Sega’s new app lets you remotely win prizes from a real claw machine in Japan

If you've ever wanted to play around on a claw machine without all the hassle of leaving your house -- or even standing up -- technology has come through for you. Sega has launched a new mobile apps, Sega Catcher Online, that lets you do exactly that...

Summing Up Mobile Gaming In 2013 With A Single Word… Freemium


If there is one area of mobile game development that has come to prominence in 2013  it’s freemium. This payment model has proven to be a financial success for many companies and now dominates the...
    






FreedomPop Phone Service Launches with Free 200 Minutes, 500 Texts and 500MB Data Each Month


FreedomPop jumps into the mobile operators' business with its all new IP-based voice and messaging communications services. The point of worry for other operators is its free phone service plan that...

FreedomPop intros a free plan: includes 200 voice minutes, 500 texts and 500MB of data per month

FreedomPop intros a free plan: includes 200 voice minutes, 500 texts and 500MB of data per month

It's no longer a summertime tease: FreedomPop's freemium mobile phone service is now officially a go. Launched in beta today, the operator's basic plan offers consumers a voice/text/data bundle that nets them 200 anytime minutes, 500 texts and 500MBs for the price of, well, nothing per month -- and it's contract-free, too. There's also a more robust unlimited voice and text package for chattier users that runs about $11/mo. Keep in mind, FreedomPop's network piggybacks on Sprint 3G, WiMAX and LTE, so coverage, reception and call quality (it's VoIP) will be vary depending on your location and any data overages will cost you $0.01/MB and $10/GB.

It's not all free champagne and strawberries, though -- there is an actual price of entry, and it comes in the form of HTC's EVO Design, offered at a very reasonable $99. Users accustomed to more device choice will have to hold out until later this year, as FreedomPop does plan to add other Android devices to its lineup. For now, though, it's extremely slim pickings. But can you really look a gift horse in the mouth? We didn't think so, freeloaders.

Filed under: , , ,

Comments

Vectrex Regeneration for iOS recreates the vector-based console we never got to play

Vectrex Regeneration for iOS recreates the vectorbased console we never got to play

Among those of us old enough to have played first-generation game consoles, few will have tried a Vectrex; we typically clung to the familiar Atari 2600 or rebelled with the still very mainstream Intellivision. Thanks to Rantmedia Games' new Vectrex Regeneration for iOS, though, we can generate some what-if nostalgia. The app emulates the tall, vector-based system down to its idiosyncratic noises and color overlays, and those with the foresight to own an iCade controller get an extra dose of authenticity. Anyone with at least an iPad 2 or an iPhone 4 can try the freemium title with a free copy of Minestorm to experiment; if they're fully inclined to drive down memory lane, a $7 Mega Pack will unlock 17-plus original games as well as newer indie releases. Vectrex Regeneration won't make our parents have second thoughts about their holiday gift choices circa 1982, but it's cheap enough to provide a valuable (and potentially fun) history lesson.

Filed under: , , ,

Comments

Via: Joystiq

Source: App Store

Microsoft opens Windows Phone Dev Center, limits in-app purchases to Windows Phone 8

Microsoft opens Windows Phone Dev Center, limits inapp purchases to Windows Phone 8

It's a day of mixed blessings if you're a Windows Phone developer. The upside? Microsoft has shelved its old App Hub in favor of the heavily reworked Windows Phone Dev Center: along with being simpler and more reliable, it now lets app designers offer their apps in four times as many countries (three times as many for paid apps), gives them better tracking tools and lets them at last get payment from Microsoft through PayPal. We hope they aren't making too many grand plans to bring Microsoft's newly added in-app purchasing support to every title, however. The counterbalance in this story is confirmation in the Dev Center that any in-app commerce will be limited to Windows Phone 8 -- even devices running Windows Phone 7.8 will have to turn to all-or-nothing transactions to directly generate cash. While we can't say we're surprised, knowing that Microsoft hadn't mentioned legacy support before, the news no doubt dampens the enthusiasm for developers who now need to wait for a wave of new devices before they can join the freemium app gold rush.

Filed under:

Microsoft opens Windows Phone Dev Center, limits in-app purchases to Windows Phone 8 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 11:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Windows Phone Developer Blog, The Verge  |  sourceWindows Phone Dev Center (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

Microsoft opens Windows Phone Dev Center, limits in-app purchases to Windows Phone 8 (update: store rebrand too)

Microsoft opens Windows Phone Dev Center, limits inapp purchases to Windows Phone 8

It's a day of mixed blessings if you're a Windows Phone developer. The upside? Microsoft has shelved its old App Hub in favor of the heavily reworked Windows Phone Dev Center: along with being simpler and more reliable, it now lets app designers offer their apps in four times as many countries (three times as many for paid apps), gives them better tracking tools and lets them at last get payment from Microsoft through PayPal. We hope they aren't making too many grand plans to bring Microsoft's newly added in-app purchasing support to every title, however. The counterbalance in this story is confirmation in the Dev Center that any in-app commerce will be limited to Windows Phone 8 -- even devices running Windows Phone 7.8 will have to turn to all-or-nothing transactions to directly generate cash. While we can't say we're surprised, knowing that Microsoft hadn't mentioned legacy support before, the news no doubt dampens the enthusiasm for developers who now need to wait for a wave of new devices before they can join the freemium app gold rush.

Update: WMPowerUser noticed something in that tiny text on the home page -- the artist formerly known as the Windows Phone Marketplace is now the Windows Phone Store. A small (and still unacknowledged) change, but notable for harmonizing the mobile app shop with the Windows Store on the desktop.

Filed under:

Microsoft opens Windows Phone Dev Center, limits in-app purchases to Windows Phone 8 (update: store rebrand too) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 11:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Windows Phone Developer Blog, The Verge  |  sourceWindows Phone Dev Center (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments