We have been hearing a number of different rumors about Samsung’s next generation Galaxy S smartphone, the Galaxy S4, and now it would appear that the Galaxy S4 will go on sale in April of this year.
That would mean that Samsung will either unveil the Galaxy S4 at Mobile World Congress next month, or at a separate Samsung Unpacked event some time in March.
Many aspects go into getting a game up and going and KickStarter has seen hundreds of indie developers try to do just that. So what does it take for a successful campaign? Quite a bit actually and a development team is essential. Does it mean because a game didn’t get funded it wasn’t a good game or even a great idea? Not always but that’s where games like Luna fall in.
Luna has the potential to be a great game especially if it was focused towards the mobile platform of Android and iOS. However lack of funding often means the components and software needed don’t make that a possibility. So what is Luna and what does it have going for it? Luna is an RPG fantasy with the basis that the character relies on a light orb and another in-game character to keep him progressing from level to level. It’s a neat idea though the light orb, which is how you can see in the dark, could use some tweaking. It’s uniqueness is in the fact that all the backgrounds are hand drawn by artist and developer Gillis and it fits in the Retro Game Genre which the mobile platforms are excelling in. Hit the break for more.
However what Luna lacks will also probably be its KickStarter demise. Gillis is the design team and that’s it. Along with that he needs development packages and equipment upgrades. So how does he have a successful campaign, well this one probably won’t hit his desired goal but thankfully you get more than one strike with Kickstater and you can always relaunch a new campaign. Gillis needs the tools and could do so by taking a chance on a small loan which could get him his equipment and networking more his other developers. If all works well and he nails down the right components and preps the game past its current infancy stage he could come back with a strong campaign and possibly blow his goal out of the water. We’ll see how it goes for Gillis click the link here to see his current KickStarter campaign. Press release incoming!
solo indie developer Daniel Gill, of Gillis LLC out of Brighton, CO is currently making a platform RPG game called 'Luna Shattered Hearts' and is seeking Kickstarter crowd funding capital. Luna is an amazing 2D side scroller that Daniel Gill, the developer has been working on for six years, and the project is nearly complete. The game features an engaging story and has beautifully hand-drawn graphics. All that's left to do is give Luna an awesome soundtrack, dialog, and sound effects to go along with Luna's already amazing art style. Daniel needs to raise eight thousand dollars to complete the project, and release it. He has already raised close to two thousand with 45 backers on Kickstarter. We are asking for your help letting the public know about Luna, and how they can help this project come to fruition. Once you see Luna you'll be incline to help out also. As an added incentive to help fund this game immediate access to the Beta once the project is funded will be given to all backers. Time is running out and the game is still looking for supporters. The Kickstarter campaign ends February 1st.
We'd like to thank a few journalist who have helped us get Luna to the public:
Louis Edwards – www.terminalgamer.com
Kev J – www.electronictheatre.co.uk
Phil & Brad – www.capsulecomputers.com.au
Patrick Hickey – www.reviewfix.com
Elizabeth Burnette – www.vividgamer.com
Khris Golder – www.gamercheeese.com
William Usher – www.cinemablend.com
Julie Wenzel – www.go-critic.com
Thank you for your continued support.
“The Federal Trade Commission is backing Apple in the company's battle with Google over standard-essential patents (SEP), arguing that any attempt to ban a product for allegedly infringing an SEP ‘risks harming competition, innovation, and consumers,’” John Paczkowski reports for AllThingsD.
“The patents Motorola had attempted to assert against Apple were SEPs, which it is obligated to license on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms,” Paczkowski reports. “And in the FTC's eyes, using the threat of SEP-based injunctions to demand higher royalties or other favorable licensing terms is bad business. It's a ‘patent hold-up,’ to quote the agency's term.”
Paczkowski reports, “It's worth noting that this isn't the first time the FTC has sounded off on SEP-driven lawsuits and Google's efforts to use them to enhance its negotiating stance. Back in June, the agency told the Federal Trade Commission that Google's request for import bans against Microsoft's Xbox and Apple's iPhone for their alleged infringement of its SEPs could hurt competition.”
Read more in the full article here.
Chinese device maker Aocos has this week unveiled a new addition to their range of products with the unveiling of a transformer style tablet, in the form of the PX102 tablet.
The new Aocos PX102 will start shipping in China, very soon priced at around $209, and comes equipped with a 10.1 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel IPS display, and comes with a keyboard which also acts as a protective cover for the screen when not in use.
“It’s been a little over four years since the first Android phone went on sale. Despite Apple’s one-year lead, devices running Google’s mobile operating system now regularly beat Apple’s iPhone in sales figures,” Owen Thomas writes for The Business Insider.
“But when it comes to what people actually do with those phones, studies show an unintuitive result: iOS users simply use their devices more,” Thomas writes. “They surf the Web more. They buy more apps, and developers write more apps for them. They generate more advertising revenue per person. They spend more on e-commerce sites. They even watch more video, which must be frustrating for Google, considering that it owns YouTube and has heavily backed Android in part to contest Apple’s mobile hegemony. Apple’s mobile devices-iPhones, iPads, and iPods-accounted for 60 percent of non-PC video views in the third quarter, according to FreeWheel. Android devices had 30 percent.”
Thomas writes, “Content purchasing is one thing. [But] the gap in content consumption-especially the free, advertising-supported kind, where Google thrives-is more worrisome. That speaks to some ineffable human factor that Google’s algorithms, for all their mechanistic glory, just can’t get right.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: If the only goal was to move handset units, Android’s “winning.” Giving away free phones by the boatload accomplishes nothing, however, when all it results in is second-class status among developers and advertisers, a markedly lower online presence than iOS, and, perhaps most importantly, in a mere sliver of the available profit share which, of course, Apple utterly dominates (See: Apple utterly dominates mobile device market with 6% market share - and 77% of the profits).
After years of knocking off Apple’s patented innovations, all that the so-called geniuses at Google have succeeded in accomplishing is cobbling together the worst collection of cheapskates and/or tech illiterates the world has ever seen this side of Windows PC sufferers.
Just like Mac users, iOS users are the cream of the crop.
So, what was your ultimate goal, Google, selling targeted ads for check cashing outfits, cigarettes, food stamps, and Hee Haw on VHS?
Congrats on your market share “win,” dummies!
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "JES42" for the heads up.]
I don't really like Android's SMS at all. (I'm on HTC's Sense-flavored Jellybean, btw.) In particular, the lock-screen notifications really bug me—there's no way to see if you've gotten more than one message. And group messages don't really work right. Got one you like?
“Apple Inc. told a judge that Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy Note 10.1 device infringes its patents, and sought to add the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system to an existing lawsuit against Samsung in California,” Joel Rosenblatt and Pam MacLean report for Bloomberg.
“Apple made the arguments today to U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal in federal court in San Jose,” Rosenblatt and MacLean report. “Apple's bid to expand the lawsuit follows Samsung's Oct. 1 move to add patent- infringement claims against the iPhone 5 in the same case. Apple won a $1.05 billion jury verdict against Samsung on Aug. 24 in a separate patent case in the same court.”
Rosenblatt and MacLean report, “The case in which Apple added the Galaxy Note 10.1 and Jelly Bean operating system is scheduled for trial in 2014.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: 2014. The legal system is so efficient as to render itself useless.
They got O.J. more quickly.
We just got an email from the guys over at UK mobile carrier Vodafone to let us know that they now have the black version of the Samsung Galaxy S III available on their monthly contracts in the UK.
Vodafone are offering the Samsung Galaxy S III for free on their contracts which start at 42 per month, there are also other contracts available with an up front cost for the handset.
When Samsung launched the Galaxy S III in the UK, the device was only available with 16GB of built in storage, and no there is a 64GB model that we have been hearing about for a while on the way.
The 64GB Samsung Galaxy S III will launch in the UK within the next two months, according to Clove, and the device will retail for 600 including taxes, this is the SIM free pricing, obviously it will be cheaper upfront on contract with the various mobile providers.
Yesterday, Asus who make the Google Nexus 7 tablet announced their latest financial results, and they also revealed how many of the Google Nexus 7 tablet they are selling per month.
Asus said that sales of the Google Nexus 7 tablet are getting close to 1 million units per month, which is not surprising considering the tablets low starting price of $199.
We are expecting Google to announce some new devices at their Android event next week on the 29th of October, one of those is the new LG Nexus 4, and we are also expecting them to announce a new 32GB Nexus 7.
Now it would appear that they will also be introducing another new Nexus 7 tablet, the existing ones only come with WiFi, but a Nexus 7 with 3G has turned up at the FCC.
Back in December last year Rockstar released Grand Theft Auto III on iOS and Android. It was the game’s first appearance on mobile devices and was generally well received even if the controls were a little limiting compared to the original. It joined the previously released GTA: Chinatown Wars which saw a release early in 2010.
This year, Rockstar aims to please mobile gamers again and has announced that GTA: Vice City is also heading to iOS and Android devices soon.
Originally released in October 2002, Vice City is set in the Miami of the 80′s. The re-release for mobile is actually a 10th anniversary celebration, so Rockstar is taking the opportunity to give it a proper update. That includes giving the graphics a HD makeover, releasing a new trailer, and including a load of artwork that has never been seen before from the original development of the game.
If you have already played the game to death, Rockstar may be able to tempt you into purchasing some commemorative merchandise instead. They haven’t announced what that includes yet, but it will all appear on the Rockstar Warehouse online store once the game is available.
The fact Rockstar is promoting Vice City now means the release can’t be too far off. It would be nice to see it appear before the end of October, which means they have until next Wednesday to get it on the App Store and Google Play. As for price, I’m hoping it’s no more than the $4.99 Grand Theft Auto III debuted for last year.
More at Rockstar
“Late on Tuesday, Apple filed a first response to Samsung’s allegations of jury misconduct,” Florian Mueller reports for FOSS Patents.
“Apple does not oppose Samsung’s motion to seal all of its related accusations but wonders why Samsung brings such a motion after it ‘failed to redact enough material from its jury misconduct motion and supporting papers to keep the substance of its allegations secret,’ a failure that enabled the media to identify that Samsung’s attacks target jury foreman Velvin Hogan,” Mueller reports. “What Apple does oppose is Samsung’s request that the parties be barred from contacting members of the jury. That request doesn’t make sense to Apple given that the media would still be free to talk to any of the jurors, and in light of the willingness of several jurors to give interviews.
Mueller writes, “What I like about Apple’s motion is that Apple is at the same mindful of the jurors’ privacy and not at all afraid to discuss in public what needs to be addressed because of Samsung’s initiative. I continue to be very skeptical of Samsung’s chances of winning a new trial on the grounds of misconduct.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related article:
Samsung asks for new trial in patent dispute with Apple – September 25, 2012
