Hasta La Gadget!

Gaming on mobile platforms have evolved over the years, where graphics have gotten a whole lot better, thanks to better hardware that has been thrown into the mix. Final Fight Z, however, takes a different look, where it offers a minimalistic, 2D sandbox shoot ‘em up game. Not only that, it is so simple that it does not have a need for a storyline, and neither does it need any structure of missions for the gamers to go through. In a nutshell, Final Fight Z would be a sandbox shooting fiesta, where it comes with its fair share of features that will keep you interested.

(more…)

Final Fight Z Lets You Fend Off Hordes Of Zombies original content from Ubergizmo.

An interview with Nokia’s Viral Oza in The Economic Times published today details the company’s mobile strategy in India and the world at large.

Oza isn’t concerned about the potential for increased competition, telling the Times that “The entry of more players in the Windows Phone market will help the ecosystem to grow further.” Nokia’s Lumia line of Windows Phone smartphones has become the de facto brand of handsets, but there has been rumor of Sony jumping into the ring this year.

He then appears to tie the entrance of new hardware players to a more healthy application market: “Also, more developers will come on board, strengthening the ecosystem even more. In that sense, it only encourages the consumers to buy Windows Phone and broadening the ecosystem.”

This is a long-term argument. Presumably the entrance of a large player, say Sony for example, could depress Nokia’s short-term device sales. But in Oza’s eyes, if that leads to a healthier platform, Nokia could sell more Windows Phone handsets in the long term, provided there’s a more healthy Windows Phone.

Nokia’s Lumia group therefore could be willing to cede short-term market share if it means they get help in growing Windows Phone down the road.

This all becomes complicated in that Nokia’s Lumia business is about to become Microsoft’s Lumia business, but Microsoft has echoed the sentiment that more players building Windows Phone hardware is something to be sought out, not discouraged; as a firm, Microsoft doesn’t want to make every Windows Phone handset that is sold, post its purchase of Nokia’s hardware group.

Downloads

Oza goes on in the interview to discuss download figures, something always worth examining when discussing the health of a platform:

We already have over 5000 developers in India, who develop apps for Windows Phone platform. 65 percent of all downloads for India developed apps are from outside India, while 35 percent is from India. There is a huge traction towards these India developed apps for Windows Phone. Downloads in India are around 4 million downloads a week from the marketplace.

This tells us that Indian developers are building English-language applications that are seeing global traction, and that a market the size of India does around 16 million downloads per month, or just under 200 million a year at current pace.

That figure scales, given Windows Phone current market share tear in the Indian market.

Tempering the above as unmitigated good news, keep in mind that Microsoft-Nokia continue to struggle for similar growth rates in the United States market, even as numbers for their platform improve in Europe and Latin America. Developer sentiment and innovation are often set in the U.S. market, making it more important than its subscriber rates would normally indicate.

Finally, Oza doesn’t anticipate a pricing war if new OEMs enter its market, implying that Microsoft can anticipate little new margin pressure on its 7.3 billion dollar purchase of Nokia’s hardware assets. That also gives OEMs future price stability to invest against. Perhaps not the most critical element in their planning, but something that could help lure the new players that Windows Phone certainly needs.

Ever heard of Tinder? If you haven’t, Tinder is a dating app designed for iOS and Android devices. Basically what it does is that it matches people up and you can choose if you like or dislike them by swiping to the left or right. What makes Tinder different from other dating apps or services is that it cuts down on spam because only people who have mutually liked each other’s profile are able to send messages to one another, so at the very least the initial attraction is mutual, as opposed to having to fend off unwanted suitors. Now the good news is that Windows Phone owners looking to get in on the Tinder action will soon be able to thanks to 6tindr.

If you’re wondering why it sounds so familiar, it is because we mentioned it previously as being the unofficial Tinder app for Windows Phone. The app is put together by none other than developer Rudy Huyn who has in the past created unofficial apps such as Instagram, and Vine (and original ones as well) for the Windows Phone platform. In any case Huyn has teased the app’s availability on his Twitter account claiming that the app is finally completed and that there are still some last minute tests left before it will make its way into the Windows Phone store where it will be presumably a free download. We expect that Huyn will be making introducing some new features that the official Tinder app does not, as he has done in the past, so be sure to keep an eye out for it!

6tindr For Windows Phone Nears Completion original content from Ubergizmo.

“Better late than never” is a cliché that seems especially appropriate for Nokia. It’s been a few months in the making but the promised Lumia Black update is finally here … Continue reading

One of the reasons companies were so into BlackBerry back in the day was because of services like BES. This allowed companies to provide BlackBerry phones to their employees, while maintaining a level of control as well as ensuring that messages and emails sent to and from BlackBerry devices were secure thanks to encryption. It also allowed IT managers to remotely lock and wipe devices in the event that it is lost or stolen, preventing the public or the competition from finding out about company trade secrets. However as BlackBerry began to decline, companies started to turn to alternatives and the BYOD (bring your own device) program was starting to catch on, with employees bringing in iPhones, Android devices, and even Windows Phone.

Well the good news is that companies who are worried about BYOD can rest assured knowing that in the future, BES 10 will be adding Windows Phone support. This is according to BlackBerry’s Managing Director for India, Sunil Lalvani, who in an interview with the Economic Times in India confirmed that Windows Phone support for BES 10 will be happening “soon”. While we’re sure Lalvani knows what’s going on in the company, he has in the past made some statements that BlackBerry was forced to clarify or refute, but hopefully this time will be different. In the meantime what do you guys think of BES 10 support Windows Phone?

BES 10 Support For Windows Phone Could Be Coming Soon original content from Ubergizmo.