Until now, Apple has held an odd place in the gaming industry. Many of the hottest games for the PC have never sold as well on the Mac, due not only to a smaller market share, but also Apple offering only a handful of hardware configurations that can run the latest, graphics card-melting titles.
But on the iPhone and iPod Touch things have been different.
Apple now markets the iPod Touch as a gaming device. Both it and the iPhone 3GS contain updated hardware that can run 3D (and 2D) games quite well. On top of that platform, developers have built thousands of games that cost a fraction of the price of titles found on handhelds from gaming heavyweights like Sony and Nintendo; most can be had for just a dollar, compared to the $20 to $40 that portable titles on physical media fetch.
Something that has been more interesting to watch though than the steady release of cheap games, is the rise of free, third-party social networks that come built into these titles. These provide developers with a simple way to incorporate social feature into their games, while letting players use the same profile from title to title.
Recognize these services? They're the ones that are being integrated into most of today's hottest iPhone games.
(Credit: CNET)In 2009 six of these networks popped up (not counting Facebook or Gameloft live), and are now vying for the top spot, both from gamers and developers alike. But which one will end up being the most widely used service as the platform matures--the one everyone starts using? After all, users will eventually tire of having to deal with different networks from game to game. Right?
We looked at six of the biggest, compared features, user growth, and development cycles, and came to the conclusion that developers have already picked a winner. However, fierce competition, and refreshed hardware and software from Apple could quite easily bring us a new front-runner by this time next year.
The players
Right now the leader is a service called Open Feint, which was launched just nine months ago. It can be found in around 600 titles on the App Store, and has a following of 6 million users. It offers a handful of social features, including high-score leaderboards, Facebook and Twitter score publishing, friend challenging, live chat, achievements, and cross-promotion for other titles that use it. The easiest way to spot it is in application logos, which often feature the green and silver Open Feint symbol if it's built-in.
Despite its current dominance, Open Feint's reign could be short-lived. One of the most immediate threats is Facebook. The social network, which now sits at 350 million users strong, is already integrated into many of the social-gaming platforms (including Open Feint) as a sub-feature. Developers know it's where users are likely to have an existing log-in and friends list, and Facebook has made it incredibly simple to include within an app by making a lightweight, portable version of its Connect service.
Right now Connect for iPhone does two big things. One is to let you log-in to apps with your Facebook credentials. The other is to share information to your Facebook news feed, and additional users of that same iPhone app. Though currently missing from Facebook Connect for iPhone, but present on Facebook's main site, are many things that could make the tool more useful, for both users and developers, including:
• A live chat service
• A payment system that it could draw credit from for in-game purchases
• A social ad system
Currently, these are exactly the types of things these third-party social-gaming networks are trying to accomplish. Where Open Feint and others stand to get overtaken in the long run, would be a more advanced version of Connect for the iPhone. One that would bring more of Facebook's community and features into each app, bridging its utility outside of games and into other iPhone apps as well.
Facebook's latest numbers say its Connect service is being used by more than 60 million monthly users, who are accessing it across 800,000 Web sites and devices. That may be a fraction of its 350 million registered users, but is quite large compared to Open Feint's user and app penetration on iPhone alone. (Note: Facebook would not reveal to CNET how many of those users were on the iPhone, or how many iPhone apps were making use of the feature.)
There's also no discounting Apple itself, which could buy up any of these platforms and offer it as part of its own application SDK. That is assuming it does not come out with its own solution in a future platform update. Surely developers would want to include Apple's social-gaming system if it was a more streamlined part of the company's existing software development tools. Right?
It's not too late for such a feature either. Despite the fact that the company has made baby steps in changing the iPod and iPhone's hardware to appeal to gamers, it made big moves during the course of 2009 to make the software and business platforms more appealing for game developers. This included the launch of system software 3.0, which finally opened up Apple's hardware to peer-to-peer file transfers, Bluetooth multiplayer, in-app purchases, and the use of external hardware peripherals. Later in the year the company also changed its stance on in-app purchases to allow free apps to offer them.
The game
To put all this in perspective, let's take a look at how we got here in the first place. When iPhone game development really kicked off (shortly after the release of Apple's native application SDK in 2008), one thing that was immediately missing was any kind of central service to track player data and scores. As a result, many developers were stuck creating their own servers to save player records.
Aurora Feint was one of the first iPhone games to have social features.
(Credit: CNET)The first title to come out with its own solution was Aurora Feint, a puzzle game that blended role-playing elements with falling, colored pieces users had to arrange to clear the board. Its crowning feature (besides being fun) was that it let users send their name and contact information to Aurora Feint's servers. The game would then scan for friends when they started using the game, and then challenge those friends to a score duel.
The only problem was that Apple didn't like this behavior. Not only was it being done without first asking for permission, it also violated the part of Apple's SDK agreement that said that a user's contact list could only be used within the app, but not shared with other users or stored on third-party servers. As a result, it was temporarily removed from the App Store.
Aurora Feint's creators worked it out with Apple and made it so that the app would first ask for permission before sending that information, as well as securing the information on its way back to the server. Following these changes, the app was re-released.
Five months after the release of the first Aurora Feint title, its developers, Danielle Cassley and Jason Citron, launched a sequel called Aurora Feint 2 (app store link) that added features like live chat and leaderboards. These features would go on to become the underpinnings of Open Feint, which would launch just three months later.
Open Feint was not the first to have its own platform, however. Competitor Geocade beat it to the punch by launching in January. Its big twist, compared to what Aurora Feint offered, was to let users see how their scores matched up compared to nearby gamers. To make it all work, the service would check for each user's location when they first launched the app. It also gave developers a chance to make a little money by hosting ads on the scoreboards, then splitting the revenue.
Geocade started out small with just two titles, and can now be found in 80. Unlike the others mentioned in this story, it also works on Google's Android, allowing developers to go cross-platform.
Geocade's big launch feature was that it would let players see how others around them were scoring. The service also offers a live view of the latest scores on its site.
(Credit: CNET)After Geocade, came Facebook Connect for iPhone. While missing many of the features that would later be built by the independent networks, Facebook's offering was a very big step for social gaming on the iPhone. The popular social network was offering gamers a way to sign up to use applications with credentials to a service they were already using. For app developers, that meant that they didn't have to maintain a special user database. More importantly though, it would advertise their app out to that player's Facebook wall. Facebook Connect went on to become built-in to many of these third-party platforms, simply as a feature.
Facebook Connect for iPhone allowed gamers to publish scores to their Facebook walls, as well as slurp in friends lists.
(Credit: Facebook)Just days after Facebook Connect was released for the iPhone, Open Feint became available to developers. Version 1.0 of its service launched with 30 titles. It offered chat and leaderboards, along with a way for users to join using their Facebook or Twitter credentials.
Open Feint was (and still is) free for developers as long as their apps were free. However, if an app cost money, Open Feint would charge based on how many users were using it each month. The service would also get a small cut out of any in-app purchases if they were suggested through its iPurchase system, which listed other apps using Open Feint.
A month after the launch of Facebook Connect and Open Feint came Scoreloop. Like the other networks, developers had to code it into their titles. In turn the players got their own profiles that stayed the same from game to game. They also got leaderboards and the capability to challenge other users on the service to score matches.
Where Scoreloop really stood out from some of the competitors was with its own built-in micro-purchase system. Unlike the other platforms, which were using in-app advertising, and cross-promotion, Scoreloop let developers build small charges into their apps using a virtual currency system. Players could win these coins by challenging other players (and winning), or by receiving them as a reward for completing certain parts of a game. The system is also set up to let users buy coins directly from Scoreloop, the revenue of which is then split with the developer.
Following Scoreloop came Agon, which is currently the second most widely used social gaming platform on the iPhone. Like Geocade, it came out the gates with leaderboards that could be geographically filtered, game achievements, and user profiles. However, Agon's big feature was that it took very little effort to stick into games; one line of code in fact.
Since release, Agon has put out two incremental updates that added a few more features to the mix. The first one added landscape orientation (so that players could use it with their device turned sideways), saved game data sync, and a way to publish high scores to Twitter and Facebook. This was followed up with the introduction of profiles, which would let multiple users share gaming profiles on the same device.
Right after Agon's release, Open Feint launched its second iteration. Released during Apple's World Wide Developer's conference, version 2.0 included a universal log-in--one that could be used across all Open Feint-enabled games, and across multiple devices. It also made it easier to discover other Open Feint-enabled titles that other users were playing, regardless of whether or not you were friends with them. This gave the service a social pulse, as you could see which games were getting the most attention at any given time.
Plus+ is one of the most exclusive iPhone game networks. Developers have to pitch their wares to get access to its SDK.
(Credit: CNET)Following the release of Agon and Open Feint 2.0 was Plus+ (reads: plus plus) from publisher Ngmoco. Unlike all of the other networks mentioned thus far, Plus+ was introduced as a "premium" network, and one without an open SDK. This meant that developers would have to pitch their apps to get a crack at using the service. As a result of this, Plus+ remains one of the least-used services, but one with some very high-profile games.
For players, Plus+'s core features included a profile system, friend challenges, achievements, leaderboards, social score comparison, and social score publishing to Twitter and Facebook. It also had its own status message system that lets players post what they're doing for other Plus+ users to see. Developers, on the other hand, could get placement within other Plus+ apps, a way to push out notifications of game challenges, and a built-in analytics engine that could show them more information about the players who are using their game.
Ngmoco's approach with Plus+ would later lead other game publishers to launch their own systems. The latest is Crystal from Chillingo, which is currently in an invite-only beta. Like the others, it includes leaderboards, achievements, cross-promotion and social publishing to Facebook and Twitter. Chillingo is also letting developers completely re-skin it to match their apps.
Other publishers, however are keeping their tools to themselves. This includes Gameloft, which has what it calls "Gameloft Live," a service that includes a friends list, live chat, achievements, a mail network, and scoring system. It was originally launched last year for the company's mobile games, before being retooled for Gameloft's iPhone games in late 2009. Unlike the other solutions, the social service cannot be plugged into third-party titles--just Gameloft's latest releases.
Bigger is better
While competition has spawned better features among these services, the future brings a growing need for a more unified network. Even if all these networks begin to become impossible to differentiate, users are eventually going to want a less-disjointed platform when jumping from game to game, and app to app. Thus far Facebook, and even Twitter to some degree have provided that constant, just by giving users a way to log in to these platforms.
The unification can shake out in a number of ways though, the most likely of which is consolidation. Open Feint can continue to grow until it's snatched up by a larger company (like Apple). Or it can begin absorbing, or muscling out the other, less popular networks.
As mentioned before, Apple plays a big part in this: not only in how it changes the hardware, but also how it continues to evolve the business of the App Store and information sharing between applications. But that's not to say the company is in complete control. At the moment, developers--and not Apple--are calling the shots on which one of these mini-social networks is, and will continue to be, No. 1.
What's new? Let's start with the Now Playing and What's Hot buttons.
(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)Fans of Midomi, the song-identifying app for iPhone, will still recognize the app when the iPhone prompts an update to version 3.0, even if they don't recognize the new name: SoundHound. The app's core remains the same with its outsize orange button you tap to sing, hum, or record a song you want to ID, buttressed by another button for shier folk to speak the artist or song name, and a text field for old-fashioned typing. What's new is big, and it centers on two additional tabs below, one that lets you browse music trends and another that links up to your iPod library.
Tap "What's Hot" to pull up trend charts for the most popular songs on the Midomi network; the songs that are played more through Midomi than they are on the air; and a list of the most recently "grabbed" tunes that SoundHound and Midomi.com users have identified.
Following any musical entry pulls up an info page from which you can flow into an artist bio, bookmark or share the details, buy the song via iTunes, or watch available YouTube videos. A new lyrics feature presents the words to the tunes within the Midomi app; if that's not available, tapping the "lyrics" button produces Google search results, still within the app.
Midomi's SoundHound also cleverly hooks into your iPhone's iPod library through the "Now Playing" button. The songs you play through SoundHound get funneled into the Midomi network, so you can rapidly interact with your ditty as you would had you sought it out by typing, talking, humming, or recording the tune. Even better, SoundHound can show lyrics for your iTunes song as it plays. Likewise, if your music search turns up a song you've already got, an icon denotes the fact, and lets you play the tune from your own collection.
The robustness of the lyrics feature and the trend charts crowd in on TuneWiki's territory, and threaten to overtake it. Shazam, the other popular music discovery app, could also find itself on SoundHound's lunch menu, except for its loyal following and free price. Even the premium Shazam Encore may continue to appeal to some for its now slightly cheaper price tag and a handy offline mode, but its features pale in comparison.
The cost of owning Midomi 3.0/SoundHound does jump in this release from $4.99 to $6.99, presumably to accommodate the cost of licensing lyrics, though we haven't been able to confirm this yet with the app's publisher, Melodis. What we do know is that with this release, SoundHound is jetting to the front of the music discovery pack, which can only mean more sophisticated improvements down the line for its competitors.
Trillian IM is finally available to iPhone users.
(Credit: Trillian)It took a few months, but finally, Trillian IM is available to iPhone and iPod Touch users through Apple's App Store. The application costs $4.99.
Cerulean Studios, the company that created Trillian, said that Trillian for iPhone sports several features users will already find on the company's desktop software. The app displays contacts, grouped and sorted by their respective categories. Users can also view multiple chat windows in a tabbed display. Thanks to updates Apple has made to the iPhone and iPod Touch, Trillian for iPhone also supports copy and paste. As with Trillian for the desktop, users can set their status, choose an avatar, and set up different status messages.
Because the app is always connected to Cerulean Studios' Astra server, users can synchronize content across multiple IM clients. In other words, any changes made on the iPhone version of the app will immediately be reflected on the company's Windows client and the user's Astra profile. Any contacts users add will also be synchronized with their other clients.
According to Cerulean Studios, all chats are maintained on the server, so they are kept in case of a lost connection. The app will also alert users when they receive an instant message, regardless of whether Trillian for iPhone is open or not. When an IM is received, users will see a dialog box, hear the Trillian IM-notification sound, and be able to start Trillian and reply to the person.
Those interested in using Trillian for iPhone will first need a Trillian Astra account. Luckily, the iPhone app allows users to sign up for Astra from within the app.
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
Despite increasingly better software, blogging on phones is still a real pain compared with doing it on a regular computer. However, credit is due to WordPress, which has gone to great lengths to make the latest version of its iPhone app much better for users to both create and manage their blogs on a small screen (and without a keyboard).
Besides a new look, one of the biggest changes is that the app remembers exactly what you were doing between sessions, so that if you quit it, or get a phone call, it will take you right back to the page or menu you were looking at. This also keeps you from losing anything you hadn't saved if you're interrupted--even if you were in the middle of a writing a sentence when your phone rang. This should change the beginning of such a conversation from "I am so mad at you right now" to a simple "hello."
In addition to remembering what you were doing, the app does a much better job at letting you manage user comments. The approval screen itself looks almost identical, but the app now lets you quickly switch between the ones that have been approved and the ones that still need to be looked at. It also displays each users' Gravatar (user icon) next to their username and URL, which ends up taking up a little more space than it did in the previous iteration of the app but adds a sense of familiarity with its desktop sibling.
Other small changes include the app remembering which order you uploaded the photos in so that they display in that same order in your post. Although the app still hasn't been updated to include videos, which means 3GS owners will have to add whatever video they shot through WordPress' Web interface instead. The app also now stores passwords in a user's keychain, which means those credentials could be accessed by other applications you may want to give access to later on down the line--like, say an app that lets you post videos to a WordPress blog.
Oddly enough, the new WordPress app is completely different from the original, which still exists but will no longer be updated. The company attributes this to having switched between having an outside contractor make the first version, whereas this new one was built in-house.
The new look makes it simply to hop between comments, posts and pages. User Gravatars are now visible too.
(Credit: WordPress)Adobe Systems on Friday introduced a new Photoshop app for iPhone users that lets them edit photos from both their phone and their online library on Photoshop.com.
The app is free of charge and offers tools such as cropping, image rotation, color controls, and simple one-touch filter effects that can change the look and feel of shots all at once. It also features undo and redo controls so that if users make a mistake, or want to revert back to the original, it takes just a few taps.
As soon as users are done editing any photo, they can either save it back to their phone or upload it to their Photoshop.com account. The app also doubles as a photo-taking tool since you can simply take a photo, then have it upload right away.
What makes the app notable (besides from being from Adobe) is that the entire editing control set works off gestures. Instead of using dials or sliders, users just need to swipe their finger across the screen to change things such as brightness or color values. The same goes for its filters, which can be whisked from one end of the screen to the other instead of taking up more screen real estate or using a drop-down menu. It's one of the more intuitive control methods I've seen on a mobile photo-editing app, and can be quite precise once you get the hang of it.
The app is available now and is free of charge, although Adobe's free Photoshop.com service has a 2GB limit, which can be expanded with an annual paid storage plan.
Photoshop for iPhone lets you do all sorts of things to your photos, including beaming them back to Photoshop.com when you're done.
(Credit: CNET / Josh Lowensohn)More pics after the break.
... Read more
At one time or another, most of us have recommended an iPhone/iPod Touch app to friends or family members--usually by tweeting, e-mailing, or Facebooking about it.
Yappler Sync takes that concept to the next level, allowing you to build a custom list of the apps you like and then share that list via the social solution of your choice.
At the same time, Yappler Sync helps you discover more cool apps by perusing the lists built by others.
All you do is install the eponymous utility, which is available for Windows and Mac, then build your list and decide how to share it.
Unfortunately, I discovered a few irksome aspects of the service, starting with this: Yappler builds your list based on every app in your iTunes library, not just those currently in residence on your iPhone. Thus I ended up with some 270 apps to cull--and they weren't even listed alphabetically.
Meanwhile, it's not immediately clear how you're supposed to "discover" other users' lists (unless they're shared with you directly). The Yappler site catalogs all the apps in the App Store (84,000 and counting, in case you're wondering), with a handy advanced-search option that lets you specify criteria like price and rating.
But the only way to find other users and their lists is by perusing the reviews for any given app, then looking for clickable usernames. And once you do find another user's list, all you really get is a batch of icons. So JoeAppUser has Buzzingo on his iPhone--how does that really enlighten me?
Of course, Yappler Sync is more about the social aspect of app-sharing, hence the ties to Facebook, Twitter, and the like. And it's nice how it can automatically update your list when you install new apps. Plus, it's free, so I can complain only so much.
On the other hand, this isn't much different from posting, say, a list of books you've read. Without knowing more about each book and, more importantly, why you liked it, where's the value?
The official Flickr app for iPhone and iPod Touch offers search, browse, and upload features.
Better late than never? Following in the footsteps of countless third-party efforts, Flickr has finally made its official debut in the App Store.
The app hits the ground running--make that scrolling--with a slick Ken Burns-style slideshow of hand-picked images from the site.
An initial tap of the Recent, You, or Contacts button along the bottom leads you through a one-time authorization process (which requires a visit to Safari), after which you gain access to the respective user-account features on Flickr.
You can also search for photos and videos, of course, and do all the usual stuff with whatever you find: add to favorites, share via e-mail, leave a comment, etc.
Of course, the main appeal here is uploading: You can snap and upload a photo on the fly or choose an existing snapshot from your library. The app lets you assign the photo to a set, add tags (including a geotag from your current location), and choose a privacy level.
In short, the official Flickr app does just about everything you'd want it to (except batch uploads, that is), and with simplicity and style. It's free, of course, and it works with both free and Pro accounts.
So this begs the question: is there an existing third-party app that "does Flickr" better than Flickr's own app? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Apple might have let one slip by. An app that looks awfully similar to the Nintendo DS is now available in its App Store.
Does that look like a Nintendo DS to you?
(Credit: ZM2 Dev)Dubbed DS Double Sys, the iPhone app from ZM2 Dev "can turn your device into a 'Handheld Game Console.'" When users boot up the app, the DS's familiar design is featured on the screen, including its dual displays. App owners can change the color of the DS to match their real-life version, zoom in on individual screens, and even play games. ZM2 Dev said that gamers receiving higher scores on its Pixel Mania title will be able to unlock more DS colors and a "secret game."
According to the app's App Store listing, more games, case colors, and microphone functionality will be made available at some point in the future.
After fielding several complaints over its app-approval policy, it seems rather ironic that Apple would allow an app that looks (and works) exactly like a Nintendo DS into its App Store. That said, it could have something to do with the way the app works.
Early last month, Apple rejected a Commodore 64 emulator called C64 that was trying to gain entry into its App Store. The app, which allowed owners to use Commodore BASIC, also allowed users to play authentic Commodore 64 titles. In a rejection notice sent to the app's developers, Apple cited section 3.2.2 of its iPhone Developer's Agreement, which states that "an application may not itself install or launch other executable code by any means."
DS Double Sys is not, theoretically, an emulator. The game is a simulation of a Nintendo DS. That might have helped the app gain admission into the App Store.
Regardless, it should be interesting to see how long it stays in the store. Nintendo can't be happy about an app that costs $4.99 depicting its hardware. And if more games are made available, it might cause even more trouble for the app's developers.
Look for more news on this once Nintendo catches wind of it.
Via Gizmodo (Link)
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
(Credit:
Rflygd)
Pastie is a new iPhone app that makes it possible to send ready-made text messages or e-mails to people on your contact list. This feature has been around on other phones for ages, but the iPhone has long gone without one.
Pastie's method for improving the sending of e-mail or SMS messages is to let the user create a directory of pre-written messages. These can be set up to be copied to the clipboard, or sent to the SMS or e-mail applications. As a user you can decide this at the time you click on it, or when you're building the preset.
If you frequently find yourself sending an e-mail or a text message to a particular contact, this app can be immensely helpful since there's the option to assign it to a specific number of e-mail address. For instance, several times a day I send out group e-mails telling my colleagues at work what story I'm currently working on. With Pastie you can create a preset that fills in the recipient and subject lines for you, which can save much keyboard pecking.
Each Pastie has an icon to let you know what will happen when you click on it, and if it's assigned to one of your contacts, you can see who it is with a little thumbnail.
(Credit: CNET)A few things that are on the way in a future version of the app is a way to send e-mails to multiple contacts at once, as well as being able to add text to the body of the e-mail (currently you can only fill out the subject). There will also be a Coverflow-like way to browse through your items, besides the current list form. One thing that's not in the cards--and that I hope is added, is a text countdown meter so that you know if you're reaching the limit of a text message, or a reoccurring Twitter update template you've created.
There are two flavors of Pastie--the lite which is free, and the full version which costs $1.99. The free version is just as capable as the full, but limited to just three presets at a time. You can make as many as you want, but you'll have to get rid of one anytime you want to make a new one.
The enormous demo video of how it works is after the break.
... Read more
MP3 players serve many purposes in our lives. They drown out the crazies on public transportation, keep our road rage in check during rush hour, ensure that we're entertained on long flights, and help us stay motivated at the gym. In fact, one of the top reasons why people buy portable audio devices is to have them as fitness companions. And you may not know it just by looking at them, but the iPhone and iPod Touch are excellent tools for watching your weight and keeping in shape--you just need the proper enhancements.
First and foremost, if you're going to be exposing your skinny little iPod to the indelicate environs of the gym, make sure you wrap it up in a nice, protective case. Then it's onto the fun stuff: apps. The iPhone and iPod Touch have a vast array of third-party applications tailored for just about any purpose you can put your mind to, and that includes fitness. But rather than letting you wade through the sea of options out there (and, in fact, maybe ocean is a more appropriate metaphor), we've rounded up five of our favorite fitness apps right here. OK, OK...actually, there are seven, but we just couldn't resist throwing in some tangentially related selections.
