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Gowalla officially shut down, uses Facebook to check-in at SXSW 2012
SXSW attendees may remember that both Gowalla and Foursquare launched at the aforementioned conference in 2009, and during its 2012 edition, the former is formally saying goodbye. Just three months after we heard that Facebook had picked up (but two months after the shutdown was promised), Gowalla is saying its final words. Specifically: "Thank you for going out with Gowalla. It was a pleasure to journey with you around the world. Download your check-ins, photos and lists here soon."Don't cry, Gowalla -- at least you won't have to deal with any more SXSW registration lines.
Marvel announces augmented reality app, exclusive digital comics at SXSW
Not content with simply doling out free digital comics to fans who favor the tangible page, Marvel is now giving readers a new reason to reach for their tablets: augmented reality. Android and iOS devices will be able to look beyond the page using Marvel AR, an Aurasma-powered app slated to launch alongside Avengers vs. X-Men #1 this April. When pointed at a compatible comic, the app will server up creator commentary videos, extra art and interactive 3D models of Earth's greatest heroes.Don't worry, your standard Marvel Comics app isn't being replaced -- in fact, it's getting a new line of sequential funnybooks called Marvel Infinite Comics. "Writers and artists now have a whole host of new tools at their disposal to redefine the comic book medium," Marvel Comics Editor in Chief Axel Alonso said at SXSW this week, "Current tablets and smartphones, along with comiXology's Guided View technology, allow us to develop new, full length stories for a different medium that are very much truly comics -- but experienced by readers in a way no other major company has ever executed." The digital-exclusive series kicks off with Avengers vs. X-Men #1 Infinite, which incidentally, will be free to folks who pick up the similarly named physical book. Ready for the revolution ReEvolution? Check out the links below for Marvel's official announcement and CNET's hands-on video.
Instagram hits 27 million user milestone, teases Android app at SXSW
Rejoice, photo filter fans, Instagram is heading to Android "very soon," according to founder Kevin Systrom. Speaking at South by Southwest, Systrom raved about the app's growth, boasting of its 27 million registered users. "They're not excited about it because it makes your photos look beautiful," he says, "They're excited because it networks people across the world and it's the single fastest growing thing in mobile period." The Android version is currently being tested in a private beta, and it's reported to be superior than its iOS counterpart. "It's really, really fast," Systrom said. Don't look so surprised, he did tell us, after all, that iOS was just the beginning.
Hands-on with Angry Birds Space at SXSW (video)
All work and no play makes even the hottest smartphone downright dull. It's with this in mind that Samsung is showcasing Rovio's latest creation, Angry Birds Space, running on the Galaxy Note at SXSW in Austin, Texas. We took a moment to get our feisty paws on the demo, which showcases the weightless, space-like trajectories that players must contend with in the game. Exclusive to the Galaxy Note, users will find a bonus level of play, in addition to the free Danger Zone add-on -- a collection of 30 levels that'll be available to the masses as an in-app purchase. If you haven't been keeping score, the game will make its official debut on March 22nd. So what're you waiting for? Hop the break for the PR and watch as we take revenge on those fiendish pigs!Myriam Joire contributed to this report.
Rovio wants Angry Birds Space on 'all the screens,' Vita version up to Sony
Rovio's plans for porting Angry Birds Space are just as ambitious as they were with the original, according to chief marketing officer/Mighty Eagle Peter Vesterbacka. "With all our games, we're going for all the screens: Smartphones, tablets, TVs, the web, so we really want to bring Space to all the screens as well," Vesterbacka told us during this week's SXSW Interactive festival in Austin, TX. "As always, we have limited resources, so we can only do iOS, Android, PC and Mac for the launch, but the other platforms will follow shortly after."Vesterbacka also mentioned that Rovio's back catalog of bird/slingshot simulators are still coming to the 3DS, and that potential Vita versions are in Sony's court: "We'll have our games on the 3DS pretty soon. The Vita we haven't decided what to do about yet, but of course we want to be on all the screens, so let's see how the Vita does in the market. And of course, always when working with these console guys it's not that we can decide, it's really if Sony wants to have Angry Birds on Vita. It's more up to them than to us."
Daily Update for March 9, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Latest UMvC3 costume pack contains mysterious, unexplained Nova outfit
Every time a new costume pack is released for Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Capcom explains the often obscure sources for said costumes. The "Viewtiful Strange" pack that came out last Tuesday, for instance, contains a Doctor Strange variant from a 1960s comic-book subplot, among other esoteric digs.There is however one costume without an explanation, one that leaves our interests sufficiently piqued. Nova's new threads (as seen above) legally cannot be expounded upon, according to Capcom Unity, which means that the inspiration for this costume must come from a Marvel production that is currently unannounced. We know that Marvel will be making some sort of announcement during the SXSW Interactive festival in Austin next month, and while we're not willing to say that Nova will be getting his own game or anything, it's not beyond impossible for the two events to be related.
The Boondock Saints cast to announce mysterious gaming thing at SXSWi [update]
Update: A flyer for the event (added below) mentions Austin-based Critical Mass Interactive as part of the panel. A quick trip to the developer's website resulted in the banner image above, which pretty much removes any doubt about what this announcement could possibly be for. According to its LinkedIn profile, Critical Mass Interactive handles outsourced art, design and programming duties for other developers, listing The Outfit and The Incredible Hulk among its past projects. Joystiq has learned that cast members from the 1999 cult classic film The Boondock Saints will be making some manner of gaming announcement during the ScreenBurn Arcade portion of next month's SXSW Interactive festival in Austin, TX. Now, whether that announcement is actually Boondock Saints related is anyone's guess, but that seems like the logical conclusion. At the moment, all we know for sure is that Norman Reedus (aka Murphy MacManus) will be in attendance.We've got our money on it being one of those cross-over fighting games the kids seem to like so much these days; Boondock Saints vs. Pulp Fiction: Bullet Break Valencia, or maybe Boondock Saints vs. Snatch: Sceptered Isle Showdown. We're also not entirely counting out Willem Dafoe: Boy Detective, but we feel pretty good about the fighter thing.%Gallery-148453%
SXSWi ScreenBurn Arcade to host Street Fighter X Tekken tournament
SXSWi, the "interactive" technology portion of Austin's South by Southwest festival that runs between March 9 and 13, also hosts ScreenBurn, a three-day gaming conference and expo. The ScreenBurn Arcade portion of ScreenBurn is open to the general public, and to kick things off the first day of the Arcade will feature a Street Fighter X Tekken tournament, presented by IGN Pro League.An exhibition-style tournament, the event will be more of a spectator activity, rather than something that the public can enter and participate in. Still, it'll be a good opportunity to see highly technical play of the game just after its release. Since attending the ScreenBurn Arcade doesn't require a SXSWi pass, Austinites interested in the future of fighting can swing by the Palmer Center between 3PM and 7 PM Central on March 9 to scope out the tourney. If you see a complete dork dressed like Dan Hibiki, come say hi.
Indie Game: The Movie showing at SXSW, creators hosting panel
Can't make it out to the Sundance film festival to check out the world premiere of the crowdsource-funded documentary Indie Game: The Movie? There's no need to worry, assuming you can score passes to SXSW instead; the film will have a showing at the SXSW ScreenBurn Arcade (March 9 - 11) and SXSW Film (March 9 - 17) next year (clap, clap, clap, clap) deep in the heart of Austin, Texas. The conference will also host a panel presented by IG:TM creators James Swirsky and Lisanne Pajot, along with Phil Fish, the creator of Fez, one of the titular indie games. The whole thing is so full-circular, we might just faint.
Texas researchers aim to solve wireless bandwidth bottleneck, hopefully before SXSW 2012
As anyone attempting to stream high-quality video on any major metropolitan subway has likely found, doing so often requires the patience of Job and a willingness to spend more time 'buffering' and less time 'enjoying.' It's a problem that's particularly evident at crowded events like the never-ending South by Southwest, and it's probably no coincidence that a team from The University of Texas at Austin are now spending their waking hours attempting to solve the looming wireless bandwidth crisis. Five faculty in the school's Electrical and Computer Engineering Department have been selected to receive a $900,000 gift from Intel and Cisco to "develop innovative and novel algorithms that could improve the wireless networks ability to store, stream and share mobile videos more efficiently." Their work is part of a five university tie-up, seeking to solve quandaries such as tower interference, selective compression (read: pixelating the areas you don't pay attention to in order to squeeze more out of the existing infrastructure), cell tower intelligence and data output redundancy. Hard to say if any of the major carriers will be implementing proposed solutions in the near future, but we can think of at least one company that's crossing its fingers in hopes of that very outcome.
AT&T uses COWs to boost SXSW coverage
Three years ago AT&T took a hit at SXSW with terrible coverage due to unanticipated demand on its service from the then-new iPhone. I was there, and while I didn't have an iPhone at the time (I was still rocking a BlackBerry on Sprint) I did see the slow-to-nonexistent coverage iPhone users suffered. But AT&T learned from the experience and began boosting its coverage by using portable cell towers called "Cell On Wheels," or COWs. I got to tour one of these, parked right next to the Austin Convention Center, and spoke with a network engineer and AT&T's Seth Bloom about how AT&T uses COWs not only for events (the company will set them up for Austin City Lights once the SXSW music festival is over) but also when natural disasters wreak havoc on towers and power in an area. For SXSW specifically, AT&T worked with event organizers to install permanent cell towers, doubled the number of COWs and installed a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) inside the Austin Convention Center to provide more coverage (both inside and out) and more network capacity. Inside one of the COWs, I was told they were, in this case, connected to fiber-optic Ethernet backhaul connections which carried mobile broadband traffic to the core network. These improvements, plus several AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots in the Convention Center, Auditorium Shores and along Austin's famous 6th Street helped ease bandwidth issues. Did it make a difference? While there were times when my phone's data connection seemed to slow down at peak hours as people made dinner plans, I have to say there was a marked improvement from last year, and a remarkable difference from three years ago. The tech inside a COW is quite impressive, as it is a fully-functional cell tower which can connect via Ethernet or relay to another tower -- and can be powered by local utility or generator as needed. AT&T's response to what has been an 8,000 percent increase in mobile data on its network from 2007-2010 (according to Seth Bloom) is nice to see as well. While there are certainly times when I'm frustrated with coverage (inside Austin airport I had issues, but outside there were none), it's great the company realizes how important the iPhone experience is to its users at SXSW. %Gallery-119299%
Companies to watch, from the SXSW trade show floor
After a tour of the SXSW trade show floor, here are some of the companies we'll be profiling in the coming weeks. Of course, there's always a mix of companies at SXSW: some film, some music, many web services -- but far fewer social media companies than last year. We've covered RedLaser and LaCie in the past, and while LaCie has new products (more hard drives, surprise!) and RedLaser has gone local, I'm going to focus on a few mobile apps and accessories you might not have heard of yet. On the hardware front, there's a portable second monitor solution called CINQ on display. The CINQ attaches to your laptop screen with a sort of clamp, and it only needs a USB port to get video and power. It supports 1280x720 resolution and weighs a mere 15 oz. For a 10.1" secondary screen, that's not bad. I felt the backlight was a bit weak, but as someone who often enjoys working with two screens, it might be a portable solution for frequent travelers. Then again, at US$249 (and not available until a few months from now), it won't be cheap. Perhaps the most intriguing and useful product I saw was from a company launched a couple of weeks ago. LifeProof enters a shockingly small market of durable, water-and-dirt-proof iPhone cases. Nowhere near as bulky as similar offerings from OtterBox and Griffin, the LifeProof case is shockproof (tested to 2 meters), waterproof down to 6 feet and keeps sand, mud and grit away. Based on the demo units sealed in with various elements, and my examination of the case, I would say this is an excellent "every day" use case for people who work outside. It also looks ideal if you climb, mountain bike or swim regularly. Shipping in a few weeks, the LifeProof case will cost $69.95. I also had a quick chat with one of the three indie developers of TapCity, what looks to be a fun game coming soon available now on the App Store. You're able to "take over" locations, earn "rent" as people check in, or conduct battles for locations -- all with cute cartoon graphics of real places around you. No word on how many cities will be supported at launch, but we'll try to get a look at it soon.
Google VP lays down mobile stats, boasts 150 million Maps users
Care for a cup of Google data, anyone? At SXSW, the vice president of location services, Marissa Mayer, stated some interesting facts about the state of all things mobile at the Goog. Most notably, the company provides its map service to 150 million users. Just to give you an idea of how many peeps that is -- it's about half the number of individuals in America. Crazy, we know. What's more, Mayer claimed that Google Maps guided users 12 billion miles per year and that its latest build of the app saves people an average of two days worth of travel time each year. Another bit worth noting is how the company feels about Google Maps for iPhone. "We like being the default provider, but we'd like to get some of these updates out to a broader audience. That's still a debate / question we're considering." Updates? An actual Google Maps application that works as a GPS on an iPhone? Wake us up when iOS 5 is previewed, or we can just keep dreaming.
Liveblog from SXSW: Can indie iPhone game development survive?
SXSW Interactive has just begun and I'm sitting in a panel with a group of rock star game devs (well, some are more designers, and Alan Knitwoski is not a dev, but a business guy): Stephen Broumley, Peter Franco, David Kalina, Heather Kelley, Alan Knitowski. They will attempt to answer the question of whether independent game developers can still make games profitably. First question: What is indie? If you are a small shop and acquired by EA (as happened to Franco), are you still indie? Jeff Broumley defines it as "funded yourself." Part-time developer David Kalina says it means you are in control of your own decisions (as opposed to a publisher or investor). Heather says it also represents a spirit -- being able to do what you want to do and having financial control. For Knitowski, it's also about being in control, although he veers into a comment about Rovio (Angry Birds), and the "Silicon Valley" style of starting indie and being funded later once you've grown to a certain level. Heather objects to his comment that "you inevitably grow into what you hate," which reminds me of when an indie band would "sell out" to make millions. Next round of questions: How do you fund and structure your companies?
What is Zynga doing to that sheep? Brian Reynolds on the power of innuendo
During a presentation at SXSW Interactive yesterday, Zynga chief designer Brian Reynolds shared an emergent game feature that the team discovered when making Frontierville, one designed to appeal to juvenility. The "tutorial" mission in Frontierville involves finding a lost sheep and bringing it back, he explained. Because it's a Facebook game, you get the option to post when you've done so, which shares a little blurb about your achievement and a picture of a cartoony character struggling to pull a stubborn sheep. But that's not what players' friends saw. "What is she doing to that sheep?" was a common refrain from people who saw that post, Reynolds said. "The look on the sheep's face kind of sells it." But this wasn't a problem, as it turned out. That pseudo-scandalous sheep image "has our highest post rate and our highest clickthrough rate," he explained, with many more replies to those posts creating increased visibility, and thus inadvertently promoting Frontierville. And so Zynga went forward with innuendo-laden status messages, more examples of which you can see above. At the end of the presentation, Reynolds answered a question about his reaction to Satoru Iwata's GDC keynote, during which Iwata pretty clearly denounced social and mobile games in general. "I don't understand why they'd feel threatened," he said, suggesting that social games and console games can coexist. "Maybe that person thinks a lot about console games," but not about mobile games.
Dispatches from the iPad 2 front lines
11:45 AM (Steve Sande): I'm here at the Aspen Grove Apple Store in Littleton, Colorado, and fortunately it's warm and clear. I'm at about the 20th person in line, and my cohort in crime Erica Sadun just showed up. It's a congenial group in line this morning. Apparently, the first person in line showed up at 11:30 AM yesterday. Most people in the line so far are optimistic that they'll get one, and the store manager is talking up people in the line to see how they're doing. There's even a "line host" passing out bottles of water, and we've heard that they'll be handing out sunscreen wipes soon. The store will be closing between 3 and 5 PM, then re-opening at 5 PM to start sales. During that time, I'm sure that the iPads on display will be replaced with iPad 2s wearing Smart Covers, that a handful of iPad 2 cases will be hung from the wall display, and probably even a new window display will go up. We'll be doing some live video this afternoon, so keep tuned to TUAW. 1:30 PM (Victor Agreda): Victor's in line at the temporary Apple Store that was put up in Austin, Texas to handle the hordes of SXSW attendees who need their iPad 2 fixes. The first guy in line was there at 6:30 AM - much smarter than the fool who got to the Aspen Grove store at 11:30 yesterday! %Gallery-118912% Read on to see pictures/testimony from our readers across the US.
Apple has set up a temporary Apple Store in Austin, TX for SXSW
Apple is leasing retail space in downtown Austin for the upcoming South by Southwest conference. The temporary retail store will be located at Sixth and Congress Street and preparations are under way for a Friday opening. This debut coincides with the launch of the iPad 2 and the SXSW conference which begins March 11. The space is quite close to the downtown Austin Convention Center -- handy if you are attending SXSW and want to get an iPad 2 without using a car or taxi. Rance Wilemon, a partner of Plat.Form Real Estate which is leasing the space to Apple, suggests this opening is not meant to test the market in downtown Austin, but is a way for Apple to participate in the popular SXSW conference. Apple already owns and operates two full retail stores in Austin, one in the Barton Creek Square mall in southwest Austin and one at the Domain in north Austin. The company has no plans to open a third store in the immediate future. We will be on hand for the SXSW conference and will snag some pictures as well as take a stroll through this temporary store. TUAW, TechCrunch and CrunchGear will also be hosting a reader meetup in Austin, which you can sign up for here. [Via Macstories]
BlackBerry Playbook to feature 7digital's 13 milllion track music store (update: PIN seemingly confirmed, too)
7digital and RIM are back in bed with news that the BlackBerry PlayBook will ship pre-installed with access to 13 million high-quality (320kbps) MP3 tracks from the London-based media company. At launch, the deal affects the US and Canada only, with more countries promised in 2011. PlayBook users will be able to search and preview tracks before purchasing with a discovery assist provided by 7digital's music recommendation engine. The whole kit will be previewed this week at South by Southwest where we hope to get some hands-on time. Full press release after the break. Update: RIM's now also announced a new BlackBerry Podcasts app to go along with the music store, and it's provided a video showing off both. Check it out after the break, and hit up the link below for some additional details. Update 2: The eagle-eyed folks over at Crackberry have noticed an entry for a PIN around the 2:37 mark. This certainly seems to jive with the fact that the PlayBook will eventually be getting native BlackBerry services, so the presence of a PIN shouldn't be too surprising -- though hard evidence is always welcome. Screencap after the break.
EightBit goes HTML5 for SXSW
Sure, Foursquare is fun if you like that sort of thing (me, I'm too embarrassed to show my friends that I barely leave the house, let alone reveal to them where I go when I do drag myself out of my pit). But really, what you want to have is not just more fun than Foursquare offers -- you want twice as much fun. Right? And not just a cool badge or something but Cash, cold hard cash for playing the game. Right? So enter EightBit, the all-new location-based game that's going to take the mobile HTML5-space by storm just in time for SXSW. Like Foursquare it's a location-based check-in app, but instead of getting mere badges and mayorships you can win coins which, right now, just let you keep score. But eventually you'll be able to buy virtual goods in the game, and buy more coins using micro-payments. The company has planned a virtual scavenger hunt for five NES-style game cartridges (8-bit - geddit?) to coincide with SXSW in (virtual) Austin starting this weekend. Play the game, create an avatar, check in and you could win a 250 GB hard disc. [via TechCrunch]
