Apple News

GDC 2010: From rags to riches on the App Store

March 12th, 2010 at 05:00pm Under Hot Apple News+ Iphone

Filed under: Gaming, Developer, App Store

While we weren’t able to stay the whole time (the life of a TUAW blogger at a covention is varied and hectic), the iPhone Game Developers’ Luncheon at GDC 2010 was a pretty enlightening experience. After a little varied networking among guests, hosts PlayHaven, Cooley Godward Kronish (a law firm that specializes in startup companies), and MplayIt started up the panel discussion. The iPhone developers in attendance were Igor Pusenjak of Lima Sky (the creators of the very popular Doodle Jump) and Bryan Mitchell, a solo developer who created a game called Geared that’s risen to the top of the App Store charts.

The most interesting thing we learned at the luncheon (in among a lot of legal talk about forming corporations and copyright law) was where these two developers came from. Mitchell was a filmmaker who had to work construction “after film work dried up in Las Vegas,” and decided to jump in on the app business to make extra money. His game only made a few bucks a day at first, but after spending a little on advertising, Apple featured his game in “What’s Hot.” After that, he was off to the races.

Likewise, the Lima Sky developers came from humble roots. Pusenjak and his brother are from Croatia, and when the brother’s job there looked a little shaky, Pusenjak decided to get into game design to try and earn his brother some extra cash (and himself some beer money). Doodle Jump was their second project, the first being a bubble wrap simulator (Mitchell actually said he had five games that “failed” — only had a few bucks coming in a day), and Pusenjak said that even though they “already had the computers,” he feared at first that the $100 dev program investment might not have been money well spent.

Doodle Jump didn’t fly off the shelves right away, either, according to the developers — the very first day, they had 21 copies downloaded (which sounds pretty good, but they thought it was a minor start). But eventually, it got up to the point where they were making a few hundred dollars a week, and of course now the game is competing with Bejeweled as the highest-grossing game on the App Store ever.

Pusenjak also shared a little insight on the App Store — he says that people are willing to pay 99 cents for a game, but the limiter is how much information they have to give. As long as Apple keeps allowing checkouts just by throwing an account in there, people will keep buying. He also said that while there are good reasons to stay as an individual in the store, his company had to make the jump to a business account. It worked out better for them, but Apple took their sweet time — they didn’t get the named changed correctly for over a year.

It wasn’t the longest or most in-depth session that we’ve seen this week, but it was cool to get some more insights about the App Store directly from developers at the luncheon.

TUAWGDC 2010: From rags to riches on the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone – AppStore – Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Cooley Godward Kronish

By Mike Schramm Continue Reading GDC 2010: From rags to riches on the App StoreAdd comment

GDC 2010: The secret to App Store success

March 12th, 2010 at 05:30am Under Hot Apple News+ Iphone

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Freeware, Developer, App Store

For the last panel of GDC 2010 day two, David Whatley of Critical Thought took the stage to talk about the App Store success he found with his games geoDefense and geoDefense Swarm, and almost dared other iPhone developers to follow his “guaranteed plan” to go from “zero to Time Magazine.” He’s got quite a background in the trenches of coding and game development, having designed and run online mulitplayer games for over a decade with his “day job” at a company called Simutronics, but he decided to take to the iPhone in his spare time both to learn the platform and see what he could do with it.

First things first, he said, to make an iPhone game, you’ve got to figure out your goals as a business. He talked about the potential on the iPhone in terms of millions of dollars, but of course, since “99.9% of businesses on the App Store make no money,” it’s much more likely that if something goes wrong during development or something doesn’t click right, the money will drop down to just “a few bucks.” It’s a balance of costs (which he relabeled as “risks”) vs. revenue — it’s very easy, he said, to make money on the App Store, but the issue most developers have is that they let costs get away from them by having too big a team or by investing too much development time, and that comes straight out of their bottom line.

To save money on his bottom line, Whatley made a big deal out of hiring a PR firm. He hired Triple Point PR to handle his publicity (and namedropped them multiple times; like many similar firms, they send us PR notices here at TUAW), and he says that as a developer, that helped him remove a part of the business he didn’t like (press and user interaction) completely from his equation, for what turned out to be only 6% of the revenue (he made a deal with them to get a percentage of the backend based on a few goals he gave).

He said to the audience that a PR firm is extremely important in app sales, because of the press cycle. A PR company sent word of his app (especially his second app, since he’d already created somewhat of a reputation with his first app) out to niche outlets like TUAW and Touch Arcade [Excuse us? Niche? -Ed.], and those outlets gained the attention of Apple, which placed his app in the iTunes promotional channels. That led to major sales, of course, and then the mainstream media (his app was featured in Maxim magazine) wrote about apps featured by Apple, which led to even more sales. In short, he said to developers at the conference, PR hands information off to “gamer press,” which attracts Apple, which attracts mainstream media, which all goes back to sales numbers.

And he wasn’t shy about numbers either: he’s made $251,000 with geoDefense. That’s only part of the revenue — a certain part went to Apple, $15,000 went to the PR firm, and then he had $2,000 in overhead, which he said was literally a Mac on his Mastercard. Given that he already had the coding skills and business experience necessary to publish a successful app, that’s quite a return.

So how can developers replicate that? He said that the X-factor is probably the most important part — while you can follow the rest of his instructions to a T, and “do everything right,” your app still needs to have that “X-factor” of being something people want to play and share. He also recommended that developers establish their goals early on and stick to them — “if you’re getting into this to be a millionaire,” he said, “you haven’t thought it through. If you get into it to learn to be a millionaire, you probably have.”

Likewise, he joked that he had a foolproof solution to defeating piracy once and for all, and it was… “make a game no one wants.” Finally, he showed a picture of himself working on a MacBook from a beach in Bali, and said that he’d been extremely happy with the success he’d found in the App Store — like a few other developers at the conference, he made it clear that Apple is offering up quite an opportunity to smalltime developers, and that with the right mindset and discipline, there is money to be made.

TUAWGDC 2010: The secret to App Store success originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

AppStore – iPhone – Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Game Developers Conference

By Mike Schramm Continue Reading GDC 2010: The secret to App Store successAdd comment

Multitasking Support to be Included in Apple’s iPhone 4.0 Software

March 11th, 2010 at 05:46pm Under Hot Apple News+ Iphone

AppleInsider is reporting that they are hearing from reliable sources to expect multitasking in Apple’s iPhone 4.0 software. This is not the first time we’ve heard about multitasking being included in 4.0 but if it does hold up to be true it should silence many of the iPhone haters out there while making all iPhone [...]

Multitasking Support to be Included in Apple’s iPhone 4.0 Software is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

By Jeremy Sikora Continue Reading Multitasking Support to be Included in Apple’s iPhone 4.0 SoftwareAdd comment

Why Apple Should Buy Adobe

March 10th, 2010 at 12:00am Under Hot Apple News

The rumors of Adobe being bought by Apple come up every so often. Apple could easily afford such a purchase and the results would be interesting. I would love to see Adobe restructured by a company like Apple. Adobe has many applications that are the gold standard but it seems to lack focus. These are [...]

By Andrew Flocchini Continue Reading Why Apple Should Buy AdobeAdd comment

Report: RIAA pressured Apple into creating iTunes LP

March 9th, 2010 at 10:30pm Under Hot Apple News

Filed under: iTS, Retail, iTunes, Apple

This feature over at GigaOM has quite a few interesting insights about the iTunes LP program — while Apple sells it wholeheartedly as “the visual experience of the record album,” it appears the story behind the story is not quite so clean. According to an anonymous source in the industry (note, not Apple themselves), the service didn’t come from Cupertino. Instead, it was designed by record companies, and agreed to by Apple as a “concession” to “make a gesture in favor of album sales.” The piece also states that Apple subsidized the creation of the first few “LPs,” some of which cost up to $60,000 to assemble and license.

As you might expect with any other less-than-popular product at Apple, iTunes LP isn’t exactly being thrown into the spotlight, either. While a much more visual music experience would be perfect for the iPad, GigaOM notes that it didn’t even merit a mention by Jobs at the iPad announcement. It’s certainly possible that iTunes LP could find a new home in the future, if bands really get behind the service and make their own (a few have, as noted, but the cost seems pretty prohibitive, especially if sales aren’t that impressive), but from what this anonymous source says, the LP service is a record company concession that hasn’t paid off for Apple even in the way its originators hoped.

[via iPodNN]

TUAWReport: RIAA pressured Apple into creating iTunes LP originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple – iTunes – Unofficial Apple Weblog – iTunes LP – GigaOM

By Mike Schramm Continue Reading Report: RIAA pressured Apple into creating iTunes LPAdd comment

Steph Thirion, creator of Eliss, annouces Faraway

March 9th, 2010 at 05:00am Under Hot Apple News+ Iphone

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Developer, iPhone, App Store, SDK

Steph Thirion is an excellent game designer who I’ve had the good fortune to meet a few times. He first released a great game called Eliss on the App Store and he’s now announced the second game he’s been working on, called Faraway. Eliss was a terrific little arcade game that made great use of the iPhone’s touchscreen, and Thirion says that while his first game dealt with “planets and space management in sectors, Faraway will be about constellations and infinite space travel.” Sounds exciting. The game will be playable at GDC this week, so I’ll definitely make time to run by and check it out.

Thirion has also announced a new company to represent and sell his iPhone games, and he’s calling it LITTLE–EYES. It’s really great to see a very smart, independent developer come into his own like on a platform like the iPhone — there’s really no other mainstream gaming platform out there that lets developers really jump in headfirst and release experimental games like these to a a mainstream market. We’ll keep an eye out at GDC this week for all kinds of indie developers making it big. While it’s cool that Valve and other larger companies are finally coming around, we have to be sure not to forget developers like this either.

TUAWSteph Thirion, creator of Eliss, annouces Faraway originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone – App Store – Eliss – Apple – Game Developers Conference

By Mike Schramm Continue Reading Steph Thirion, creator of Eliss, annouces FarawayAdd comment

Apple patent: use your iPhone as an electronic “iKey”

March 9th, 2010 at 12:30am Under Hot Apple News+ Iphone

Filed under: Rumors, Odds and ends, iPhone

The Daily Telegraph reports that a new Apple patent has surfaced which could potentially allow the iPhone, or another Apple portable, to act as a sort of electronic key. The potential applications are as limitless as the number of things locked by old-school metal keys. It could be used for cars, offices, homes, or lockers. Basically, anything that could have an electronic receiver mounted to it in place of a metal tumbler-style lock could then use an iPhone as a key.

While Ars Technica notes that “the patent application itself merely describes a unique way of using motion detection to generate an input, such as turning a virtual combination lock-style dial,” the patent itself, as reported by the Telegraph, says that the device could be “any suitable electronic device such as a portable media player, personal data assistant or electronic lock” that could open up any number of physical lock types just by communicating wirelessly.

Electronic key fobs already exist for certain models of cars, most notably the Toyota Prius, which not only allow keyless entry but also allow you to start the car without a traditional metal key. If Apple actually implements this patent and allows iPhones and iPods to act as an “iKey,” carrying a ring of metal keys and fobs around in your pocket could eventually seem as passé as a pocketwatch or pager seems today.

While the patent notes that the device would have to be paired with the locks in order to work, and that all communications would be encrypted, people are naturally going to be skeptical about the security of an iKey compared to a traditional metal key. I can see some other potential pitfalls: losing your iPhone, or having it stolen suddenly, means not having access to your car, your house, or anything else accessed with your iKey. Plus, if you’re dumb enough to store your access code on your iPhone in a place where a thief can find it easily, it also means that, immediately after finding your home address in Contacts, the thief could gain entry to your house with next to no effort. Or how about this: you come home after a night of carousing at the bar, power up your iPhone to gain access to your front door, but then find a blank screen staring back at you from your iPhone because your battery died.

While the idea sounds great on paper and certainly stokes my science-fiction geek fires, the practical application of the iKey sounds like a giant headache.

TUAWApple patent: use your iPhone as an electronic “iKey” originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone – Apple – Toyota Prius – IPod – Portable media player

By Chris Rawson Continue Reading Apple patent: use your iPhone as an electronic “iKey”Add comment

Macworld UK estimates iPad pricing, late April availability in the Blighty

March 8th, 2010 at 12:30am Under Hot Apple News

Filed under: iPad

Our English-speaking friends across the pond have been anxiously awaiting pricing and availability dates for the iPad. Macworld UK’s Nick Spence notes that both the Wi-Fi and 3G models will be available in late April, meaning that developers in the UK who want to get their hands on an iPad earlier may have to consider flying to the US on April 3rd.

Spence reported that Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, and Switzerland will also see the iPad shipping in late April.

Based on the exchange rate for both the US Dollar and UK Pound Sterling, Macworld UK estimated the following prices for the iPad models:

• iPad Wi-Fi: £417 (16GB); £500 (32GB); £584 (64GB)
• Wi-Fi + 3G: £526 (16GB); £610 (32GB); £693 (64GB)

The estimated prices also add the 17.5% Value Added Tax, which is included in cost of goods in the UK.

TUAWMacworld UK estimates iPad pricing, late April availability in the Blighty originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Canada – Australia – Wi-Fi – Italy – April

By Steven Sande Continue Reading Macworld UK estimates iPad pricing, late April availability in the BlightyAdd comment

Analyst: Apple will sell 35m iPhones next year, with or without Verizon

March 7th, 2010 at 02:30am Under Hot Apple News

Filed under: Apple, iPhone

One of the questions that always seems to come up during our TUAW Talkcast and TUAW TV Live sessions is “When do you think Verizon Wireless is going to get the iPhone?” According to recent comments from Merrill Lynch analyst Scott Craig, the answer to that question is irrelevant to Apple.

Craig anticipates that Apple could sell 33 million iPhones in 2010, and that number would rise to 35 million in 2011 even without a second U.S. carrier. However, the upside to Apple in selecting a second U.S. carrier — possibly Verizon Wireless — is that the number of 2011 sales could rise to as high as 55 million.

Other Wall Street analysts believe that Apple’s decision to stick by AT&T for the iPad indicates a vote of confidence for the carrier, with analysts at Credit Suisse even going so far as to say that there’s a 75% chance that AT&T will keep iPhone exclusivity for another year.

While the analysts don’t seem to see a real downside risk for Apple, Credit Suisse recently downgraded Verizon from Outperform to Neutral based on the absence of the iPhone from their product line. It would definitely be in Verizon’s best interest to make an agreement with Apple to carry the iPhone; however, Apple is unlikely to make agreements with non-GSM carriers such as Verizon Wireless until they are well into a transition to the 4G LTE technology.

[via Cult of Mac]

TUAWAnalyst: Apple will sell 35m iPhones next year, with or without Verizon originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone – VerizonWireless – Apple – AT&T – Unofficial Apple Weblog

By Steven Sande Continue Reading Analyst: Apple will sell 35m iPhones next year, with or without VerizonAdd comment

Apple patent filings detail methods of keeping your devices cool

March 7th, 2010 at 12:30am Under Hot Apple News

Filed under: Apple

Apple is a pretty innovative company, and here at TUAW we receive a lot of tips about new patents that have been filed by the company. While not all of the patents make it into products, Apple is assiduous about filing for patent protection on their intellectual property.

This week featured 4 patent applications from Apple that are all about keeping your devices cool. The first, titled “Methods and Apparatus for Cooling Electronic Devices Using Flow Sensors,” talks about using tiny sensors to determine the air velocity in a device and then adjusting fan speeds and/or computing power to keep the device cool.

The second application seems so obvious it’s surprising nobody has filed it before. Titled “Methods and Apparatus for Cooling Electronic Devices Through User Interfaces,” the patent filing describes how to use input/output ports (FireWire, USB, and Ethernet) to increase airflow through a device. In particular, the application details how ports can be positioned to provide the best possible cooling of components.

The third patent filing, “Methods and Apparatus for Cooling Electronic Devices Using Conductive Hinge Assemblies,” is specifically focused on notebook type devices. Here, the hinges on a notebook’s screen are effectively used as heat exchangers to cool certain heat-producing components.

The last filing, “Methods and Apparatus for Cooling Electronic Devices using Thermoelectric Cooling Components,” describes using the Peltier Effect to actively cool components. This can be also described as “solid-state cooling.”

While it’s uncertain when or if we’ll see any of these patents come to life in a future Apple product, it is great to see that they’re trying to figure out a way to keep MacBooks from being used as frying pans.

[via AppleInsider]

TUAWApple patent filings detail methods of keeping your devices cool originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple – Patent – Patent application – Unofficial Apple Weblog – AppleInsider

By Steven Sande Continue Reading Apple patent filings detail methods of keeping your devices coolAdd comment