angry birds

Angry Birds creator Rovio says sales doubled last year

Who says the Angry Birds phenomenon is slowing down?

Gamers may be tiring out from the many iterations of the flying birds, but they continue to rake in the big bucks for Rovio.

The Finnish company said today that for calendar year 2012 it posted sales of 152 million euros ($194.8 million), or a little more than double its revenue from the preceding year. Its earnings before interest and taxes were 76.8 million euros ($98.4 million), up 64 percent from 2011.

The company was helped by the launch of four titles in the year: Angry Birds Space, … Read more

Grieving for Google Reader's death

CNET Update feeds your need:

Emotions are high over Google Reader shutting down July 1. Thousands have signed online petitions begging Google to reconsider closing the RSS feed reader. Digg announced it is working on a replacement for Google Reader, but if it doesn't come soon enough, here are some replacements you can try now.

Also in Thursday's tech news roundup:

- Facebook redesigns Timeline profile pages

- Twitter adds line breaks, gets hit with ugly stick

- Netflix connects with Facebook to share what you're watching

- Angry Birds cartoon launches onto TV this weekend

Watch … Read more

Angry Birds cartoon to fly onto games and TV this weekend

Angry Birds fans soon will be able to watch their favorite birds and piggies duke it out in a series of weekly cartoons.

"Angry Birds Toons" will take flight on broadcast TV this Saturday, as well as on all Angry Birds apps and certain video-on-demand services this Sunday, game maker Rovio said today. The series will feature 52 episodes, with a new one launched each week.

Comcast subscribers can catch "Angry Birds Toons" through Xfinity on Demand, the Xfinity Web site, or the Xfinity TV Player app. The animated adventures also will appear on TV networks … Read more

Original Angry Birds free for iPhone, iPad customers

The most popular mobile-gaming franchise in the world is now a bit easier for you to get your hands on.

Customers who head over to the App Store today will find that the iPhone and iPad versions of Angry Birds are available for free. Previously, the iPhone version was on sale for 99 cents. Angry Birds HD for the iPad was available for $2.99. Rovio previously offered free versions of the titles, but those were limited to only a few levels. Those now appear to be gone from the App Store.

Angry Birds was the game that kicked off … Read more

Match tiles in Angry Birds Adventure

The popularity of Angry Birds is almost stratospheric at this point, so rip-off games make sense. This non-Rovio-approved app puts some of your favorite birds in their least exciting adventure yet. When it works, Angry Birds Adventure has you match tiles with the characters to clear the board. Sadly, you'll be lucky to even make it through a single game as the app tends to crash.

This app only takes a few seconds to download to your phone as it's quite small in size. Once it's there, you won't see any opening sequence or tutorial, you'… Read more

'Angry Birds Toons' cartoon series to launch March 16

First it was stuffed animals, then T-shirts, and now it's a cartoon Web series -- the Angry Birds franchise just continues to grow.

Rovio announced today that the first episode of the weekly Angry Birds cartoon show, "Angry Birds Toons," is set to air on March 16. Viewers will be able to watch what is happening "deep in the heart of Piggy Island" and find out whether those merciless piggies ever get hold of the birds' eggs.

The game maker hinted at turning the wildly popular game into an animated series last April. In addition … Read more

Temple Run 2 scores record as fastest-growing mobile game

Temple Run addicts have propelled its sequel into new territory.

In 13 days, Temple Run 2 has been downloaded more than 50 million times by iOS, Android, and Kindle users, developer Imangi Studios said yesterday, making it the fastest-growing mobile game ever.

In reaching this milestone, the action game topped the previous record holder, Angry Birds Space, which rocketed to 50 million downloads in 35 days.

Temple Run 2 places you in a jungle where you have to outrun a giant ape, leap over chasms, and swing on ropes to get past hazards. Along the way, you pick up gold … Read more

Angry Birds HD Free is good, clean fun

Your favorite time-wasting app is back, but this time in a free version. Angry Birds HD Free does include ads, but it comes with all the fun, familiar characters and gameplay that you've come to love.

Angry Birds HD Free offers 24 different levels and 8 mini episodes. You can jump right in by pressing Play. If you've been living under a rock and haven't played Angry Birds, a graphic shows you how to pull back on the slingshot and aim the bird to take out the green pigs. The first level was unlocked for us and … Read more

SkyDrive, Google Maps and other iOS app faves of 2012

2012 was another year that kept me glued to my iPhone and iPad, checking out the latest batch of iOS games and other apps. So which ones proved to be among my favorites? In alphabetical order...

Angry Birds Star Wars My wife and I love to play Angry Birds, and the Star Wars edition is a great take on the familiar franchise. This app could've easily taken a turn to the dark side. But Rovio knew just how to pair its birds and piggies with the classic Star Wars characters and settings that fans know and love. The challenging … Read more