Consumer Electronics Daily News

Penguin Air Hockey Game Honored in Intel Codefest

CritterMap Software LLC today announced that it has received an award at the November Intel Codefest for its Android app, Air Hockey Penguins. The app is a game that demonstrates the use of native code on Intel tablets and other devices using the Android operating system. 

Air Hockey Penguins is a simple but fast paced arcade game where one penguin faces another in an icy environment. It makes use of physics and visual particle effects. Through the use of Immersion Haptics, it uses the vibration motor to create custom touch effects.

"Penguins seem a natural fit for a game played on ice," said CritterMap Software CEO Nathan Mellor. "Plus my kids find them cute." Nathan tells of a Thanksgiving event at his home where relatives were playing air hockey on various devices, from smartphones to tablets to a digital TV over MHL. It showed him that the kind of game was fun for all ages.

The app is compatible with and uses native code on tablets with Intel Inside. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) manufacturers chipsets that power many Android Tablets, including the Asus MeMO and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3.

Air Hockey Penguins runs on many other Android tablets as well as Android phones. The app is also expected to be available on iOS platforms shortly.

McCusker & Company's Service USA Division Launches New Line of Commercial and Consumer Android Tablets

 ServiceUSA, a subsidiary of McCusker & Company, a provider of consumer and commercial electronics extended warranty services, will soon start offering its own branded line of commercial and consumer Android tablet products.

"We surveyed the tablet products out in the market today and recognized that there was a true need for a product branded by ServiceUSA and backed by the peace of mind of the McCusker & Company extended warranty protection," said McCusker & Company Chief Executive Officer Will McCusker. "Now our commercial and consumer customers can purchase a product that is endorsed by our firm with the same warranty protection they entrust for their other valuable electronics."

The tablet is being developed in conjunction with North Carolina-based 13 Enterprises. 13 Enterprises specializes in providing enterprises, educational institutions, hotels and other corporate projects with a complete 360 solution. They offer a full suite of tablet products along with custom imaging, assets tags, custom cases and even bulk or drop shipping.

"13 Enterprises was a great partner to develop and bring this tablet product to market," McCusker said. "We are looking to forward to launching this new Android tablet product in 2014 and sharing the availability of this technology with our valued customers."

ServiceUSA has also partnered with Computer Tree to provide the technical support, repair center, and help desk for the new ServiceUSA tablets. Service USA will provide sale and lease options for the products to corporations and distributors.

For more information about ServiceUSA, a division of Colleyville, Texas-based McCusker & Company, visit www.goserviceusa.com.

Greedy Grub Mobile Simulation Game Receives Holiday Season Update

Pixowl has announced a new update to its title, Greedy Grub, available worldwide on the Google Play marketplace for Android and App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Greedy Grub is a simulation game where you need to expand a forest by replanting lots of different trees, watering them and collecting their fruits. With more than 500,000 players since its first launch, the game receives a holiday season update featuring -- for a limited time only -- an exclusive Christmas tree and 10 winter decoration items. It also adds several new generic missions and increases the rewards players can collect through their actions. In addition,  Pixowl collaborated with Intel to optimize Greedy Grub on Intel's latest platform for tablet devices.

In Greedy Grub, players assume the role of Grub, a small earthworm whom has fallen from the Eye Tree and becomes separated from his family. Quickly adapting to fate, Grub is adopted by the Magical Forest's Mayor Apollo the Owl and becomes his assistant.  In "Our Forest," the first episode of Greedy Grub, we learn the Magical Forest has been sorely depleted of its resources after a very harsh winter. It's up to the player - and Grub - to help revive the forest by planting trees, managing them and harvesting them.

Throughout the game, players embark on different quests such as finding the lost daughters of a mother squirrel or planting aJoke Tree for a big surprise. Throughout the episodes, Grub encounters and helps a variety of forest inhabitants including Al the Selling Seeds Shrew, Zada The Architect Ant, Yves the Banker Pig and Boulet the Scientist Panda onto various tasks to settle after the winter and solve the mystery of the Forest.

The Greedy Grub App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch and Android devices on Google Play at http://greedygrub.com/download

PEAR Training App Is Now on Android

PEAR's real-time coaching system is transforming the way people get fit and stay healthy. And now both iPhone and Android users can take advantage of this innovative system, which includes a custom heart rate monitor and earphones designed specifically for fitness pursuits.

"We want to share PEAR's ability to tailor workouts with more and more people, everyone from fitness fanatics to those getting off the couch for the very first time," says Kristian Rauhala, President and Co-founder of PEAR Sports. "With our app now on both iPhone and Android, more people can experience the convenience and fun, whether their goals are simple weight loss, advanced strength training, or the next Boston Marathon."

WHAT IS PEAR? PEAR takes all of the data a typical heart-rate monitor provides—heart rate, calories, distance, time, and more—and turns it into real-time coaching. Once PEAR calibrates to your current fitness level, simply select a training plan from one of our coaches—renowned experts in weight loss, nutrition, fitness, running, and other athletic activities—and get started. PEAR will deliver a smart, personalized workout that coaches you in real time based on your body's response to the workout, making sure you're always training at maximum efficiency. The PEAR system includes PEAR's app, Bluetooth wireless heart-rate monitor, and Stride earphones. A full library of PEAR workouts and plans are available in-app and online at my.pearsports.com. The complete system is available at pearsports.com and select retailers like AT&T and Best Buy for $99. The PEAR Sports app can be downloaded for free at the iTunes App Store and Google Play. Currently, the PEAR Android app is available on the Samsung Galaxy S4 only, but compatibility with other devices is in the works.

INTUITIVE FEATURES: Experience interactive, heart-rate-based coaching, a full workout and plan store, third-party music compatibility, data and GPS tracking, direct social sharing, and more. After a workout, view your results on your phone, tablet, or laptop via a personal cloud account at my.pearsports.com.

LATEST UPGRADES: PEAR has completely redesigned the app experience, with a new and more streamlined look, easier navigation while downloading workouts, and more detailed stats. Users can also access their account and stats online from any Web-enabled device.

Casino Gaming App Brings Las Vegas Rewards to Smartphones

PLAYSTUDIOS today announced the global release of myVEGAS Slots for iOS and Android – the first mobile game offering real-world rewards to players. This move brings the proven success of PLAYSTUDIOS’ social casino gaming model from the web to mobile devices. More than 100,000 players have already redeemed over $10 million worth of real-world rewards as part of the program offering on the web. PLAYSTUDIOS expects to increase its market reach by 200 percent with the launch of myVEGAS Slots for mobile devices. myVEGAS also added four new rewards program partners to the roster, including Cirque du Soleil, House of Blues, Sugar Factory and the Las Vegas Monorail Company.

“We’re excited to bring our unique blend of compelling games and real-world rewards to mobile players everywhere. Nothing in the Apple or Android marketplaces captures the fun and value of Las Vegas as faithfully as myVEGAS. Now mobile players everywhere can enjoy the aspiration, entertainment, status, and comps that make Las Vegas so great,” said Andrew Pascal, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of PLAYSTUDIOS. “Launching our new app is a huge step forward for us as we connect with a rapidly expanding, increasingly global, mobile audience.”

Tom Mikulich, Senior Vice President of Business Development for MGM Resorts International, said, “MGM Resorts International is focused on providing memorable customer experiences through our world-class resorts, restaurants, and shows. The mobile launch of myVEGAS Slots represents a significant opportunity for our rewards partners within M life. It allows us to provide a unique and accessible way for our customers to engage with brands they already love – and to discover new ones that will equally delight.”

myVEGAS Slots is a free-to-play mobile casino gaming destination, developed by PLAYSTUDIOS. Players can earn points by playing a wide variety of slot games, including Mirage, Excalibur, New York New York, Frontier Fortune, Pirates Cove, Luxor and more. In each game, audiences play for the chance to accrue chips, loyalty points, status and real-world rewards. In addition, players can earn special bonuses by advancing through their own virtual Vegas by completing fun challenges, puzzles and battle rounds.

PLAYSTUDIOS has captured the essence of Las Vegas by offering an expansive collection of real-world rewards from a variety of resort, entertainment, and leisure companies. myVEGAS is the only casino game destination where players can redeem points for free Las Vegas rooms, meals, show tickets and more from some of the hottest resorts in town, including Bellagio, ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo, New York-New York, Luxor, Excalibur and Circus Circus.

PLAYSTUDIOS carefully curates the collection of partners and rewards that are offered to its players, ensuring that each reward fits the vision and market positioning of the game. For this reason, the company is thrilled to welcome Cirque du Soleil, House of Blues, Sugar Factory, and Las Vegas Monorail to its portfolio.

For additional myVEGAS Rewards Program information, visit: http://www.myvegas.com.

To learn more and download the mobile apps, visit:

• Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.playstudios.myvegas&hl=en
• iTunes App Store:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/myvegas/id714508224?mt=8

Global Game Stars Competition Announces Winners

After receiving more than 400 applications from 30 countries for its three competitions highlighting the latest and greatest in mobile startups and game and app development, the finalists for appAttack, G-Startup, and Global Game Stars competitions were recently recognized at GMIC in San Francisco.

The finalists pitched on the GMIC Thought Leader stage in front of a panel of judges including Dave Roberts, CEO, PopCap Games; Ed Fries, Co-Creator, Xbox; Dave McClure, Founding Partner, 500 Startups; and, Tim Draper, Managing Partner, DFJ.

"We received applications from more than 30 countries around the world, and we're proud to showcase that mobile innovation doesn't only come from Silicon Valley," says competitions coordinator Mia Jiang. "Also, we thank our judges whom, with their huge successes in the gaming and venture capital worlds, provided invaluable feedback for our contestants."

The Global Game Stars mobile game competition allows worthy mobile games the opportunity to connect with leading publishers, VCs and distributors in key markets worldwide. This year's winner is My Singing Monsters, developed by Big Blue Bubbles, based in Canada.

My Singing Monsters is a world-building music game where you collect and breed your own adorable monster mash.

After five iterations at GMIC Beijing and now the second iteration at GMIC Silicon Valley, the G-Startup competition is the leading launch pad connecting viable, innovative mobile startups to partners and investors to grow and succeed globally. Open Garden took home the top prize.

Open Garden is a 100 percent software-based mobile broadband network made of peer-to-peer connections between devices including smartphones, tablets, laptops and wearables. Open Garden leverages the density of these devices to create an OTT network.

appAttack provides a global stage for developers to showcase their latest and greatest mobile apps. appAttack invites all app developers around the world who have created fresh, innovative apps and would like to get more exposure to the rest of the global market.

Locket, an Android app that delivers ads to your smartphone lock screen and pays you for simply unlocking your phone, is this year's appAttack winner.

All three winners are welcome to join GMIC Beijing, May 5-6, 2014 to pitch their product and provide leaders in Asia's mobile and internet industries an update on their company's recent successes.

Kingsoft Office for Android Shows Continuing Growth Exceeding 100 Million Users

Kingsoft Office Software, Inc. today announced that its Kingsoft Office for Android app recently surpassed 100 million registered users.

Kingsoft attributes the app's mass adoption to the increased popularity of large-screen smartphones and mobile tablets. According to a recent survey conducted by the company, 91 percent of US consumers are open to editing an office document on a mobile device. Fifty-five percent cite having a larger screen as a major factor toward the likelihood they will work on files such as Word documents, PowerPoint presentations or Excel Spreadsheets from a smartphone or tablet.

In addition to screen size, experience is a major factor in consumer willingness to use mobile devices for office productivity. The survey showed that 9 out of 10 US consumers simply wish editing on a mobile device was easier. The most desired attributes from survey participants included formatting options similar to those they have on their PCs; access to spell check; ability to print directly from their mobile device; ability to use an external keyboard; ability to save to different formats auto-save and recovery functions; and the ability track document edits.

"Opening office documents on a mobile device has, until very recently, been mainly a viewing exercise," said Ke Ge, CEO of Kingsoft Office Software. "With the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets, consumers want better tools for editing office documents while away from their PCs. To date, most of the default mobile office software and third-party solutions lack the experience consumers are looking for. This makes the success we've had and the incredible user reviews we've received for our Android office suite that much more exciting. People not only use our product, but they actually favor the experience."

Kingsoft Office for Android is the most feature rich mobile office suite available to Android users. Key capabilities include:

• View, edit, save and share Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents from any Android device
• Edit more easily through advanced touch and gesture controls
• Save documents as multiple file types, including PDF
• Access rich formatting features
• Add and edit images in documents
• Track, accept and reject changes
• Encrypt documents
• Sync with popular cloud services including Google Docs, Dropbox and Box.net
• Use with Bluetooth and USB keyboards
• Transfer documents to other Kingsoft users over WiFi
• And much more

Kingsoft Office is also the most popular, free mobile office suite available on Google Play and has received over 100,000 consumer reviews, averaging 4.6 out of 5 stars. It's available as a free download on Google Play at http://tinyurl.com/cpj3d8d.

Unu, The First Universal, Portable, Smart Entertainment Hub Hits Retail This November

Starting today, consumers can preorder unu, the world's first universal entertainment hub, at Gamestop retail stores, Gamestop.com, and Newegg.com. The product will go on sale in November at Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, and Walmart.com.

Available in two versions for the November launch, both have full access to the more than 1 million games and apps to enjoy via the Google Play store. The unu Media Edition comes with a TV docking station and an air mouse controller with keyboard for $199.99 MSRP, and the fully-loaded Gaming Edition adds an advanced game controller supporting tens of thousands of video games for $249.99 MSRP.

"unu may just be the 'why didn't I think of that' product for 2013," says Nicki Repenning, Vice President of Business Development, Sunflex. "The tablet is one of the most exciting consumer technologies in the last 50 years, but we knew it could and should do more. So, we built a custom smart TV user interface and two different controllers to match up with every entertainment experience found on the Google Play Store. That's how unu was born."

So, you can either be bummed you didn't think of it, or you can spoil yourself, friends, or family. Given its universal use, unu may be the best and easiest solution to the constant wail from kids of all ages, "I'm bored!" And, since it can move from TV to TV and room to room, it might even bring peace over living room big screen arguments.

unu is the lightest, easiest, and most unobtrusive way to play video games, watch movies, or enjoy hundreds of thousands of other experiences on any TV. Or, just enjoy it as a tablet. The backside of the air mouse also includes a keyboard for super easy Internet browsing, typing emails, or chatting on social media.

The slender, lightweight 7-inch system is an HD-display Android 4.2 tablet that can be used on its own or docked to your TV as a smart TV. It comes with a sleek portable docking station and a proprietary Bluetooth air mouse remote that lets users explore apps with immense ease. unu's proprietary user interface is simple and powerful. Enabled by the latest 1.6 GHZ quad-core processor, users will enjoy full HD 1080p videos, and seamless execution of any app.

Sunflex is the creator of unu. With 17 successful years in making gaming peripherals, unu's wireless game controller delivers high precision and extremely low latency, a crucial feature for gamers. And, it comes pre-loaded with APK support for nearly every video game app available.

Consumers can preorder today at http://theunu.com

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Upstart Tablet Aims High

TouchPal X Keyboard Now Available on Google Play for Android Devices

Award-winning app developer CooTek today announced the launch of TouchPal X, the next generation of keyboard technology for Android smartphones and tablets, available for free on the Google Play Store. Through TouchPal Wave™, TouchPal X's sentence gesture technology, you can input a full sentence without ever lifting a finger, making it the fastest keyboard application available for Android.

"We reinvented the language model to make TouchPal X the fastest predictive keyboard in the world," said Michael Wong, CEO of CooTek. "We also wanted to go beyond the speed factor to create an enjoyable experience, especially considering how much time younger generations spend communicating on mobile devices. With TouchPal X, we are striving to be ahead of the curve by creating an enjoyable experience, where interacting with the keyboard isn't only efficient, but also fun."

TouchPal X analyzes your unique input to predict words, which it can learn from allowing the app to access applications such as Twitter, Gmail and SMS. As its predictions become more useful, TouchPal X will shave more and more time from each successive sentence and even let you visually keep tabs on how much time you're saving through an on-keyboard speed meter and speed statistics. Studies have shown that once TouchPal X understands your word choices fully, you can save 90 percent of keystrokes and double your speed from 50-60 WPM (average speed of text input) to 121.7 WPM.

From downloadable skins to button sizes and other typing preferences, you can tailor the keyboard to your own texting style. TouchPal X supports a number of innovative layouts, including a one-handed layout for large touchscreen devices, and more than 30 new keyboard themes and Emoji X features to show your personality and emotions.

Prior to launching TouchPal X, TouchPal Keyboard successfully established itself with leading manufacturers, and is the default keyboard for devices by HTC, Sony, Huawei and ZTE.

Availability

TouchPal X is now available free of charge for download on Google Play. 

PRNewswire

Mobile Upgrades Slowing Down

The recent launch of early-upgrade programs like T-Mobile's Jump and AT&T's Next, and Verizon's Edge may very well be a frantic attempt to turn around rapidly falling growth in the cellphone market.

Now that smartphone technology has slowed down for the most part, with most upgrades consisting of tweaks rather than major overhauls and new products, cell phone users are finding less reasons to need to buy a new model. This forecasts trouble for major cellphone providers, who rely on the upgrade cycle to drive growth.

While the iPhone 5s might be bounds above an iPhone 4, the latter is still dependable and far better than a dumbphone. New smartphones are priced like luxury items, and users are less inclined to upgrade when their provider's plan requires payment for the new phone in full. 

According to Business Insider, "Industry players want as short a cycle as possible. Here's why:

• Smartphone manufacturers rely on upgrades to get their newly launched handsets into consumer hands. 
• Carriers rely on new phones that are compatible with their ultra-fast 4G wireless networks in order to encourage high rates of data consumption and boost data revenue. 
• Tech companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google pre-load the latest versions of their mobile operating systems on new smartphone models, and these handsets help push consumer adoption of the new software. This is particularly important for Google's Android platform, which historically has had trouble getting its users to update to new versions. 
• Apple is particularly vulnerable to the longer upgrade cycle, since their business model depends on smartphone sales, rather than advertising (Google  is less concerned if its users are on older phones).
• App developers, in turn, design software around the newest operating systems and devices, to take full advantage of available technologies. Without shiny new phones loaded with features, consumers tend to fall behind the curve. 
• Marketers create rich-media and video ads that won't even load on slow smartphones."

Read more at Business Insider.