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Report: Zynga planning to ditch Facebook, start 'Zynga Live' service
Facebook and Farmville developer Zynga may go separate ways, causing the casual game developer to find another coop for its geese to lay golden eggs. TechCrunch reports that Zynga CEO Mark Pincus held an all hands meeting the other day informing staff that the company was going to launch "Zynga Live." The basic issue here is that Zynga isn't cool with the 30 percent cut that Facebook takes from customers using Facebook credits to purchase Zynga's in-game products. The breakup could happen "tomorrow, it could be in six months" according to a TechCrunch source. The real test if the companies seek other pastures is whether Zynga's games, like Farmville and Mafia Wars, keep bringing in that casual crowd without the massive installed base of Facebook. Hardcore gamers can have a hard time following the differences between a platform, publisher and developer -- you think their moms won't? [Via Games.com]
Report: Apple developing exclusive iTunes purchase tracking for iAds
TechCrunch has the word that Apple may be implementing a "VIP" ad program within its upcoming iAd service. An email reportedly sent from a Quattro sales representative mentions a "Verification of iTunes Purchase" program, in which an advertiser for a certain app would be able to see his or her users' iTunes purchases, and deliver ads based on that information. Quattro is the mobile ad company purchased by Apple a while back, and presumably the division overseeing iAds. That verification process would allow app creators to not only know which of their customers has already bought other apps of theirs, but it would enable them to only show you ads for apps you haven't yet purchased. In Flick Baseball Pro, for example, you wouldn't see ads for Flick Fishing if you'd already bought it from the store. That might give Apple the advantage against other ad programs on the App Store, and even if not, it would let them charge a premium price. Since everyone else is guessing at iTunes sales data, Apple would actually be able to deliver real numbers for iTunes purchases, and help app developers target app ads.
HP Slate killed? Rumor mill says 'yes'
Last night TechCrunch reported that, according to an unnamed "source briefed on the matter," HP had stopped development of the Slate in its tracks, killing off the project entirely. Why? Well, according to the source, HP isn't thrilled with Windows 7's performance on the tablet. The Slate -- which was officially unveiled in January by Steve Ballmer himself -- had a rumored price of $549, and was supposedly launching in June. So, what should we make of all this? Well, there's probably some major chaos over at HP with the news of the Palm acquisition, so we wouldn't be surprised to hear some shaky -- or even incorrect -- information coming out of the company right now. On the other hand, HP killing off the project doesn't sound completely out of the realm of possibility to us. We've reached out to HP for comment, but they've yet to get back to us. We'll let you know when we hear something more concrete. Update: Here's the response we just go from HP -- "We don't comment on rumors or speculation."
More bad juju for JooJoo: shipping delays, pre-sale questions
Monday, March 29 was supposed to be a happy day for Fusion Garage -- that's when the first JooJoo tablet pre-orders were scheduled to greet customers. Unfortunately, it's looking like Tuesday, March 30 will instead go down as yet another day full of unresolved questions for the fledgling company: not only did the 29th come and go without a peep, a new document from the TechCrunch lawsuit sent to Gizmodo suggests that only 90 total pre-orders were made as of February 11, and that 15 of those orders were canceled. Uh-oh. Now, Fusion Garage tells us that JooJoo units are actually in Los Angeles, where they've just been released from a paperwork-related customs delay, and that the "absolute worst case" is that they'll arrive to customers via overnight shipping on April 2nd, although FG is hoping for the 1st. We're also told that the 90 preorder number is low and the court documents are inaccurate because the company's relationship with PayPal was terminated over those issues with the terms of sale -- but the JooJoo website still lists PayPal as the only payment option. Right. See what we meant about questions? Oh, and just in case this whole saga wasn't sordid enough already, the "leaked document" making all these waves today is actually a statement by TechCrunch's lawyer made in support of a motion to enjoin Fusion Garage from selling the JooJoo, and it's been publicly available since February 22, when it was first filed -- you can check the whole thing in the PDF below. How or why it's being dredged up now is somewhat curious, if you're into that sort of conspiracy vibe, but we'd say the more interesting question is whether Fusion Garage actually gets the JooJoo to customers -- and whether or not it's good enough to erase the uniquely contentious circumstances of its birth. Update: Fusion Garage just called us to clarify their earlier comments: while the relationship with PayPal is ending in favor of a more traditional payment processor, it's still in place -- so that 90 number certainly seems more meaningful, although it is still over a month old. As for the shipment delays, we were also given a screenshot of the DHL manifest showing the customs delay -- check it after the break.
Ngmoco picks up $25 million in funding, buys Freeverse
TechCrunch is reporting that iPhone game company Ngmoco has just picked up $25 million in another round of fundraising, which they used to buy out Freeverse, one of the most storied Mac game developers (and recently, iPhone game developers) on the block. The two companies were already close -- Freeverse went with Ngmoco's Plus+ network for social connections in its games, including Flick Fishing and Moto Thunder -- but this buyout would put Ngmoco in charge of their whole catalog. Ngmoco CEO Neil Young says that he plans to take all of Freeverse's currently paid games and convert them all into the free-to-play model that Ngmoco has grown so comfortable with. It's a pretty bold move -- Ngmoco is seriously investing in this model (even to the extent where they'll cancel planned games unless they can squeeze them into the model), and now Freeverse will have to follow suit. There's no word on what will happen to Freeverse's significant Mac game library as well -- will that part of the company be split off? Will Ngmoco shut it all down and choose to focus on iPhone apps? Unfortunately, the only available information is the post on TechCrunch. We've put out calls to both developers and will get back to you when we know more. Update: Touch Arcade has interviewed Young. He doesn't mention Freeverse's Mac titles, but he does confirm that "freemium" is the way they're going to steer all of Freeverse's titles in the future.
Rumor: Apple developing second tablet device, made from unicorn tears
Just when you thought Apple tablet rumors were dead -- because, you know, they kind of announced one already -- another has emerged like a zombie rising from its grave to feast upon the brains of gullible fanboys. You may want to grab your salt shakers and wash its grains down with a stiff shot of whiskey for this one though. TechCrunch (a company familiar with tablet devices *wink*) is reporting that Apple may be hard at work developing a second tablet device - this one more computer than consumer device, said to be bigger and badder than its recently announced sibling. TC's MG Seigler claims to have "heard" from second-hand sources (I didn't realize Goodwill sold rumors) that iPad Maxi will feature a more robust software stack with more in common to the desktop flavor of OSX rather than iPhone OS, and powered by Intel's Atom processor. Before the iPad was revealed last week, rumors circulated for a long time that Apple might be working on two different sizes for the screen of the device. Some had the device as small as 7″, others were saying it would go up to 10.6″. (The actual size of the iPad is 9.7″.) But the information we're hearing is that Apple is thinking much larger for another version of the product, maybe all the way up to the 15.4″ size that it currently uses for one version of the MacBook Pro. Aside from the fact that Apple is now rolling its own chips, and hence no longer requires Intel's power-sipping Atom processor, why on earth fragment and possibly cannibalize your product line with TWO competing products that essentially attack the same markets from two different points? It isn't in Apple's nature to throw pasta at walls in hopes something adheres. Did we learn nothing from Steve's mobile device chart last week? He clearly outlined where the company has positioned iPad: as a tweener, straddling the iPod and Mac segments -- serving a role that Netbooks have failed to fill. So where does this fella fit in? And pray tell, how would strapping OSX to Netbook hardware (ala Atom) make it comparable in terms of features and performance to a MacBook? This rumor does not compute. Believe it? Neither do I. I call shenanigans.
Fusion Garage files to dismiss CrunchPad lawsuit
It looks like Fusion Garage is out to remind people that there's more than one $499 tablet in the world today: CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan is talking up the Joojoo tablet's pre-orders, and the company's lawyers have filed a delightfully snippy motion to dismiss TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington's lawsuit over the device formerly known as CrunchPad, saying his claims are "legally barred, facially flawed, and fatally imprecise." As we predicted from the outset, the argument boils down to the fact that there was never any contract between Fusion Garage and Michael Arrington or TechCrunch -- and Fusion Garage also points out it can't have stolen an idea that Arrington posted "all over the Internet." Snap. It's a little more complicated than that, though -- we've broken it down after the break, grab the PDF and follow along.
TechCrunch sues Fusion Garage over the Joojoo -- we break it down
Okay, well here we go. Michael Arrington says he filed a lawsuit yesterday against Fusion Garage over the CrunchPad / Joojoo situation, and he's helpfully provided a copy of the complaint, which alleges false advertising, breach of fiduciary duty, misappropriation of business ideas, fraud, and unlawful business practices. You'll notice that list doesn't include any breach of contract or intellectual property claims -- a fair departure from what Michael said he'd be suing over, but not entirely surprising since it doesn't seem like there was any contract here at all. Let's take a quick skim through the rest of the complaint, shall we?
Fusion Garage CrunchPad video conference liveblog
We're just getting settled in for Fusion Garage's CrunchPad webcast -- we've been promised CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan's version of the 12-inch tablet's bizarre saga, and we've certainly got quite a few questions of our own to ask. We'll start updating just as soon as it starts, so make sure you're up to speed on what went down over the weekend and get ready for some fireworks.
Michael Arrington says CrunchPad litigation is 'imminent,' provides more details -- but where's the contract?
The strange saga of the CrunchPad is getting even stranger: although Fusion Garage has a press conference scheduled for Monday, the company's apparently been hinting to some members of the press that the split with Michael Arrington was no surprise, and that TechCrunch didn't actually contribute anything of value to the CrunchPad. As you'd expect, that's got Arrington on the warpath. In a post titled "CrunchPad Litigation Imminent," he offers up an email from Fusion Garage CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan and two letters dispatched from his lawyers to both Fusion Garage and would-be CrunchPad ODM Pegatron that paint a much different picture: Chandra calls the split "out of the blue," Pegatron won't produce anything without TechCrunch's "explicit approval," and there was apparently even talk of merger between Fusion Garage and Arrington's CrunchPad, Inc. That certainly puts the timeline into dispute, but Mike's various CrunchPad intellectual property claims are far less solid, and unexpectedly weak -- even if you completely accept Arrington's side of the story, his CrunchPad dealings don't reflect his reputation as a bulldog Silicon Valley attorney. Let's break 'em down: Arrington claims he's the "outright owner of the CrunchPad trademark," but that's simply not true: the CrunchPad trademark was only applied for on November 17, the same day Arrington says Fusion Garage notified him of the split. Oops -- and even stranger because Arrington's said the CrunchPad was due to be launched on November 20. Why wasn't this sewn up months ago? Assuming there isn't some secret CrunchPad patent application we don't know about, the only major IP rights we can see TechCrunch asserting to the CrunchPad device have to do with the copyright to the code , and that's a total mess. Since Arrington apparently didn't draw up a contract giving him sole copyright to the CrunchPad's code, he and his lawyers are arguing that TechCrunch and Fusion Garage are "joint owners" to any rights, and that's just about the weakest position Arrington can be in. Joint copyright owners are legally considered to have equal rights to the entire product, and unless there's a written agreement (see how that keeps coming up?) saying they both have to sign off, each joint owner is allowed to non-exclusively sell the entire thing without the other's approval. In our experience it's pretty rare for joint copyright ownership to be an ideal business arrangement, and we can't imagine how Arrington got to within three days of launching the CrunchPad without hammering out the details of who owned what. In fact, the most notable thing about the letter from Arrington's lawyers to Fusion Garage is that it doesn't contain any contractual language whatsoever -- it only references emails and conversations between the two companies. That's particularly odd because the letter to Pegatron says TechCrunch will be suing for breach of contract, so you'd think Arrington's attorneys would be laser-focused on his contractual rights if he could assert them. Then again, you'd think Arrington would have known better than to start this project without doing the appropriate paperwork first, so really anything's possible. Now, we could be totally wrong about all of this: we haven't heard anything directly from Fusion Garage, and there very well could be contracts we haven't seen. But for right now, we're absolutely mystified as to how Michael Arrington -- who, again, is an attorney -- found himself in this position, and we're still mildly convinced this is all some kind of stunt. We're sure there's more drama to come, stay tuned. %Gallery-79654% %Gallery-79709%
FusionGarage plans media event to tell its side of the CrunchPad story
Michael Arrington may have declared the CrunchPad dead, but that's not stopping his former partners at FusionGarage, who've scheduled a video conference with CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan so he can "share his side of the story." Chandra will also be demonstrating the 12-inch capacitive web tablet -- which, somewhat amazingly, will be the first time we've ever seen proof that the elusive device actually even exists and functions. We're definitely curious to hear what Chandra has to say and how he rebuts Arrington's grandiose and melodramatic tale of woe, but let's be honest -- we're also at least mildly suspicious that this whole mess is just a calculated PR stunt. Stay tuned.
The CrunchPad disappears in a puff of vapor
Michael Arrington's CrunchPad has never had a particularly firm basis in reality, and although we'd been promised that the inexpensive browser-based tablet would be launching soon, the sky's come crashing down: Mike says Fusion Garage, the company he hired to build the CrunchPad, has reneged on their deal, and that he's about to file "multiple lawsuits." What happened? Well, it's not exactly clear: according to Mike, the CrunchPad was ready to be launched on November 20, but on November 17 Fusion Garage decided to cut TechCrunch out of the deal and sell it directly. Oh, it's a sad tale, especially since Arrington claims a wide variety of industry heavyweights were lined up to support his tablet -- including development assistance from Intel complete with sweetheart pricing on Atom CPUs, a "major multi-billion dollar retailer" who offered to sell it at "zero margin," and even venture capital firms "waiting to invest in the company." Making matters worse, Mike's no longer buds with Fusion Garage CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan, who he thought he'd be friends with "for the rest of our lives." Tear. Now, we're not sure we've heard the last of the CrunchPad -- if anything, Michael Arrington is irrepressible -- but we can't say we're surprised the first chapter has ended in such fantastic fashion. We're assuming several major Hollywood studios are already lining up to buy the rights, and we've heard unconfirmed reports that George Clooney has signed on to star for free because he believes in the project so deeply.
The Apple tablet that wasn't
TechCrunch has posted pictures of what they're calling an "unlaunched Apple tablet." In 1990, as the story goes, Apple was supposedly working on a pen-based touchscreen tablet called the Pen Mac that was actually extremely small for the time -- just about an inch thick, with a screen the same size as a Mac Portable. They were bringing a few different companies in on the deal, and apparently it worked well -- ran a full Mac OS, used a pen to control or let you plug in a mouse and keyboard, and there was even a smaller version called the PenLite (bulky by today's standards, but remember that this is 20 years ago now). So why weren't we all using tablet computers 20 years ago? TechCrunch blames John Sculley, who apparently thought the tablet idea was out, and the PDA idea was in, and we ended up with the Newton instead. I won't second guess him -- while it's easy to think that anything could have beaten the Newton, would the current Apple touchscreen tablet craze even be here if it weren't for the iPhone? And isn't Apple's smartphone just a hop, skip and a jump from their original PDA?
Doubletwist introduces in-app music store powered by Amazon
We posted about Doubletwist earlier this year -- it's a pretty innovative music app (developed in part by Jon Lech Johansen, otherwise known as DVD Jon) that not only plays you play whatever you like, obviously, but even lets you share and send music off to anyone, even other people who don't have the app itself. Now Doubletwist is stepping up even more closely to becoming an iTunes competitor: they've announced a partnership with the Amazon music store to sell music directly from within the app. No TVs or movies -- just music, purchased directly within the app, and then able to be sent out to any devices or social networks as usual. TechCrunch says the store's simplicity is actually a selling point -- iTunes has ballooned up to do way more than just sell music, and in Doubletwist it's much more straightforward. Here's the other bonus for Mac users: while we originally had to wait for an app release, the music store is currently only available on the Mac version of the software. A PC version is coming soon. It's doubtful Doubletwist will replace iTunes for many people, given all of the various things iTunes does for a Mac user. But then again, if you are using the Amazon MP3 store with any frequency, Doubletwist is probably worth a look: it's a free download on the website.
Steve Ballmer talks 'three screens and a cloud' and more with TechCrunch
Steve Ballmer's talk at Microsoft's Venture Capital Summit yesterday may have only been open to a select few, but non-VCs can now get the next best thing courtesy of TechCruch, which got a chance to sit down with Ballmer following the event. In the wide-ranging interview, Ballmer discusses Microsoft's new "three screens and a cloud" strategy, which he describes as a "fundamental shift in the computing paradigm" (and can't help but compare to Three Men and a Baby), as well as Microsoft's "fun year" with things like Bing, Windows 7, and Project Natal, and Microsoft's future acquisition strategy (it'll probably buy about another 15 companies next year). Of particular note, Ballmer also went some way to dampen any talk of a Microsoft-banded phone, saying that while an Apple or RIM can "do just fine," Microsoft still thinks a software play is right for them in such a high volume market -- noting that, "when 1.3 billion phones a year are all smart, the software that's gonna be most popular in those phones is gonna be software that's sold by somebody who doesn't make their own phone." Head on past the break to see the whole thing for yourself.
OTOY: The game streaming service you've never heard of
While OnLive and Gaikai continue to hog the game-streaming spotlight, few are talking about the third option that people will have for server-based gaming: OTOY. And that's likely because the company (of the same name) behind the technology hasn't been exactly forthcoming with details -- even the official website has nothing more than the "Soon" image you see above. Ars Technica recently got a chance to check out the service in action, pushing graphical monster Crysis to an iPhone with reportedly good results. The service is still in its infancy, as demonstrated by a TechCrunch hands-on video we've dropped after the break, but shows a lot of potential. Considering OnLive's currently holding its public beta in North America and Gaikai's kicking off a private beta in Europe late this month, we hope OTOY decides to start getting vocal soon. We're all ears!
CrunchPad unboxed, handled on video
We heard earlier this month that the first official CrunchPad units would arrive soon, and it seems like Mike Arrington and company are making progress -- here's what looks to be semi-final hardware and packaging on video for the first time. Interestingly, the device is still plastic and somewhat chubby, not the 18mm-thick aluminum we'd heard earlier -- and whoever's in charge here won't boot it, so we've yet to see the custom Linux / WebKit OS in action. It's all due to drop in July, so we'll know what's what soon enough -- for now, check out the vid after the break.Update: Looks like there is a short video of it in action, so we've stuck it after the break as well. It's certainly an interesting idea, but we noticed some glitches here and there -- we'll see how cleaned up things are at launch.Update 2: Oh, Mike Arrington. The king of all whispered rumors isn't too happy that this video went out -- he says it's not "sanctioned or official," and that "it's certainly not the launch prototype... which doesn't actually exist yet." Of course it doesn't, Mike.[Thanks G][Via jkOnTheRun]
Palm launching smaller Pre-like device later this year says rumor-mill
As if we didn't have enough Pre rumors to sort through, along comes TechCrunch and Mikey A. with some hard hitting stuff. According to the TC honcho, one of his "better sources" claims that Palm is "very far along" on a second webOS device which is smaller and slimmer than the Pre and may or may not have a physical keyboard. Apparently, this won't be the iPhone 3G to the first-gen iPhone, rather a device which addresses "a different part of the market." Details are still sketchy, but Arrington claims that the "Mini-Pre" (his name) will land sometime this year -- possibly as soon as the Fall. This is all complete rumor right now, but Palm has previously said that there would be more than one webOS device, so the idea of another model in the oven doesn't exactly come as a surprise. Stay tuned for further updates as we get them.
TechCrunch's internet tablet gets a new prototype
TechCrunch's Michael Arrington has pulled together a squad to make this whole simple, cheap, internet tablet thing he started talking about in July, 2008 happen for real. Their goal is to make a tablet that browses and plays flash videos really well (pretty simple stuff) that costs around $200. Built by a team led by Louis Monier -- former CTO of Alta Vista -- "Prototype B" is a 12-inch touchscreener with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Internally, the "CrunchPad" has a Via Nano CPU, 1 GB of RAM, 4 GB of flash memory, a 4-cell battery, and WiFi, plus a camera. In terms of software, the prototype runs a full install of Ubuntu with a custom browser. They estimate the total cost of the device at just over $200 to produce, and that a commercial model would realistically cost about $300. They don't seem to be heading toward production anytime soon, so don't cross your fingers, but you'll undoubtedly want to see if it's any good for yourself in the breathtaking video after the break.[Via jkkmobile]
GamerTrainer offers tutoring for WoW gamers
Having trouble making your way through Stranglethorn Vale? Can't quite figure out how to farm all that gold for your epic mount? Maybe what you need is a tutor! GamerTrainer is a site that claims to provide tutors for gamers who need a little extra personalized help with their games, and right there on their list, among Halo, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Call of Duty is our very own World of Warcraft. It'll cost ya, though -- $130 for five hours is as cheap as it comes per hour, going all the way up to $30 for one hour of personalized training. And just because you pay, it doesn't mean you'll actually get help -- "Mister_Llanowar" is apparently standing by to give you some helpful tips, and for all you know, he's just another 13-year-old who's really good at ganking with a 70.As you might have noticed, we're a little skeptical -- there's nothing you couldn't learn from these trainers that you couldn't pick up on, say, sites like the one you're reading right now (we've got you covered on STV and raising all that mount money). Not to mention that the whole point of a game (any game) is to sit down, mess around with it, experiment and explore, and pick it up on your own -- having someone tell you personally what to do and where to go is the exact opposite of fun.And if you still disagree, hey, call me up. I'll be happy to sit down and play with you on Skype for a measley $30 an hour. I call all disenchants, though, so if you don't need those greens, they're mine!
