Electronic Arts is the software publisher behind not only one of the most popular games for iOS and Android ranging from Madden NFL 11 to the Sims, but it’s also behind top PC and console games. That’s why the company is in a key position to pave the way for the future mobile gaming. It’s plans don’t lack ambition and might well mimic Amazon’s Whispersync feature which grants you access to digital books you’ve purchased across multiple platforms, all for a single price. EA Sports could do the same, only with games: bring all its games, from Madden NFL 11 to Tiger Woods PGA Tour golf, for one fixed price set for all platforms. All of the games will be connected via the same social gaming eco-system.

A radical change it is indeed, but that’s how EA Sports sees the future. Actually, it’s that lack of radical innovation Andrew Wilson, head of development for EA Sports, believes might quickly bring a company down. The games might even move to a service, like a TV channel, rather than a one-time purchase and thus allow consumers to come in contact with every content available.

“It’s about handing over control to the gamer,” Wilson clarified. “Ultimately, what we want to get to is this concept where we break down the barriers between the franchises. John Riccitiello our CEO says it seems like such a waste – we spend $20-40m making each of these games, but most gamers only ever play one, because the business model is an impediment. So how about we drive toward a model where every gamer can experience everything we make without paying that much more money. You’ve got to recognise that given the opportunity, the consumer will play and they will bring their friends.”

Social networks have also been key to pushing gaming to new heights, as now gamers across the globe amount to 1.2 billion, up from 250 million a couple of years ago. The new model might roll out in EA Sports’ titles over the next year, so there’s definitely plenty of innovation coming. Would you be willing to pay for games as a service, a Gameflix of a kind, or do you find that off-putting? Don’t hesitate to chime in the comments below.

source: The Guardian

IMDb has always been an invaluable resource for movie nerds, or just people who can’t remember the name of that one actor who played the guy in that movie that time. Now, it’s aiming for a completely new audience. A major update for the IMDb app has hit the Android Market. Version 2.0 of the popular movie database app is bringing support for Honeycomb tablets and also expands the functionality of the app to compete with movie showtime apps like Fandango and Flixter.

The UI for Honeycomb looks great. It’s intuitive, easy to navigate and although the overall tone is dark, that only serves to have the movie poster thumbnails pop. The update also allows users to login and rate movies, create watch lists so you can follow your favorite TV shows or interesting upcoming movies, and of course the new movie showtime features.

The app adds options to filter nearby movie results by date, specific location, or an adjustable radius around your current location. On top of that the app adds the ability to purchase movie tickets through movietickets.com. Unfortunately, to purchase tickets, the app will bounce you into the browser to buy tickets from the website. This works well, but it is nowhere near as nice and streamlined as the in-app purchasing system found in apps like Fandango.

The IMDb app is available for free in the Android Market.

source: Android Police
Android Market link

News360 is a powerful news aggregator that pulls content from what can conservatively be called a boatload of sources, pushes it through some fancy algorithms to figure out what you’d be interested in the most, and spits out the news into a very snazzy and pretty UI. All of that goodness had been available only to iPhone, iPad, Windows Phone 7, BlackBerry PlayBook, and Android Honeycomb tablet users, until now. Now, even Android phones can get in on the fun.

Last time we talked about News360 was when it hit Android tablets, and we told you about how the app pulled from 1500 news sources. Well, now the app is pulling from more than 4000 sources, so chances are that if the news exists, you’ll be able to get it. The app still pulls from your cloud including Facebook, Twitter, Google Reader and Evernote. The app also has a feature to give you local news using your location data, but in a small test we found it to take the term pretty broadly. Using Boston as the location, we got 3 stories about Boston and the rest were simply about America in general. And, the app still filters your news and learns from your reading patterns to give you more of what you really like to read.

Now, some may say that this will lead you into an echo chamber where you only read stories that reinforce what you already think, but with 4000 sources we’re pretty sure you can avoid that if you really want to. Regardless, you’ll be able to get your news in a very nice format with big pictures and easy options to share to Facebook, Twitter, ReadItLater or Instapaper before even launching the standard Android share menu.

News360 is available for free in the Android Market, and requires Android 2.2 or higher.

source: Android Police

Android Market link

ABC News has introduced an app for Android that brings another major news agency to the Android Market. Some of the features include one-touch access to a Top of the Hour news video, breaking news, top stories and pictures. Android toting news junkies will be happy to know that besides all of the major world and U.S. stories, the ABC News app includes local news and videos in certain markets.

The app will cover the local news in Chicago, Fresno, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Houston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Toldedo and Raleigh and is available for free from the Android Market. Users must have a phone running Android 2.1 or higher.

source: AndroidCentral

Okay, let’s try to follow this. It was always the dream of Subatomic Studios to release Fieldrunners HD on Android for free on day one, then bump the price to $2.99 after that. Unfortunately, the Android Market doesn’t allow free apps to switch to paid, so the plan changed to Subatomic releasing the game for $1 on day one, then bump the price after that. Then, along came Amazon offering exactly what Subatomic wanted all along, free for launch day, but Amazon wanted a two week exclusivity period. Now, a week after the game was intended to launch on Android, both of those plans are happening.

Subatomic didn’t want to leave anyone out, so right now, if you live in the US (and you’re not on AT&T) you can grab Fieldrunners HD from the Amazon Appstore for free. But, if you live outside of the US, you can get the game from the Amazon Market for $1. Of course, this still leaves out AT&T users who can’t use the Amazon Appstore, but it’s a good compromise. It does cause some confusion though, because if you live in the US, you can still find Fieldrunners in the Market, you just can’t purchase it.

However you plan to get it, Fieldrunners is a solid game, and certainly worth the money if you do have to pay for it. Especially considering that this HD version will be exclusive to Android, so bad luck for those iPhone retina display users. The game will jump to $2.99 starting tomorrow, and two weeks from now it will be available to US users through the Android Market.

source: Droid Gamers

Amazon Appstore link (US users)

Android Market link (International users)

A federal judge has rejected Apple’s request to immediately stop Amazon from using “Appstore” for its application market. Judge Phyllis Hamilton hadn’t found “a likelihood of confusion” with the Amazon Appstore for Android, but she did recognize that the term is not generic, according to a Reuters report.

The case now has a trial date of October 2012, but the judge has reiterated her warning about Apple’s lack of evidence that customers actually get confused, a “stumbling block” to Cupertino’s efforts to win the lawsuit.

“The court finds that Apple has not established a likelihood of success on its dilution claim. First, Apple has not established that its “App Store” mark is famous, in the sense of being “prominent” and “renowned.” The evidence does show that Apple has spent a great deal of money on advertising and publicity, and has sold/provided/furnished a large number of apps from its AppStore, and the evidence also reflects actual recognition of the “App Store” mark. However, there is also evidence that the term “app store” is used by other companies as a descriptive term for a place to obtain software applications for mobile devices,” the judge said in an 18-page opinion.

Apple representatives weren’t immediately available for comments, but an Apple spokeswoman responded earlier by stressing that Amazon’s app will “confuse and mislead customers.” The store was launched in March and currently features nearly 13,000 apps, attracting users with its daily deals discounting paid apps to free, but also offering a test drive feature for some apps and the possibility to sync your apps to the cloud and restore them when switching to a different phone.

After the first lawsuit, Apple has described Amazon’s storefront as both “inferior” and a “security threat” as it allowed apps for rooted Android phones to be downloaded, but the online retailer responded with a counter suit claiming that “App Store” is a generic term. Check out the whole text of the order at the source link below, but don’t hesitate to also look at our dedicated article about what the Amazon Appstore is.

source: Order denying motion for preliminary injunction via Reuters, CNET

Call it a rarity or something, but Foursquare is debuting a brand new feature first before anything else with its Android app – something that’s generally reserved for its iPhone counterpart. Indeed a small victory for Android users, the latest version of the popular location based social networking app now features a new notifications tray.

Specifically, there is a notification icon positioned in the top right corner of the app that displays all the activity of your friends. You’ll be notified for thing like friends commenting on your check-ins, when there are new comments or photos on a check-in you’ve commented on, when Facebook friends join Foursquare, you’re ousted as Mayor, and much more. Moreover, you’ll be alerted when specific locations start swarming so that you can join the frenzy.

Naturally, you’ll have command of what kind of notifications you want to receive so that you’re not inundated with trivial things – but more importantly, keep track of things that you care about the most. We’ve seen the Foursquare app for Windows Phone 7 being upgraded recently as well, but Android’s version can claim the new notifications system all to itself for now. Luckily, you can actually check out the new feature as well though Foursquare’s web site – though, it’s bound to arrive on other versions of the mobile app.

source: Foursquare via Mobileburn

Good news for a few hundred people out there! It turns out that the new Google+ Android app has a hidden NFC sharing feature. The Google+ app launched on June 28th, the feature was found on June 1st, and the news of its existence has just made the jump to major tech blogs. That is a pretty well hidden feature.

So, of course, to use the feature you’ll need a Nexus S, which remains the only NFC-capable Android phone, a Google+ account, and the Google+ app. Luckily for you Nexus S users, the word on the street is that Google+ registration has begun to open up to the public. Word from Vic Gundotra is that Google is rolling it out, so if definitely check to see if you’re one of the lucky ones who can get in.
Once you’ve collected the three magical items, you’ll be able to share information from NFC tags through the Google+ app. The uses seem fairly limited right now, but the app will automatically read text content from an NFC tag, so this feature could easily be used to share location data, check-in data, or even bring people into a Huddle conversation.

source: Ridz.sg via Engadget

Transit Directions without Navigation (L) and with it (R)

Google Maps 5.7 is now available in the Android Market and comes with some awesome new features to help you get where you want to go. One feature, still in beta, is Transit Navigation. This service gives you turn-by-turn directions using GPS while using public transit. This is available for more than 400 cities around the globe. While you are riding a city bus, for example, you can find out when to exit the vehicle or transfer to another bus. Even if you put your handset away or start using another app, your notification bar will alert you when you have reached your stop and you can also set up your phone to vibrate at the same time.

The updated Google Maps app for Android now supports one click access to Navigation. If you click on the driving or walking icon and you have selected a route that is supported by Google Navigation, the familiar blue icon will appear and when clicked, will take you to the turn-by-turn directions. Google has also added category icons for search suggestions such as a pin for a Google Places recommendation or a star for a ’starred’ place or location; a previously used search term will get a clock icon, a person icon appears for contacts while a magnifying glass appears for all others.

Finally Google has added a photo viewer for Places which allows Google Maps for Android users to look at pictures of possible destinations before deciding where to go. Google Maps 5.7 can be downloaded for free from the Android Market and requires a phone running Android 2.1 or higher.

source: Google

The first processor series to receive the coveted Netflix HD certification for mobile is the TI OMAP4. Because the latter offers M-Shield security and the quad-radio WiLink connectivity, Netflix HD will stream videos securely over devices with these chips under the hood. At the same time, it will offer low CPU loading which allows the processor to multitask and do other things besides concentrate on playing videos. Battery life is supposed to be much better with Netflix HD and videos will stream at 1080p on the handset’s screen or on bigger displays by mirroring the phone on a big screen television. Texas Instruments says it is the first time that Netflix has certified its HD technology with “end to end protection on a mobile device.”

Bill Holmes, the Vice President Business Development for Netflix, said that the company has a history of streaming video to PCs, video game platforms and television sets among other devices, and was looking for a partner who could produce semiconductors for the mobile industry that could bring Netflix HD to mobile phones in a safe and secure manner. He added that the architecture of the TI OMAP4 and its M-Shield security will allow Android users to instantly watch “unlimited TV shows and movies on Android devices.”

The Motorola DROID 3, due to ship Thursday for Direct Fulfillment orders and be in the stores on July 14th as we reported, is expected to have a TI OMAP4 processor under the hood, which could allow it to be the first smartphone to eventually offer the HD version of the mobile Netflix application. According to Texas Instruments, handsets with the certified chipset will be launched in the future with the Netflix HD application pre-installed.

source: DroidLife