iOS Archives - Page 7 of 9 - Serious Startups

Verizon Will Eventually Force All Users Into Tiered Data, Starting With 4G LTE Upgrades

Farewell, unlimited data, it was a joy having you as long as we could. These are the words that many Verizon customers will be speaking soon, according to CFO Fran Shammo. In an interview with the CFO today, Shammo made the following quote that is likely to break the hearts of plenty of Big Red’s customers:

“LTE is our anchor point for data share. So, as you come through an upgrade cycle and you upgrade in the future, you will have to go on to the data share plan. And moving away from, if you will, the unlimited world and moving everyone into a tiered structure data share plan.”

Many loyal Verizon customers have sat back laughing at those forced into tiered data plans as they were happily grandfathered in to their unlimited data plans. Users who start new contracts have had to make a choice of GB/month and keep watch over their data, while those of us enjoying unlimited have been surfing, streaming, and doing anything we want with our data without batting an eye.

Sadly, this is about to change.

Verizon’s CFO made clear that with LTE being the center of shared and tiered data, any upgrades to 4G LTE will require a switch to a shared data plan. This was where many felt the line was crossed. However, he went on to say that eventually everyone would be on a tiered data, which leads us to believe that at some point (likely a cutoff date) Verizon will force everyone into capped data, even the 3G-only subscibers. New line–crossed again. Whether this is the aforementioned cutoff date, or just a slow migration to only offering LTE devices, which would inevitable force all customers who upgrade into a new data plan, Shammo did say everyone. Many people have been up in arms over this decision, and Verizon really hasn’t answered with any type of response or even comment. Big Red is planning to make a lot of money off the combination of LTE and tiered data, and if everyone is forced over like they have planned, it shouldn’t be too hard. The more families switch to LTE phones and add lines, the more they will have to up the tiers, leaving Verizon to bathe in the heaps of cash. Let us know what you think in the comments, and be sure to check back for more updates.

Source: Verizon via Engadget

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition Has Already Sold 1 Million Copies Since Its May 9 Release

On May 9 one of the most anticipated Xbox Live Arcade games of all time hit the Marketplace: Minecraft. Minecraft has been a huge success on the PC since developers Mojang released the game on PC in 2011. After its huge PC success, and we mean huge, the game transfered to the mobile realm through Android and iOS apps. Now, Mojang has pushed Minecraft even farther by landing it on the Xbox 360 Marketplace where it has already sold a whopping 1 million copies.

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition debuted on May 9 for 1600 Microsoft Points, and easily sold 400,000 copies within 24 hours of the game’s release. Since then, players have recorded 4.2 million hours of mining coupled with 2.4 million hours of multiplayer play time. One of the biggest features that Minecraft for Xbox would be bringing was an extremely easy way to jump into game sessions with friends. The Xbox 360 version developer 4J Studios and creator Markus Persson could not have been more pleased, with Markus tweeting the following:

The PC version of Minecraft and all of its counterparts have shown no sign of slowing down, and almost everyone I know has plays, or at least has played Minecraft at one time or another. And with Mojang pushing updates and patches as frequently as possible, the fan base is only more likely to grow. Be sure to check out Minecraft for the Xbox 360, and let us know in the comments how you like the experience compared to the PC version. Until next time, happy mining.

Source: The Verge

Zynga Sues Kobojo Over The Use Of “Ville” In Their Social Games

A French developer has created an egyption based social game where you need to make egyption pyramid cities. The game is called PyramidVille and it plays on the classic model of Zynga’s Farmville, Cityville, Frontierville and other Ville style games.

Zynga has now sued the French developer over the use of the word Ville. The suit, which was filed in a San Francisco court, is asking a judge to ban Kobojo from using the word “Ville” in the US release of the game.

Zynga’s attorney Dennis Wilson said Kobojo’s use of Ville was a “willful violation of Zynga’s trademark by a competitor seeking to exploit Zynga’s hard-earned reputation in the social gaming space.” With the game’s focus building an Egyptian city, we can see where the confusion may come in to play.

According to this report Zynga tried to work this out with Kobojo but they willfully ignored the social game studios requests. Kobojo has already released a mobile version of PyramidVille.

Zynga build a franchise around their Facebook integrated social games. Their first game, Farmville, became a blockbuster hit. CityVille followed soon after that.

Zynga has also made a presence in the social mobile space after purchasing “Words With Friends” they’ve also got a version of Hangman played with friends. Their first mobile game, Zynga Poker is also a big hit.

Their most notable mobile news was the nearly $200 million dollar purchase of New York based game studio OMGPOP. Zynga acquired OMGPOP after their hit game Draw Something was able to knock Words With Friends out of the top spot in the mobile games arena.

The staff of OMGPOP was absorbed into Zynga and Dan Porter, the CEO of OMGPOP became Zynga’s Vice President of their New York operation which to date only includes the Draw Something title. We ran a feature story on Dan Porter and his unique use of HBO hit series “The Wire” characters as the names of OMGPOPs conference rooms.

Source: ABS-CBN News

Rovio Mobile Finally Has A Follow Up Game To Angry Birds

It took over 50 games for Finnish game development studio Rovio Mobile to come up with the smash hit Angry Birds. Angry Birds has grown to over 1 billion downloads and a merchandising arm worth hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars.

Rovio Mobile has done two spin off games of their franchise Angry Birds, Angry Birds Rio and Angry Birds Space. The latter becoming the fastest growing mobile game in history after being released in March and shown off at SXSW.

The company announced their 2011 earnings results on Monday. In that call they revealed that Angry Birds had generated $106 million dollars in revenue in 2011. “The strong growth in revenue clearly demonstrates the popularity of the Angry Birds brand.” CEO Mikael Hed said. He continued; “The heavy investments made in 2011 to all business areas will be seen in future products. To ensure continuous success we need to be creative and stay focused on entertaining our millions of fans by continuously developing new and innovative products and services.”

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New iPhone Rumors Shot Down, Screen Size And Build Still Undecided By Apple

Every new iPhone is a huge hype-attraction before its announcement, and the “iPhone 5”, or whatever Apple decides to call it, is in no shortage of its own rumors. We’ve been hearing since before the iPhone 4S release that Apple was prepping an iPhone with a bigger screen and LTE, whether that was just what people wanted coming out in rumors, or actually given by sources, our friends at iMore have sources telling them that Apple still hasn’t finalized the iPhone 5 design. A lot of sites were claiming that the newest iPhone would have a 4-inch screen, a metal back, an LTE radio, and still manage to be just a bit thinner, however, now we’re hearing that Apple most likely will not have this device ready for what many hoped would be a June launch.

When the rumors of a larger screen on the next iPhone surfaced, rumors of a new 16:9 aspect ration quickly followed, which escalated to many concept designs of a 4″ screen that would be “taller” than the previous iPhone, and a thinner build despite the addition of an LTE radio. Apple was also reported to be working on a smaller dock connector for the new iPhone, and that is the only rumor so far that is supposed to be actually happening. We still don’t know what is to come with the new iPhone of course, but we know that a lot of the things people are reporting have been shot down at this point. That’s not to say that these things won’t happen, just that we don’t actually know of them happening. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on the “iPhone 5”, as the device could very well be coming in October.

Source: iMore

Startup Quick Byte: twiDAQ

For todays Startup Quick Byte we take a look at twiDAQ a site that mixes both Wall Street and Twitter into one. Located in Bath, United Kingdom this company takes Twitter to another level that even has me interested. After having raiser $48,000 in funding so far, twiDAQ is using peoples love affair for Twitter and wanting to do more with it to a whole another level.

While some sites like Klout mask and try and hide how things are rated, twiDAQ holds no such qualms as they clearly post it on their site Here

There are two principal models for setting the share price; performance & demand. What we’re all seeing at this early stage in the market is the dominance of performance over demand which is allowing small stocks to rise in price.

Currently, only on the Web and iOS and free on both markets. So if you are into Twitter and just want more. Make sure to check it out. No words yet on an Android application yet.

Where to find:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Google+ Updated On iOS With Completely New UI, Android App Update On It’s Way

Let’s face it, iOS users have been skimped on Google+ since the beginning. First they didn’t get an app, and when they did, it wasn’t exactly the most functional in the App Store. Google did, however, stick to Android by updating and improving the application often, frequently adding features and improving on the app. Heck, they’ve even overhauled the desktop site a few times without even touching the iOS app. Now, the iOS is the first to receive the Google+ update, and it’s a pretty hefty one.

Google has said in their blog that was posted with the update, that they are looking to make the Google+ mobile experience much simpler, and much more aesthetically pleasing. And, from using it so far, they have succeeded. The iOS app has received a complete UI refresh, bringing a very sleek black interface, but it’s a lighter black than we are used to. The photos have been enlarged, there’s less abstract colors, and it’s really starting to look like a professionally done, beautiful mobile application. The Google team had this to say about their mobile application improvements:

To be clear, we’re not interested in a mobile or social experience that’s just smaller. We’re embracing the sensor-rich smartphone (with its touchable screen and high-density display), and transforming Google+ into something more intimate, and more expressive. Today’s new iPhone app is an important step in this direction—toward a simpler, more beautiful Google.

On top of an amazing new UI, Google has also finally added the ability to join a Hangout via Messenger to the mobile G+ app for iOS. This feature has long been missed by iPhone users, and it is definitely a welcome feature. The Google+ team has also said that the Android app will, in fact, be updated as well to match the new mobile user interface. We’ll be sure to let you know when this update is released, and iOS users can grab the update now in the App Store.

Source: Google Blog

NY Startup: Fancy Attracts Silicon Valley Backers For Social, Reverse Groupon Platform

If you like something, fancy it? Feeling kind of British? Well it’s not a British thing it’s an internet thing and it’s a new startup in New York that’s attracting some investors from the Valley.

Even though he didn’t get Instagram, that hasn’t stopped Twitter (and Square) co-founder Jack Dorsey from investing in an innovative disruptive new social platform. It’s also attracted the likes of Chris Hughes( Facebook) and Maynard Web of Ebay.

Although he hasn’t invested yet, Fancy has struck the Fancy of Ashton Kutcher. Kanye West, Bar Rafaeli and Selma Hayek have all become celebrity activists of this new kind of e-commerce platform.

So what is it? Fancy is part store, blog, magazine and wishlist. Anyone can join Fancy and when they do they can share the things they love and like with others. When their social friends across Fancy, like something, merchants can step in and offer a “Groupon in reverse type deal”. This is going to create a new, disruptive and competitive e-commere market place.

Fancy has 500,000 users across their web app, iOS app and recently introduced Android app. It’s great for users because they can see all the things their social friends like. It’s great for merchants because they know what’s in demand.

Fancy is free to join and get started. As Fancy tells Nibletz.com everything that you see on Fancy is either for sale or can be for sale.

Linkage:

Check out Fancy here at their website

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Apple Pushes iOS 5.1.1 To iDevices, Fixes A Few Minor Issues

To anyone using an iDevice, Apple has pushed out a minor update today that will fix a few things and tweak some others. After users were reporting some AirPlay video playback issues and a few others things, it seems Apple deemed it necessary to release iOS 5.1.1. Another of the annoying bugs that were fixed was an “unable to purchase” message that would pop up even if users completed a successful purchase. This can obviously lead to some headaches, so iOS users will want to grab that update today. The iPad also received some attention, as there was an error with devices switching back and forth between 3G and 2G networks which has now been taken care of.

The update can be taken OTA or through your PC or Mac and is only 54.5MB. Of course, anyone with a jailbroken iPad, iPhone, or iPod will want to avoid this update and wait for the developer community to bring a jailbroken version to you. There’s a few other minor fixes and tweaks that have been pushed, and the full list of updates is as follows:

Improves reliability of using HDR option for photos taken using Lock Screen shortcut.
Addresses bugs that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks.
Fixes bugs that affected AirPlay video playback in some circumstances.
Improved reliability for syncing Safari bookmarks and Reading List.
Fixes an issue where “Unable to Purchase” alert could be displayed after successful purchase.

Source: Apple

L.A. Startup: Hereon.biz Discover Business Professionals Around You INTERVIEW

The past year has been a big one for discovery apps. We all know about the hype surrounding Highlight, Glancee, and countless other social discovery apps at south by southwest this year. Discovery apps are great for discovering people around you.

Most of the discovery apps are using Facebook and Foursquare as their backbone. This is great for finding people with like minded interests or in the same place but sometimes you want more out of a discovery app. Take conventions for instance. Big conventions like South By Southwest and CES have hundreds of thousands of people around. With everyone checking in somewhere or another it can be kind of noisy.

Hereon.biz solves the noise problem for people that are looking to meet people in their same profession or field. In most cases you’re paying hundreds if not thousands of dollars to participate in a work or professional conference. You don’t need to meet the barista from Starbucks that happens to be a block away jamming with friends.

Hereon.biz uses LinkedIn API’s to connect people in like minded professions. Ultimately events like conferences and conventions or being in major hubs on business are the ideal place where Hereon.biz really comes in handy, but you may be surprised at the people that are around you at home, in your same profession.

I know that when I signed up for Google+ and discovered the nearby feature it showed a lot more Google+ users in my hometown than I thought. However, after perusing their streams and profiles most of them really didn’t have much in common with me, outside the fact that they used Google+.

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San Diego Startup: TextaPet Is Picking Up Steam INTERVIEW

If you’re a pet lover you’re going to love this new innovative idea called TextaPet .It’s like a cross-breed (ya see what we did there) between Instagram, and Facebook for your pet.

TextaPet co-founder Matt Clevenger told Nibletz: “TextaPet is a fun, easy photo-sharing app for animal lovers. We created TextaPet to help make people’s relationship with the animals in their life even more meaningful and enjoyable. We also hope to use the technology to better connect new pet seekers with adoptable shelter pets! We see TextaPet saving thousands of precious lives each year.”

Sure there are plenty of ways to share your pet pics already but TexaPet is it’s own unique app and environment and it’s sure to be a huge hit with pet lovers. Although they haven’t released their user numbers, they’ve already created a good following on social media networks. They’ve amassed a following of 22,000 followers on Twitter already. Most of their reviews in the iTunes store echo the same thoughts, people have been waiting for an app like textapet.

Textapet’s other co-founder is Daniel Carpenter. The two met in their home town of Santa Cruz but they are in the process of relocating the company to San Diego. Both co-founders have entrepreneurial spirit in their blood and they both had started clothing lines in college.

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Steve Wozniak Says Windows Phone Is Aesthetically Superior To Android, And Even iPhone In Some Ways

Over the weekend, Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, described in an interview what is to be taken as a very positive feeling about Windows Phone. Wozniak has been known to keep his eyes open to the competing technology to his company’s own, and many times try devices out for himself. Wozniak has even said in previous interviews that Android is, in some ways, more functional than an iPhone, which shows how he is the farthest thing from “tied down” at Apple.

Steve went ahead and got himself a Nokia Lumia 900 and had that as well as a two iPhones and a DROID Razr during his interview. The Lumia 900 brought in a lot of hype being the first Nokia-Microsoft phone that was launched, and has received fairly good criticism since its release. Of course, Wozniak was one who agreed that the Lumia 900 is a great device, but also that the Windows Phone OS is quite aesthetically pleasing, and even more so than Android. He went on to say that swiping through the menus and using the device in the same ways that he would use an Android or iPhone, was more intuitive and beautiful when performed on Windows Phone. This may come as a surprise to some, as Apple’s iOS is known for its very smooth and beautiful OS, and for an Apple co-founder to come out and say a Microsoft OS is more beautiful is unheard of.

Wozniak has made blunt statements like this in the past, and it’s very nice to see people in the tech world leaving their comfort zone and trying new things. Wozniak said that someone from Apple must be working on the Windows Phone team, and that the iPhone was still his favorite, so its obvious that his allegiance is still with Apple. While this may be true, Steve Wozniak is a prime example of someone who can recognize innovation, and give it the credit it deserves.

Source: A New Domain

Las Vegas Startup: Rumgr Is Like A Garage Sale On Your Phone

We constantly hear about Google alumni and Facebook alumni who have moved on to greener pastures with their own startups. Today we turn to Las Vegas and a new mobile startup called Rumgr. It’s founders are alumni of online shoe site zappos.com

The startup was born out of an idea from co-founder Dylan Bathurst. Las Vegas’ 8newsnow.com (which for a tv station does a kick ass job of covering Vegas startups) reports that Bathurst was looking to unload some old housewares that he was storing with a buddy. He didn’t want to wake up early and have a garage sale, and most likely didn’t want to deal with a bunch of fake buyers wanting to paypal him $5,000 for his microwave in Nigeria, using craigslist.

So what he decided to do was take a bunch of pictures of the stuff he was selling and put those pictures on his phone. He showed off his wares to his friends and was able to sell everything. That’s when he thought to himself that this kind of thing would make a great app.

Bathurst teamed up with Ray Morgan and Alex Coleman two other developers who previously worked at Zappos the Las Vegas online shoe retailer. The three co-founders liken Rumger to a gigantic yard sale on a free app.

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Startup Interview: Meshin’s CEO Chris Holmes, Plus You Could Win An iPad!

Most app developers and development companies have been going to iOS before the Android platform. Trends are showing that’s starting to change. One of the companies that has released to Android before iPhone is Meshin.

Meshin’s co-founder Kristen Galliani explained to Nibletz.com that Apple doesn’t allow apps to call into other apps, that was one of the main reasons they needed the more open architecture of Android to build Meshin, an email and message aggregator, and Meshin Recall. Meshin Recall syncs with Evernote and helps organize your notes by using dates from your calendar. There is a lot more in store for Meshin Recall. The Meshin team is on the tip of the iceberg of the contextual intelligence space.

Meshin is about to unveil their Meshin Recall product for iOS and they are currently looking for Beta Testers to sign up. If you sign up for the iOS beta and refer the most people you could win one of those flash “New iPads” go here to do that.

Meshin came out of the Palo Alto Research Center with their biggest chunk of funding coming from Xerox (remember that little company that makes copiers and fathered the Mac?). PARC needed someone to bring Meshin to life and that someone is Chris Holmes.

With more than 25 years in the tech start up arena and some huge accomplishments under his belt he was the perfect fit.

Check out the interview after the break