China Telecom (NYSE: CHA) todayannounced it had reached an agreement with Apple to sell its iPhone 4S beginning on March 9. China Telecom will begin accepting online orders on March 2. Subscribers who commit to a two year contract can get a 16 GB iPhone 4S for $62 USD per month.
In its press release, China Telecom expressed its commitment to successfully market the iPhone 4S:
“Following the launch of iPhone 4S, China Telecom will make an appropriate increase in marketing initiatives for the profitable scale development of its mobile services, which is expected to significantly enhance its long term sustainable growth and value creation despite the short term pressure on its profitability.”
China Telecom becomes the second carrier to offer iPhones in China. The company currently has over 100 million mobile subscribers. The world’s largest mobile operator by number of subscribers, China Mobile, currently offers iPhones.
Late last year, an Angry Bird plush toy was taken aboard a Russian space flight on a mission to the International Space Station (see our story here). Today Rovio Mobile, the company behind the hugely successful Angry Birds franchise, announced their flock will be traveling to space again but this time inside a new app set to launch next month on March 22.
Rovio Mobile today released a teaser video trailer for the newest game in their series, Angry Birds Space:
This will be the fourth game in the series following the original Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Rio. Details about the new game are scarce but rest assured we’ll let you know when more information is available.
In a giveaway which is becoming a tradition at Apple when an app download number milestone is achieved, the world’s largest company by market capitalization today announced one lucky person will win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card for downloading app number 25 billion. Apple last gave away a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card last year to a person who downloaded the 10 billionth app.
You can also participate by submitting an entry form available here. According to the rules, “either the downloading of the 25 billionth app from the App Store or the receipt of the non-purchase entry after the download of the 24,999,999,999th app, whichever comes first” will determine the winner.
A special page with a live countdown has been posted by Apple and is accessible here. The official rules are available here.
Come fly with Electronic Arts’ Fly With Me, an engaging side-scroller filled with high-speed action, flap management and bees. Lots of bees.
Fly With Me’s controls are simple: Tap to flap. Eat bees to maintain flapping and raise the flap gauge. Eat larger bees for more flap time. If a player flaps too much, their flap gauge sinks and their bird falls to the ground. Wind gusts propel players through tunnels, tree hollows and into side gusts that launch into barrel rolls, creating exciting moments of fast-paced action.
The presentation is vibrant and delightful, with graphics and sounds easy on the eyes and ears. The settings are colorful and menu screens are simple to navigate.
There are three game modes, Levels, Challenge and Kid Mode. Fields, Trees and Tropical make up the three game environments in Levels. Each environment has 15 levels containing 45 stars and 15 golden gears. It takes 20 stars to unlock Trees and 45 stars to unlock Tropical. Collect golden gears and unlock the Robot Bird. The Robot Bird is immune to bad bugs and kills all enemies.
The golden gears and stars will keep players collecting and replaying levels over and over … and over, which can be annoying if a player doesn’t collect the entire three stars. If a player gets to the end of the level and hasn’t collected the three stars, the game doesn’t save the progress on the next try though the game will show your previous attempt in the menu. Golden gears are saved.
Challenge consists of the three game environments and measures how far a player can go while obtaining stars and dodging plenty of enemies such as spiders, fish and the green glowing bad bugs that decrease the flap gauge. Kid Mode is a less challenging version of Levels and can be purchased for $0.99. Robot Bird can also be purchased for $0.99 and unlocks all level sets and challenge modes. Plush Nest Pack unlocks all levels, Robot Bird and Kid Mode for $1.99.
There are plenty of ads in Fly With Me. I started a level and a notification asking if I’d like to purchase Monopoly appeared, sending my bird in a nose dive. Not good.
After going through the options, I found usage sharing checked. According to the info box, Usage Sharing “…improves product quality and user experience by sharing usage information such as game stats, settings, incident or event data, and feature preferences.” It’s unclear how much data is transferred and unlike many apps that ask the user to manually turn this option on, it’s automatically on and potentially sending data the moment the app starts. For those keeping track of their data consumption, this will be something to turn off immediately. Achievements can be found in Game Center and players can log into their EA’s Origin in the game.
Fly With Me is a stripped side-scroller for the iOS with a simple yet engaging game mechanic wrapped in an inviting style anyone can play. While collecting things can be a great side mission, be prepared to get everything on every attempt. In-game ads and Usage Sharing on automatically is concerning.
Pinball Arcade, produced by FarSight Studios, is exactly how it sounds: the ability to play classic pinball on virtual machines via your iOS device complete with all of the flashing lights, extra balls, loops, bumpers, and sounds of a real pinball machine. Even the scores and bonuses appear in the 8-bit text so commonly seen on the scoreboard of pinball machines.
The tables included in the game are Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Black Hole, Theatre of Magic, and Tales of the Arabian Nights. Each table comes complete with a history, a flyer advertising the table, and individual instructions. In the instructions portion, the game walks you through each table, explaining the layout of the table, specials, bonuses, and additional features. You can even zoom in on the table to see certain portions, and helpful arrows appear to point out icons, bumpers, gates, and bonuses.
Pinball Arcade trailer Click here to watch on YouTube
The game offers different options to access the various pinball tables. You can buy all the tables for $8.99, buy an individual table for a certain price (it differs per table), or play the free version (play up to the first High Score available on a table).
I opted for the free version and believe only true pinball enthusiasts would choose to pay so much money for endless play on this app. While all the features of a usual game of pinball are included, right down to the sounds and ‘nudge’ effect, the game is not nearly as intriguing or exciting as having a pinball machine right in front of you. Unfortunately an iOS device can’t compete with sweat dripping off your forehead and your fingers poised on the triggers, aiming to beat the high score flashing above. Pinball is all about the environment, and I’m not sure The Who would be able to write a song about Pinball Arcade.
The controls are relatively easy: press and drag the plunger to release the ball, and a tap on the left or right side of the screen activates that particular flipper. You can even nudge the ball by shaking the screen or by pressing in the upper left or right of the screen (which can be modified through Options).
There are also three different camera angles but each of them do not seem to get the full effect of playing pinball. I must give FarSight Studios credit, however, as the details on the tables are incredible. I feel as though they definitely pinpointed the layout on each table and didn’t miss a detail.
In the end, only true enthusiasts and those who are passionate about pinball (and its history) should decide to purchase this app. For those of us who are generally indifferent to pinball, I found the app very repetitive and not worth the extra money it asks you to pay.
On the heels of the brouhaha between NimbleBit and Zynga (see our storyhere), Electronic Arts today released MONOPOLY Hotels, a free universal app.
In MONOPOLY Hotels, players are charged with the responsibility of buying, building and managing hotels from MONOPOLY’s iconic game. Not only can players take control of 5-star hotels but also try their hand at luring VIP guests like Mr. Potato Head and other characters from Hasbro.
These features are available in the game:
• Take control of MONOPOLY’s luxurious 5-star hotels, from Mediterranean to Boardwalk.
• Upgrade hotel rooms and attract VIP guests, like MR. POTATO HEAD and other HASBRO characters.
• Customize your hotel with fun attractions like cupcake shops, movie theaters and bowling alleys.
• Keep the lights on by managing utilities like the Electric Company and collecting rent from guests.
• Expand your property empire beyond hotels with aquariums and other world-class attractions.
• Learn the secrets of hotel management and how to “Own It All” from MR. MONOPOLY himself!
• Connect with friends via Origin.
It will be interesting to see if NimbleBit accuses Electronic Arts of essentially copying its 2011 iPhone Game of the Year, Tiny Tower. At first blush, the games appear to be graphically different enough from each other. In addition, it will be increasingly difficult to argue all building management games are ripoffs of Tiny Tower instead of simply belonging to a distinct gaming genre.
Baseball Superstars 2012, the latest installment in the Baseball Superstars franchise by GAMEVIL, mixes sports and role playing on a mobile platform. Baseball Superstars 2012 is a moderately entertaining game requiring players to make in-app purchases to keep their players and teams from totally sucking.
Graphically, it’s nice to look at although the juxtaposition of graphics that seem clearly geared towards younger audiences and the oddly frequent appearance of enormously well-endowed, midriff-baring women seemed at odds and made me feel kind of uncomfortable. The baseball-playing portion of the game is the most fun part, and is (luckily) accessible via an Exhibition mode that let’s you play baseball without all of the extra frills.
Baseball Superstars 2012 trailer Click here to watch on YouTube
The controls for this game are simple and straightforward, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll win every game. When at bat, players have two options: hit or bunt in the form of little buttons next to your little batter. Press one of these buttons as the pitch crosses home plate and you are in business.
Hitting pitches takes getting used to however. Timing is a key ingredient here and it’s pretty difficult to get the timing just right. Add to this the fact some opposing pitchers have special super pitches that you can barely even see at all, and you’re in for a frustrating time if you’re just looking to drive home runs out the park every at-bat. It just doesn’t happen.
The pitching controls, on the other hand, work really well. Players slide a finger across a large grid that pops up when you tap on or around home plate. Sliding in different directions results in different pitches with different movement. For example, double tapping on a spot throws a fastball and super pitches can be used by sliding your finger in a circle or other patterns more interesting than a straight line.
While the role playing aspects of the game didn’t really grab me, this is a pretty fun baseball game, and it’s also free (unless you want to fork over real money for player upgrades and other unlockables) which is nice. If you’re looking for a more realistic baseball sim game, you should look elsewhere. But if you’re looking for a way to kill some time, like baseball and don’t want to spend any money, there is fun to be had here.
Apple today made available a beta version of OS X Mountain Lion to developers with over 100 new features. According to a press release, the overarching goal of OS X Mountain Lion is to bring “popular apps and features from iPad® to the Mac® and accelerates the pace of OS X innovation.” A preview version of OS X Mountain Lion is now available to registered Mac developers and Mac users will be able to download the update via the Mac App store in late summer this year.
Here’s a partial list of some of the features you can expect to see in OS X Mountain Lion:
* Messages (a new app to replace iChat)
* Notes
* Reminders
* Game Center
* Notification Center
* Share Sheets (share links, photos and videos directly from Apple and third party apps)
* Twitter integration (tweet from Safari, Quick Look, Photo Booth, Preview & 3rd party apps)
* AirPlay® Mirroring (wirelessly send video stream of what’s on your Mac to Apple TV)
Apple is also introducing a new security feature, Gatekeeper:
“Gatekeeper is a revolutionary new security feature that gives you control over which apps can be downloaded and installed on your Mac. You can choose to install apps from any source, just as you do on a Mac today, or you can use the safer default setting to install apps from the Mac App Store, along with apps from developers that have a unique Developer ID from Apple. For maximum security, you can set Gatekeeper to only allow apps from the Mac App Store to be downloaded and installed.”
One of the most interesting features is the introduction of Game Kit APIs which make it “possible to create multiplayer games that work across Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.” While not totally clear, this could mean the creation of “super universal” apps which work across all iOS and Mac devices. Right now, “universal” apps are those optimized to work with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. This move would undoubtedly lead to the Mac App Store offering hundreds of thousands of apps instead of the roughly 10,000 currently available.
In conjunction with the announcement, Apple also released a video tour of OS X Mountain Lion:
You can read the full press release by clicking here.
