angry birds

After more than two years of suffering without titles like Angry Birds and Air Penguin, South Korean iOS users are finally getting to join in on the fun.

That's because Apple on Wednesday began including games in its South Korean iOS App Store, a change that came several months after the July decision by the Seoul-based Game Rating Board to relax rules governing violent and sexual content.

Because of those restrictions, both Apple and Google had declined to include games in the Korean versions of their app stores, meaning that owners of iOS and Android devices in that country … Read more

As if stretching a mighty slingshot from Finland aimed at the heart of Beijing, Rovio says it will open its first Angry Birds retails stores in China this year.

Speaking at the TechCunch Disrupt conference in Beijing this week, Rovio Chief Marketing Officer Peter Vesterbacka laid out plans to bring the company's own merchandise outlets to multiple spots within China, its fastest-growing market, in hopes of generating more than $100 million in revenue there next year.

There are no details yet on exactly where or when these stores will open their doors, but the shops will sell Angry Birds tie-ins such as stuffed animals, toys, T-shirts, smartphone cases, shoes, and other merchandise that the billion dollar Rovio claims accounts for about 10 to 20 percent of its business, according to Bloomberg. … Read more

Today's show begins with a history lesson on the fate of the Microsoft Courier tablet and its possible reincarnation with a modified version of the Windows 8 operating system.… Read more

The App Store is home to countless Angry Birds knockoffs and Fruit Ninja slice-alikes, but rarely has a game so blatantly borrowed from two big hits. Cut the Birds plays exactly like Fruit Ninja, but instead of fileting flying fruit, you're slashing birds--mad-looking birds.

Indeed, there's no mistaking the inspiration for these foul-tempered fowl. Their colors, their shapes, and even their frowny expressions look straight outta Angry Birds. The question is, did developer SolverLabs LLC cross the copyright-infringement line, or does the game constitute a parody?

I'm no lawyer, but to most customer reviewers in the App … Read more

Another step forward in the march toward the Singularity--robots playing Angry Birds.

Our manufactured robotic friends have the unfortunate trait of being classic trend-followers rather than trendmakers. So the fact that robots are now playing Angry Birds must mean--as if there was ever any doubt--that Rovio's signature game is officially a big deal.

Specifically, the Bitbeambot, which looks like something constructed from tinker toys and leftover racks from your local Old Navy, currently holds the No. 1 spot on the "Robots that Play Angry Birds" leaderboard. … Read more

CBS MoneyWatch's Jill Schlesinger helps us understand why Wall Street is disappointed with Apple's fourth-quarter results despite year-over-year growth across its iPhone, iPad, and Mac properties.

We return the favor by telling Jill why she should care about Google's Android Ice Cream Sandwich updates, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and why babies under 2 years old shouldn't live in front of digital screens.

Also, stay tuned after the break for news about Sony PlayStation Vita launch delays, and Jeff chimes in with a surprising pitch for the future of portable gaming. Heads up, Sony and Nintendo!… Read more

The PlayStation Vita won't be out for the holidays, Apple stores are closing during a memorial for Steve Jobs, and Android's Ice Cream Sandwich version comes with several new camera features.

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded:

Emily is home from Chile, and is welcomed back with an Ice Cream Sandwich rumor, a couple iPad rumors, and the duck timer, which we ignore, as usual.

On last week's show, we bet that the Droid Razr would be announced today and alas, it was! The score is now 3 to 2, which means someone is going to have to do something totally embarrassing in the next couple weeks.

Also this week, we unravel some Ice Cream Sandwich details; Emily gets all riled up about Amazon buying poor Palm; we remind ourselves that Sony Ericsson isn't actually Sony; we discuss the likelihood of an iPad mini and an iPad 3 next year; and we wonder why Angry Birds-maker Rovio would want to go public. Does it have anything to do with the CEO's nickname being "Mighty Eagle"? We hope so. … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Andrew Stalbow of Rovio, after revealing some stats on the success of Angry Birds at the Web 2.0 Summit here, let drop that a new bird is coming in the October update of Angry Bird Seasons.

Stalbow did not say what the bird would be, just that the game has been providing hints to users in recent updates and ancillary products. A slide he displayed of the Mighty Eagle bird showed a small, duckling-like yellow bird in the corner, which may be the new bird. But more on this as it develops.

As for those stats, Stalbow reeled … Read more