top grossing app on the App Store. The game is free-to-play, though players can buy "smurfberries" via in-app purchase that work like mojo in We Rule to speed up growth of players' crops or buildings. And those smurfberries must be selling like hotcakes, because the game is trouncing Angry Birds' millions and millions of 99-cent downloads. It'll be really interesting to see what effect this has on the market as a whole. Sega just released a freemium MMO in the form of a game called Kingdom Conquest, and EA is scheduled to do the same very soon. Capcom has been fumbling around for a big hit on the iPhone with all of their various properties, and while the Street Fighter IV game has been doing well, it hasn't seen nearly the intake that this Smurfs game has. Which probably means we can see some more freemium games coming from Capcom and other big companies in the future. You have to wonder who's spending all this money on these things -- are there legitimate game buyers out there shelling out for smurfberries instead of Starbucks, or is this all kids whose parents will be extremely surprised when the iTunes bill comes in next month?
Angry Birds sequel will reveal pigs' point of view
Just when you thought that the frenzy over the popular iOS game Angry Birds had finally reached its peak, now comes word from the Virtual Goods Summit that the game's publisher plans on turning the franchise into an empire. Rovio CEO Peter Vesterbacka dropped the eggs spilled the beans yesterday when he mentioned that the game is going to be available on all major gaming platforms soon, not just on mobile devices. But the comment that got the most attention was that the Angry Birds sequel is in development and it won't focus solely on the irate avians. No, the sequel story line will be told from the point of view of the pigs, who have been the victims of the vicious attacks by the birds in Part One of this tale. Vesterbacka also confirmed that a movie and TV show are apparently in the works, and that most of Rovio's investment at the present time is going into a Facebook game. It won't be Angry Birds, but will take place in the same world as the ultra-popular game. Rovio is also working on a multiplayer version of Angry Birds, all part of Vesterbacka's plans for "Angry Birds to be bigger than Tetris." [via Pocket-Lint]
Angry Birds spreading to consoles, sequels, feature films
The whole premise seems pretty simple, right? Evil piggies steal eggs, birds get angry, angry birds attack pigs, gamers struggle with addiction. But not so fast: have you ever wondered what the pigs think of all of this? Speaking at the Virtual Goods Summit in London, Rovio CEO Peter Vesterbacka let it drop that there was, indeed, a sequel to Angry Birds in development, going on to say that it would "surprise people. No one has told the story from the pigs point of view." But that ain't all! The company is apparently planning to milk this franchise for all it's worth, a multiplayer game "like old school Worms games" and a Facebook game taking priority, as well as porting the game to PSN, Wii, and Xbox, and some sort of film or TV show. We have to wonder who's going to play the red bird. Please let it be Alan Thicke. This is the best news since we heard there was a possible Asteroids movie in the works!
