Apps

iOS app revenues four times higher than Google Play

Apple's iOS platform generates four times as much revenue as Google's app store, Google Play, according to a new study.

In its first research report (PDF), App Annie Intelligence, an app analytics company, reported that Apple is pulling in four times as much revenue from iOS sales as Google does from sales of apps for the Android platform.

However, the study, reported on by The Next Web, also suggested that Apple's App Store is a far more mature business than Google Play -- and has less upside over time. According to the App Annie report, Google Play … Read more

Curiosity's difficult debut, moment by moment

Peter Molyneux and his team of six programmers at 22Cans scrambled to cope when their first game, Curiosity, arrived on Apple's App Store a day early and high demand walloped the company's servers.

Here's a blow-by-blow look at how the English startup struggled through the launch and eventually recovered its poise. For a look at Molyneux' plans for the cube-tapping game, check our related coverage of 22Cans' Curiosity and other video game plans.

October 31: 22Cans, a startup closely watched in gaming circles based on Molyneux's decades-long track record, posts on its Facebook page that its … Read more

Curiosity: Behind the amazing success (and disaster) of a mobile gaming hit

For storied video game designer Peter Molyneux, November 6 was supposed to be the calm before the storm. But it became the storm itself when his newest project, Curiosity, arrived a day early and exploded in popularity.

Molyneux's new gaming startup, 22Cans, planned to launch Curiosity on November 7. Twenty-two hours ahead of time, though, Apple's App Store published the "experiment," which is something like letting thousands of people pop the same sheet of bubble wrap at the same time.

So began a roller-coaster ride that combined a humiliating server failure with an intriguing new take … Read more

Create a Web site right on your iPhone

It's been about 18 months since I first wrote about Zapd, a clever app that lets you build simple, attractive Web sites using nothing more than your iPhone.

Why would you want to do that? To chronicle something cool, of course, like a wedding, vacation, party, or even a work project. I mean, your photos are already in the phone, right? The next logical step is to publish them where friends and family can have a look.

Of course, most such events involve your friends, family members, and/or co-workers, who will no doubt be snapping photos of their … Read more

Mozilla invests in Everything.me, marking first VC foray

Mozilla has taken its first step into the VC world, investing in Everything.me to support the startup's efforts in creating HTML5 mobile app technology.

Mozilla was one of several investors in a new $25 million round for Everything.me. The investment was led by the Silicon Valley-based venture team of Telefonica Digital, and it also includes funding from SingTel Innov8 and previous investors including Draper Fisher Jurvetson, DFJTF, BRM Group, and Horizons Ventures.

Everything.me, formerly DoAT, provides technology that enables smartphones to quickly and easily match a user's needs with the most relevant HTML5 content. The … Read more

Robots invade iPad with content-rich app

I was once served tea by Honda's Asimo, arguably the most advanced humanoid robot in the world.

Watching the machine sidle up to my table and serve the tea with the elegance of a veteran waiter, and then bow to me before retreating, was nothing short of astonishing.

The experience reinforced my belief that no matter how many times you see robots in photos or videos, nothing can match a real-life experience.

Asimo can be hard to meet, but with a lavishly illustrated new educational app from IEEE Spectrum, you can get interactive with him and 125 other bots -- from Rethink Robotics' Baxter assembly bot to Waseda University's keyboard-playing Wabot 2, and learn all about them. It's the next best thing to seeing robots up close. … Read more

Kill mobile ads with Adblock Plus for Android

Released yesterday, Adblock Plus for Android offers a no-nonsense way to completely remove ads from your mobile computing experience. Simply download and install the app, and let it run behind the scenes. From there, you should notice that display ads, video ads, push notifications, and even many in-app ads are no more.

So far, I've seen AdBlock Plus kill ads on several Web sites, including Google, and within the ad-supported Pandora app. According to its developers, though, AdBlock Plus does not work when browsing with Firefox for Android, since Firefox does not support Android's system proxy settings.

Adblock … Read more

Minecraft Reality brings virtual blocks to the real world

After downloading Minecraft Reality for iOS, I channeled Queen's epic song "Bohemian Rhapsody" and asked myself, "Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?"

Fortunately, the answer to both questions is "yes." The $1.99 app, released yesterday, gives gamers the opportunity to view their Minecraft creations in the real world -- through the lens of augmented reality. … Read more

Crave giveaway: Vinci Tab II tablet for kids

Congrats to David A. of Torrington, Conn., for winning a Guild Wars 2 Collector's Edition and five game access codes in last week's giveaway. This week's prize is the best Black Friday deal you could possibly get -- a free Android touch-screen tablet designed, tested, and FDA-approved for children 18 months and older.

Yes, the 7-inch Vinci Tab II is a tablet just for children -- or, as my CNET colleague James Martin likes to call it, a "chablet." It comes preloaded with educational material designed to simulate a kindergarten curriculum and aimed at engaging developing minds in areas such as social skills; language and literacy; and math and logical reasoning. Apps can be used in English, French, Spanish, and Chinese. … Read more