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Filed under: Gaming, Software, Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store

Digital Chocolate: We're owning single-digit search on the App Store

We've mentioned Digital Chocolate and their App Store releases before, of course, and we've even mentioned just how prevalent they are -- they've been extremely prolific in releasing new titles, and as a result, they've posted on their website that they are more or less ubiquitous in search results. They say on their official blog that any search of a "single digit" on the App Store search window has about a 20% chance of pulling up a Digital Chocolate release. If you search for "D," "H" or "3," they're the number one hit. I don't actually know anyone that searches "D" anywhere ("You know what I really want to play tonight? A 'D' related game!"), but it just shows how many releases they've got out there.

That does get them plenty of downloads -- they also say that they're number one in downloads on the platform as a whole, with 40 million downloads already of their software, with 1.5 million reviews (!) total -- but I think it says more about the App Store in general, and that we're not quite as far along as it might seem. If one company could so easily own, say, Amazon's search, you'd just say that Amazon needed a bigger catalog, no? 85,000 is certainly a lot of apps (especially in the realm of mobile software), but in terms of the platform's progress as a whole, it's still in its infancy.

So we're definitely in for more growth. Even Digital Chocolate sounds a little surprised that they're so prevalent, and I think as the App Store ecosystem grows and we get more and more companies with popular titles in different areas, we'll see the search results become more diverse.

Filed under: Gaming, Freeware, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Call of Duty for the iPhone will track your World at War kills

Activision has released Call of Duty for the iPhone... but don't get too excited, it's not exactly what you think. The first-person shooter hasn't quite been ported yet. Instead, they've released a "Call of Duty: World at War companion," which instead lets you track the activity on the popular World War II shooter game. You can track all of your ingame stats, and even follow your friends in the game and what they've done with their characters as well. And the app also comes with a news browser, to keep you up to date on the latest map releases and updates with the game. It's completely free, though you of course need a Call of Duty: World of War game for Xbox 360 or Playstation to actually get anything out of it.

In that sense, this app isn't quite so notable for what it is (World at War wasn't nearly as popular as Call of Duty 4, and this app is specifically about Treyarch's game), as what it portends: with Blizzard releasing their Armory app and a few other game companies releasing "companion" apps like this, we could be in for a very interesting holiday videogame season this year. Ports or translations of games don't do much to sell copies of the real games (as they tend to be either too similar or too different to the parent games), but "companions" like this can represent added functionality, and thus can do a lot to help and promote games on other platforms (imagine a Halo ODST app that sent you a push notification when your friend was playing or got a higher XP score than you did). This is far from the last we'll see of "companion" apps like this.

Fluent Mobile releases the first news aggregator iPhone app

Fluent Mobile has released an innovative news oriented iPhone app that may be a game changer. The Fluent Mobile app aggregates mobile ready content from multiple content providers. According to M:Metrics in January of this year, mobile news sites were visited over 63 million times and the number is growing. This is a huge market.

Currently 1.5% of all web content is Google optimized and nicely formatted for mobile devices and the number is increasing. Fluent Mobile takes advantage of this content and aggregates it, creating a news portal with content from Bloomberg for business, ESPN for sports, The Washington Post, CNN, Fox News and USA Today, among others, for news. Upon launch, content will be provided by 32 separate sources and more will be added as relevant sites become mobile enhanced. For the first time an app provides one-stop shopping for news.

The information is organized well, allowing you to choose from a number of categories including U.S. News, Entertainment, Sports, Business, and Travel.

Continue readingFluent Mobile releases the first news aggregator iPhone app

Filed under: iPhone

iPhone 3G S update: UPS places hold on shipments

Reports are coming in from readers that UPS is placing a hold on iPhone 3G S deliveries. Several readers submitted the above screenshot or e-mails detailing tracking information, all referring back to the delivery hold. The original tracking information indicated that these phones were originally scheduled to be delivered on Thursday, one day before the iPhone 3G S goes on sale.

Edit (12:30 a.m. PT): Just to note that the delay on this is most likely U.S. Customs-related and not Apple. If you do get your phone in hand before the 19th, be sure to let us know!

Thanks to all who submitted this!

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, OS, Software, iPhone, iPod touch

The Sims 3 coming to Mac and iPhone Summer 2009


The Sims 3 is the latest iteration of the best-selling computer game in history -- it features the ability to custom-make and create your Sims and their surroundings, and explore the neighborhoods and cities that they live in. But even more strangely, it's set for an almost simultaneous release on PC, Mac, the iPhone and the iPod touch. The popularity of iPhone apps may have done what Mac gamers couldn't do for years: convince developers that releasing their games simultaneously on Mac and PC was worth it. While EA only has a release date for the PC version so far (June 2), the company is saying that Mac, iPhone and the iPod touch versions will be out in "Summer of 2009," which is much better than, say, years later.

Of course, we'll have to believe it when we see it -- EA uses Transgaming for their Mac ports, and they've left a little bit to be desired so far. But just the fact that they plan an almost concurrent release for the sequel to one of the biggest games of all time bodes very well. The Sims 3 probably won't make too many waves in the hardcore PC gaming set, but anytime a major publisher plans a simultaneous release for a big title, we definitely give a nod of approval.

[via IMG]

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Developer, iPhone, App Store

Tap Tap Revolution to be sold by Tapulous, called Tap Tap Revenge


Nate True, iPhone developer extraordinaire and friend of TUAW (but who isn't, really), has sold off his Tap Tap Revolution game to a company called Tapulous, and they're renaming it Tap Tap Revenge and are going to try selling it in the iPhone's (and iPod touch's) App Store. The game isn't much tweaked from its jailbroken incarnation, but there is a chaotic two-player mode, seen above, that could be a lot of fun. I've never played the original version, so I have no idea what's up with the shaking, but it looks like it incorporates some accelerometer fun as well.

If you're a super TTR fan, Tapulous tells us that they've got a wallpaper to download on their site right now, and that more videos will be coming out over the weekend, so stay tuned. All these games are looking terrific, but of course the one thing we haven't heard confirmed from any of them is when and if they'll be showing up on the App Store. That, it seems, is up to Apple. It doesn't matter how many games you've got ready to go -- if Apple doesn't have them set for download right away, both the devs and iPhone owners will miss a nice opportunity.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Retail, Rumors, Apple, Macbook Pro, MacBook, Holidays

Rumor: New MacBooks before the holidays



Switch to a Mac has performed the old Macrumors trick of predicting Apple releases based on when the product was last updated, and according to their research, we're supposed to see new MacBooks and MacBook Pros before the holidays. On average, they're seeing just under 200 days between releases for both, and so they expect updates to the line before the end of November.

If you want my professional opinion (and I'll assume you did because you came here to read it), that's all bunk. I waited months and months while Macrumors' page said "don't buy - updates soon" on the iPod, hoping against hope that I would be able to get an iPod with a touchscreen, and it was just days after I finally broke down and bought a Video iPod that Apple announced the iPhone. I have no doubts that there will be a portable update soon over at Apple (in fact, I know that someone over at our sister site Engadget is waiting until January to buy an iPhone just in case there's a new revision announced soon), but I would say that before the end of November is a little too soon.

Still, if you're planning to buy a new MacBook or Pro and can stand to wait a few weeks, you just might want to. As usual, we guarantee nothing, and personally I doubt it'll happen, but if Switch's reasoning seems sound to you, give it a week or two and just maybe you won't be left out in the cold if Apple launches new MacBooks in early winter.

Thanks, Robert!

Update: Figures. I have to wait months for a new iPod, but when I post my doubts about using the same system to predict a MacBook update, I'm way wrong. And the Pros got updated, too. Good times.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Retail, Rumors, Software, Odds and ends

FIFA '08 headed to Mac?


Inside Mac Games reports that one of their readers, while registering FIFA '08 for the PC on the Windows side of Boot Camp, noticed that EA has both PC and Mac versions of the uberpopular soccer -- sorry, football -- videogame listed for registration. And that's a pretty good indication, of course, that FIFA '08 is on its way for the Mac.

Personally, I've never really gotten into videogame soccer-- the last soccer game I really loved was Nintendo World Cup way back in 1990. And while I hear that Winning Eleven is the biggest star in the genre right now (although Sensible Soccer, I know, has its fans), FIFA is definitely still competitive. Lots of football fans, I'm sure, would love to see it on the Mac.

So we'll see. Obviously no release date yet (although a good guess would be by the end of '08 -- snicker), and we'll see if EA just slipped up or if they really plan to release this one. But FIFA '08 would be yet another nice addition to the growing line of games for our platform.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software

Madden, Tiger Woods '08 now available on Apple Store


As a couple of you astute readers have noticed (thanks!), Madden NFL '08 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour '08 are now available on the Apple Store, just a little over a month after they were released for PC and consoles last August. A month isn't too bad for Mac ports-- at least the football season is still going on.

I haven't played this year's Madden yet, but I can wholeheartedly vouch for Tiger Woods-- I've been playing the Xbox 360 version of it, and it is some good (if sometimes very difficult, read: frustrating) golf. If you do pick up either game, however, make sure to check your innards first-- neither game will work on Intel's GMA950 graphics processors, found in the MacBook and the Mac mini. If you're boasting a MacBook Pro, a Mac Pro, or a new iMac, you're in the clear, as they use higher end video cards.

So there's what EA's got. id, you're next.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, Apple

EA selling games in the Apple Store

As many of you pointed out over the weekend (thanks, everybody!), EA must be big fans of TUAW-- we called them out on Thursday for not catering to the Mac as they'd promised, and on Friday they dropped a press release that the exact four games we'd called MIA were now available in the Apple Store (and sure enough, they are). As our good friends over at Joystiq noted, EA also promises that those games will also be available in brick-and-mortar Apple stores by the end of August, with Tiger and Madden coming later this year.

So: redemption, or too little too late? Either way, I doubt EA cares. While it's nice that they're reading, and clearly the announcement of the release shows they're interested in keeping their word (at least a few weeks after they promised to keep it, anyway), I really think that releasing these games will only tell EA what they already knew: Mac owners don't buy their games. Be serious: how many of you readers are really going to hit the link above and buy Battlefield 2142 right now? I didn't think so.

But that doesn't mean that EA's right to ditch us completely, either. If you were a Madden fan, and showed up to Gamestop to buy '08 with a choice of two options: PC or Mac, which one would you take? The Mac version, obviously. Unfortunately, the Madden Mac version isn't coming out until the season is half over, so no one actually had that choice last Tuesday.

Bottom line: it's nice that EA put these games in the Apple store (eventually), but we're still getting leftovers. You can't offer us games months or years after they come out, and then claim the fact they don't sell well is the reason why no one wants them.

Filed under: Software, Cool tools, Productivity, Internet Tools

FlickrExport for Aperture 1.0


Fraser Speirs was happy to announce this morning the official 1.0 release of his FlickrExport for Aperture plugin, which provides a direct conduit for your works of art to the heavenly nirvana of Flickr. I don't own Aperture, but the plugin seems to have the same UI and functionality as his #1 smash hit: FlickrExport for iPhoto (though it should be noted that on his product page, Frasier makes it clear that the existence of a feature in one of the plugins does not necessitate its existence in the other). Pricing for the Aperture plugin is $26.25 USD (or £14), and a cross-grades from the iPhoto plugin can be had for 50% off by using your FlickrExport for iPhoto serial number as a coupon code. Clever, Mr. Speirs.

Demos of both plugins are of course offered, and Apple (finally!) released a 30-day test drive of Aperture last month, so you really have no excuse for not checking these bad boys out. I was a user of the iPhoto plugin since the early days, and I gladly dropped the cash for a license.

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