Hasta La Gadget!

Sales of iOS games have already eclipsed those of traditional portables like PS Vita and Nintendo 3DS, new research suggests, with Google Play sales looking likely to do the same within the next few months. Spending on titles for Sony and Nintendo’s hardware fell markedly from Q4 2012 to the first quarter of 2013, App Annie‘s portable gaming stats indicate, a marked contrast to the surge in sales on both iOS and Android, and one which is likely giving industry stalwarts sleepless nights.

According to the numbers, iOS is now the leading platform for consumer spending on mobile games, overtaking “gaming-optimized handhelds” like the 3DS. Google Play is accelerating fast, however, and while still lags behind iOS, is predicted to exceed traditional gaming spend by the end of the current quarter.

App Annie blames seasonality for most of the slump that Sony and Nintendo are seeing, but warns that ad-revenue isn’t included in its numbers. That could mean even more of a gulf is opening, considering many Android titles follow the so-called freemium model where a free download is offset by in-game marketing.

For traditional platforms, the DS and DSi saw the biggest proportional slump, with App Annie suggesting that gamers are shifting over to 3DS instead. However, that’s not to say the 3DS gaming spend is much more reassuring, almost halving between Q4 2012 and Q1 2013.

Games represent around 40-percent of downloads in both the iOS App Store and Google Play store, the research company says, and are the number one motivator to store growth. In total, spending on games across iOS and Android amounted to nearly 3x that of gaming-optimized handhelds in the three month period.

The disparity is only likely to become more pronounced now that Google has waded fully into mobile gaming. At I/O this week, the company unveiled Google Play Games Services, a cross-platform rival to Apple’s Game Center which leverages Google+ for social leaderboard sharing, among other things.

Google is yet to fully address arguably one of the biggest issues facing Android game studios, however, that of software piracy. Some developers have complained of a 95-percent piracy rate for their Android titles, with users reluctant to pay even $0.99 for a game.

VIA: TUAW

Here’s big gaming’s problem: iOS and Android are eating its lunch is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

eBay updated its iOS app today with a few new features, including a new look and feel to the user interface, as well as the ability to check out multiple items at the same time using the shopping cart in the app. However, one of the more impressive features is the ability to register for an account through the mobile app by simply scanning your driver’s license.

When you open up the app, you have the ability to register for an eBay account by either filling in a bunch of text boxes, or you can simply scan your driver’s license to have the app do most of the filling out for you, such as your name, city, state, etc. Of course, privacy might be a big issue for some users, and while you’re already submitting personal information their way, scanning your driver’s license makes room for unnecessary information to get through.

UPDATE: We’ve received more info from eBay about its driver’s license scanning feature regarding privacy, and they say that “only the name and address are pulled to complete the initial registration form. eBay does not send or store any other driver’s license information.”

As for the new UI, it’s looks relatively the same from past iterations, but boxes and text are a lot smoother now and it looks a lot cleaner overall. And while Android users have been enjoying the new shopping cart where you can check out multiple items at once, that feature is now available to iPhone and iPad users, so they no longer have to deal with a mess of a shopping cart that past versions were plagued with.

The app also now comes with the ability to view larger photos, which have always been a bit cumbersome in the past when browsing through the app on a mobile device, and since photos are crucial in an eBay listing, it seems the company is finally giving them more attention. Other than that, you can expect the usual bug fixes and overall performance improvements to the app. Both the iPhone and iPad versions are available now in the iTunes App Store.

eBay iOS app updates with driver’s license scanning [UPDATE] is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Google has confirmed that its new Hangouts messaging app will be available for Google Glass as well.

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eBay has trotted out an update to its iPhone app that sports a slew of notable changes. First, the app is draped in a redesigned UI that enables users to checkout multiple items at the same time, view larger photos and touts improved last-minute bidding for those hot commodities. The software also tacks on driver’s license scanning via the handset’s camera for quick registration on the go — but only in certain states in the US, for now. If you’re looking to give it a whirl, you’ll need a device that wields iOS 5 or higher in order to get in on the action.

Filed under: Software, Mobile

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Via: 9to5Mac

Source: iTunes

Each time a new iPhone is released, rumors start spreading about the next one almost immediately. As long as Apple manufacturers its iPhone, rumors will circulate, which is currently the case for the company’s upcoming iPhone 5S. One rumor that spread […]

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