InAppPayments
Latest
Senators have questions for Facebook over in-game payment policies
Recently unsealed court documents revealed that Facebook employees were aware children were running up massive tabs spending money on games. Now lawmakers have some questions for the social networking giant. Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg looking for more details about how Facebook handled game payments.
Snapchat's 'face-swap' now taps into your existing photos
Snapchat has scrapped its pay-to-replay feature, meaning repeat views of temporary videos and photos is now a free, one-time-only deal. Far, far more importantly, you can now swap your face with any visage that Snapchat auto-detects on your photo roll: no more attempting to awkwardly position your buddy in a photo, or point your phone at a laptop or magazine. Sure you can still do that, but why would you? The results are equal parts stupid and magical. Game changer.
New Chrome developer tools bring Bluetooth, iTunes integration to packaged apps
Google's latest Chrome developer tools could give us even fewer reasons to close our browser -- devs can now build packaged apps with access to Google Wallet, Google Analytics, Bluetooth devices and an API that dives into the user's music library. Technically, Chrome has had a Media Gallery API for some time, but this latest update allows applications to access, import and play music using iTunes as a default media gallery. Of course, apps using this API will need the user's permission before rummaging through their Papa Roach collection, so settle down. The Chromium Blog's notes the Bluetooth connection could support "low energy health devices like fitness trackers." If that means apps that will monitor a FitBit and tell us to get up and stretch, that'd definitely be appreciated. For the full release notes, hit the links below.
Facebook smooths the way for carrier billing on in-app purchases
Facebook has known for some time now that its app-monetization process was more SucksVille, than FarmVille. Now, it's just announced that it's rolling out the new silky-smooth two-step payment process. This means you can stock up on Farm cash sans typing, and forget about the real cost until your mobile bill turns up. Currently most US and UK networks are on board, but more international operators will be added as soon as they can. If you already have payments integrated in your app, you should be good to go, but if you don't, and you want a slice of the pie, there's an API and instructions via the source link.
Lodsys adds Rovio, Atari, EA and others to patent suit, makes birds even angrier
If you thought Lodsys was done making a spectacle of itself and dragging app developers to court, you were sorely mistaken. The king of the patent trolls has amended its original complaint against mobile devs, removing one company, but adding five new ones -- all of them big names. Rovio, Electronic Arts, Square Enix, Atari, and Take-Two Interactive have been added to the list of defendants in the suit filed back in May. Vietnamese company Wulven Games has been dropped from the complaint, but Lodsys has more than made up for it by directly targeting possibly the largest mobile title out there -- Angry Birds. You can find the completely amended filing at the source link and, if you're in the mood for a bit of a refresher, check out the more coverage link.
App Store terms and conditions updated to cover subscriptions
If you download The Daily (or any other app) from the App Store today, you'll be prompted to read and accept new terms and conditions. The update addresses subscriptions; something we and publishers have been anticipating and debating for a long time. According to the new T&C, "Purchases of subscriptions to access the Services available through the Licensed Application are controlled, handled and processed by Apple and all payment and all other matters regarding such purchases (including any information you submit or that may be collected in connection with such purchases) are subject to and governed by the applicable Terms of Service and Privacy Policy of Apple. Accordingly, we encourage that you review Apple's policies prior to making any purchase." During this morning's announcement, The Daily became the very first newspaper app in the store to offer customers a subscription option. Users can opt to pay either US$0.99 per week or $39.99 annually as a one-time payment from within the app. During the question and answer session that followed, Apple's Eddy Cue was asked if and when this model would be extended to other app store publishers. His only answer was "very soon." We can only assume that publishers' ears perked up at that comment. For example, Time, Inc. and Apple have been at odds over the very model that The Daily uses for some time. In fact, Time went so far as to say that cost-cutting and other related problems have actually hindered the development of its Sports Illustrated app. Now that the cat is out of the bag, we expect to see subscriptions roll out within the month, maybe even the fortnight. Eliminating per-issue costs should help to reduce the slide that iPad magazines are currently experiencing.
