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The Golden Curve: Determining player value in freemium apps

Jun12
by on June 12, 2014 at 2:10 pm
Posted In: Analysis and Opinion, Around the Web, Design & Dev

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Julian is a heavy-duty number cruncher for Wooga, a mobile games developer based in Berlin.  There’s one unfortunate truth about mobile game development. You cannot make a great game, offer it for free and depend on the masses downloading it. The app marketplace is packed, with every publisher desperately vying for players’ attention. This makes that attention all the more costly to acquire. Most developers will, at some point, face the problem of getting people to use their app without dangerously overspending while doing so. They need to buy users at a price where they get a positive return on…

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ITV will bring UK football fans near-live highlights of World Cup action on Twitter and Facebook

Jun12
by on June 12, 2014 at 2:01 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider, UK

London-based startup Grabyo is really starting to ramp up its media partnerships now. Just a couple of days after we revealed it was teaming up with the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) to bring near-live highlights to Wimbledon fans around the world across a myriad of social platforms, Grabyo has now announced it’s doing the same for football fans during the World Cup. To recap, Grabyo’s technology makes it easier for broadcasters to capture and edit clips from their own videos, to share across any social channel in real-time. The result should look a little something like this: Video: If…

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Beats unveils new Powerbeats2 Wireless earbuds for $199.95

Jun12
by on June 12, 2014 at 1:32 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Gadgets, Product Launches

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Beats might be under Apple’s stewardship now, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less interested in selling high-end headphones. After updating its Solo line, the company is back with a new version of its Powerbeats earbuds – called the Powerbeats2 Wireless. As the name suggests, these new headphones are cable-free. Anyone who likes to move a lot while listening to music – especially during competitive sports – should find these particularly appealing. Similar to other fitness-focused earbuds, each side also comes with a rubberized loop that hangs over the back of the ear. This should keep them secure while the…

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Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe on assembling a dream team, working with Facebook and the Metaverse

Jun12
by on June 12, 2014 at 1:10 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Gadgets, Insider

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Virtual reality leader Oculus VR is, yet again, the talk of E3. This time around, however, the talk has moved beyond the marvel of its technology and onto new, exclusive content for the headset. We sat down for a group interview with CEO Brendan Iribe to hear more about the future of Oculus and the new role Facebook will play – we also got to try out Playful’s “Lucky’s Tale” game, the first title published by Oculus. What follows is a condensed version of our conversation. The Dream Team Fueled by Facebook’s $2 billion acquisition, Oculus has been on a hiring spree. Last…

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Skype updates iOS app with a focus on messaging after four long confusing years

Jun12
by on June 12, 2014 at 1:00 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Insider, Product Updates

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The Skype app for iOS was a mess. But with today’s update, it’s finally getting back on track and regular updates are now on the roadmap. Today Skype redesigned its iOS app for the first time in four years and it shows. The long-in-the-tooth incarnation of the app looked like something from iOS 4. That’s because that’s the last time the app saw a major update. The new and improved Skype app reduces the clutter and focuses on the current messaging trend. In fact, the bottom menu bar has only two major features; phone calls and messaging. Finding contacts, favorites, and recent…

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