MacRumors.com

Reuters reports that prominent iPhone game developer Gameloft is scaling back its efforts to produce content for the Android platform in the face of weaknesses of its application store. Gameloft also notes that it is not the only one making the move, with other game developers reportedly experiencing similar frustrations.

"We have significantly cut our investment in Android platform, just like ... many others," Gameloft finance director Alexandre de Rochefort said at an investor conference.

The company's frustration comes from a lack of success on the Android platform, contrasted with Apple's App Store ecosystem and its ability to drive sales for developers.

"It is not as neatly done as on the iPhone. Google has not been very good to entice customers to actually buy products. On Android nobody is making significant revenue," Rochefort said.

Games for iPhone generated 13 percent of Gameloft's revenue in the last quarter. "We are selling 400 times more games on iPhone than on Android," Rochefort said.

Several months ago, mobile app developer Larva Labs offered an analysis of the massive sales gap between the iPhone and Android platforms, noting a number of major deficiencies in Android's application store implementation. While Android developers have since moved to address some of those issues, the platform has yet to generate the buzz and critical mass to drive application sales to levels that make financial sense for software developers.

( 186 comments )

Virgin Mobile Canada issued a brief announcement yesterday revealing that it will begin offering the iPhone there in the near future.

Virgin Mobile Canada will launch iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS in Virgin Mobile Retail Stores and online in Canada in the coming months. For more information on iPhone, please visit www.apple.com/iphone.

Rogers Wireless had been the exclusive iPhone carrier in Canada since the device's introduction there in July 2008 until Bell and Telus began offering it earlier this month.

In a number of countries where Apple has had exclusive relationships with wireless carriers such as Canada, the company has begun transitioning to multi-carrier models, with Orange (UK) and Vodafone (UK & Ireland) recently beginning to offer or announcing plans to offer the iPhone in those countries where the iPhone had been exclusive to O2.

( 12 comments )

Earlier this week, an updated version of TomTom's GPS navigation application appeared in the App Store, and among the major changes included with the update was compatibility with the original iPhone and all generations of the iPod touch. The iPod touch, however, does not offer built-in GPS and must thus be paired with an external GPS receiver in order to function.

TomTom offers such a car kit for the iPhone to add better GPS reception and other functionality, but the kit is incompatible with the iPod touch due to the slightly different form factor from the iPhone.

In response to that limitation, TomTom revealed yesterday on its official Twitter blog account that a separate car kit specifically for the iPod touch is coming soon for U.S. users.

The existing #TomTom car kit is designed for the iPhone. A new car kit for iPod touch will be available shortly in the United States.

The kit has appeared on TomTom's site with a list price of $99.95, but is not yet available.

Rival Magellan has also released its own GPS navigation application for the iPhone and iPod touch and has announced that a car kit similar to the one offered by TomTom will be coming soon. Magellan's car kit is said to be compatible with the iPhone 3G and 3GS and the second-generation iPod touch, as well as a wide variety of cases and skins for those devices, suggesting that its car kit will offer greater adjustability than TomTom's car kits.

( 7 comments )

Google today announced that it has rolled out mobile-formatted Google News pages for iPhone, Android, and Palm Pre users. The feature complements similar existing pages for Blackberry, Windows Mobile, and S60 platforms.

This new version provides the same richness and personalization on your phone as Google News provides on desktop. Our new homepage displays more stories, sources, and images while keeping a familiar look and feel. Also, you can now reach your favorite sections, discover new ones, find articles and play videos in fewer clicks. If you are an existing Google News reader on desktop, you will find that all of your personalizations are honored in this mobile version too.

Users can visit the new mobile-formatted site simply by browsing to the regular Google News site at http://news.google.com using their iPhone.

( 11 comments )

The Associated Press reports that a judge has refused to grant AT&T's request for a temporary restraining order forcing Verizon to halt its commercials comparing the two companies' wireless network coverage.

AT&T filed the lawsuit in federal court in Atlanta earlier this month and asked for a temporary restraining order and a permanent injunction to stop the ads. It contends they are misleading and amount to deceptive trade practices.

Verizon argues that the commercials are valid and truthful.

A hearing has been scheduled for December 16th to allow the case to proceed.

Since publishing a public response to Verizon's commercials late last week, AT&T has now begun rolling out its own television ad, featuring actor Luke Wilson offering a comparison of AT&T's and Verizon's network using the same factors highlighted in last week's press release.

( 176 comments )

Version 1.2 of TomTom U.S. & Canada [App Store, $99.99], submitted last week, has gone live in the App Store, bringing text-to-speech, lane guidance and a number of other new features to the popular GPS navigation application. Similar updates for a number of other international versions of the application have also begun appearing.

One other important feature of note is the addition of support for the original iPhone and all iPod touch models. The iPod touch lacks internal GPS, however, so those devices would have to paired with an external GPS receiver such as the TomTom car kit in order to function.

AWARD-WINNING NAVIGATION EXPERIENCE
- Improved search and route summary screens

DETAILED, UP-TO-DATE MAPS
- FREE updated map from v8.30 to 8.35
- Updated points of interest database

IQ ROUTES TECHNOLOGY
- Updated IQ Routes database with millions of new measurements

ADVANCED SAFETY FEATURES
- Added Advanced Lane Guidance in both portrait and landscape mode
- Added Text-to-speech in English US, English UK, English Australia, French Canada, Spanish Latin America
- Added Help Me! emergency menu

DESIGNED AND OPTIMIZED FOR THE IPHONE AND IPOD TOUCH
- Added iPod player support

COMPATIBILITY
- Added support for original iPhone and iPod touch (all models)

( 52 comments )

AFP reports that China Mobile, the largest mobile phone provider in China, is continuing to work with Apple on bringing the iPhone to the carrier's network.

"We really are still in talks with Apple...In our negotiations in the past, we insisted on sticking to our conditions," company chairman Wang Jianzhou told reporters on the sidelines of a regional mobile phone conference in Hong Kong.

"We are still very sincere about completing this negotiation."

China Mobile has been in discussions with Apple regarding the iPhone for quite some time, but a number of roadblocks have prevented the companies from striking a deal and allowed China Unicom to become the first carrier to offer the iPhone there.

Despite the setbacks and reports of slow sales for China Unicom, China Mobile apparently remains committed to landing the iPhone, having reiterated its interest several times in recent months.

( 1 comments )

Bloomberg reports that Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs has acknowledged that the company is in talks to bring its chips to the iPhone.

"We continue to discuss it, but haven't made it yet," Jacobs said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Hong Kong today. "Hopefully, in the future, we will have the opportunity."

The vaguely worded statement makes it unclear whether Qualcomm is making a specific push for the iPhone or if Jacobs is simply acknowledging that the company is always looking for new opportunities for its products, wherever they may be.

Qualcomm is the company behind the CDMA2000 3G technology used by Verizon and Sprint for their wireless networks, lending hope to U.S. users hoping for an iPhone capable of being deployed on those companies' networks. It appears doubtful, however, that a CDMA2000-based iPhone would be able to make an appearance before the technology begins to be phased out in favor of the LTE 4G technology that vendors worldwide are coalescing around.

( 44 comments )

TechCrunch reports that Google is preparing to launch its own Android-based phone in the very near future, likely bringing yet another device designed to compete head-to-head with Apple's iPhone.

Most of our sources have unconfirmed information, which we describe below. But there are a few things we have absolutely confirmed: Google is building their own branded phone that they'll sell directly and through retailers. They were long planning to have the phone be available by the holidays, but it has now slipped to early 2010. The phone will be produced by a major phone manufacturer but will only have Google branding (Microsoft did the same thing with their first Zunes, which were built by Toshiba).

While Google reportedly played a major role in the design of the Motorola Droid that has gained significant publicity over the past month, the company's own phone would obviously provide it with even greater control over the final product.

There won't be any negotiation or compromise over the phone's design of features - Google is dictating every last piece of it. No splintering of the Android OS that makes some applications unusable. Like the iPhone for Apple, this phone will be Google's pure vision of what a phone should be.

Other information about the new device remains unknown, although TechCrunch is betting based on what it has been able to piece together that the device will be manufactured by a Korean partner, most likely LG.

Rumors of a Google phone have been circulating since at least early 2007, but in response to a question raised about whether a "Gphone" was in the works at the launch of the Android platform later that year, Google CEO Eric Schmidt offered only that if there were to be one, it would run Android.

Update: In a follow-up article, TechCrunch notes that it has now heard that the Google phone may lack traditional voice services, instead using only data services paired with VoIP for calling purposes.

Users could still make calls just like a normal phone, of course. The calls would just be over the data service instead. In fact, this is the exact vision Google proposed back in 2007 when they were bidding on the FCC auctions for the 700MHz spectrum.

Google can even issue phone numbers to users via Google Voice. In fact, I've already ported my mobile number to Google Voice, and Google has plans to roll out that feature more broadly. Google Voice can also handle the VoIP function for the phone.

The report notes that AT&T has been rumored to be the primary candidate bidding for the service, and may be willing to offer $20/month standalone data plans to Google phone users under certain conditions.

( 142 comments )

Reuters reports that the iPhone has gained final regulatory approval in South Korea, paving the way for a release there in the very near future.

Korea Communications Commission said in a statement on Wednesday it would grant Apple's South Korean unit a licence that allows collecting information on locations and provide services such as map, phone locating and related marketing.

Exactly when the iPhone will launch there is not yet confirmed, but reports have suggested that it may be before the end of the month.

KT Corp, the country's No. 2 mobile carrier which has been negotiating with Apple to introduce iPhone, said sales could start soon but did not provide a date for the launch.

Korean newspapers said iPhone's sales could start as early as late next week.

It is not entirely clear how this regulatory approval differs from a similar approval reported in September, but today's development certainly appears to be the final step needed before the device can launch there.

( 2 comments )

The Wall Street Journal reports on progress for Apple's App Store in China, noting the challenges faced by the company due to a lack of Wi-Fi on official iPhones, a large installed base of unlocked and jailbroken iPhones, and high levels of piracy. But despite reportedly slow launch sales of the officially-sanctioned iPhone, the Chinese App Store is still managing to quickly expand its small market.

The market for legitimate Chinese iPhone apps is small but surging. Mr. Shi's company estimates about $1 million worth of legitimate iPhone apps have been sold so far this year, though the market could reach $6 million by next year. By comparison, mobile advertising firm AdMob says about $200 million in apps are sold overall through Apple's store each month.

Apple also faces challenges in its payments systems, with consumers required to hold a credit card issued by a Chinese bank, a relatively uncommon notion there, in order to purchase App Store content.

The report focuses on a number of applications that have become successful in China, from locally-produced content such as news and blogging applications from news portal Sina.com to versions of common Western applications such as Quickoffice and EA's Command & Conquer.

"Localization is most important. Products should be as much in line with Chinese lifestyles as possible," says Mr. Shi, who noted Texas Hold 'Em games likely wouldn't go over well.

A slideshow of ten popular apps is also presented, ranging from games such as Need for Speed Undercover and Gold Miner 2 to more Chinese-specific applications like Autonavi (the only Chinese navigation application, and the store's top revenue producer) and Powerword 2.0 (a Chinese-English translation app).

( 21 comments )

Mobile advertising firm AdMob today announced that it is launching interactive video advertising for the iPhone and iPod touch. The ads, which will be available as either auto-play or click-to-play implementations, will begin appearing in a limited number of top App Store applications.

For the first time, mobile video is truly interactive as we’ve included customizable in-player action buttons enabling consumers to engage with Web content and more video content without leaving the video player. Advertisers can also include action buttons that open the app store and iTunes store to drive downloads of branded content. This ad unit helps advertisers and agencies extend their existing campaigns to mobile by using video assets created for other mediums and overlaying interactive elements in the highly measureable mobile environment. Advertisers can opt for action buttons that allow users to share video content with their friends or connect to social networking sites within the video player, making it easy to add a social media element to their campaigns.

Video ads will begin as soon as the user launches an application targeted by the ads and will include buttons that will allow the user to perform such functions as viewing related Web content, directly accesings the App Store for the product being advertised (when applicable), or viewing additional video content. Users may also skip the advertisements at any time to proceed to their desired iPhone application.


Google announced last week that it has agreed to acquire AdMob for $750 million in stock. In a follow-up story yesterday, it was reported that Apple had apparently also considered making an offer for the company in the weeks before Google's announcement.

( 30 comments )

Belgian newspaper De Standaard reports [Google translation] on the theft over the weekend of nearly 4,000 iPhones from a Willebroek warehouse of CEVA Logistics, a distribution company. The iPhones had been destined to be delivered to Mobistar, the sole official iPhone wireless provider in the country, and have been valued at approximately 2 million Euro or nearly $3 million.

Reports suggest that the burglary may have been an inside job, as the thieves used a fire ladder to access the roof of the large warehouse, where they cut a hole directly over where the iPhones, which had just been delivered to the building, were being stored. Mobistar notes that the devices have been blocked from the company's network, urging customers to be wary of purchasing iPhones through unauthorized sources.

"We have the serial numbers of stolen iPhones block[ed] anyway so they can not be used," says the spokesperson of Mobistar. "[For] people who want to buy an iPhone, [it] is best done in an approved outlet and not on street or on the black market."

Local police have launched an investigation into the burglary, but appear to have little information to go on at the moment.

( 51 comments )