This week’s headlines from across Inside Network
A roundup of all the news Inside Network brought you between July 9 and 14.
Inside Mobile Apps
Tracking the convergence of mobile apps, social platforms and virtual goods.
Monday, July 9
- Nexon’s MapleStory returns to mobile with MapleStory Live
- Chartboost and TinyCo lure Kindle Fire devs with up to $2.50 per install
- Distimo: Russia, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey some of the most lucrative iOS app markets worldwide
- Angry Birds Seasons, The End, Guess the Character and more on this week’s top free iOS apps
Tuesday, July 10
- Defend the night in Vampire Season
- Ouya courts mobile developers with access to the TV
- Jason Citron’s Phoenix Guild nets $1.1M in funding to create “exploitation-free” games for core gamers
- Rovio’s Amazing Alex hits iOS, Android on July 12
- Where’s My Perry, Kingdom Rush, Ski Safari and more on this week’s top paid iOS apps
Wednesday, July 11
- Kontagent and Tapjoy announce partnership, hint at integrated product suite
- Battle and build with Clash of Clans
- Amazon unveils Game Center-like GameCircle, adds leaderboards, achievement and cloud sync to Kindle Fire games
- Google tries cross-promoting Chrome for Mobile via web version
- Inside Virtual Goods: Spending and Usage Patterns of the Mobile Gaming Audience Is Here
- Facebook updates developer SDK for iOS
- Ampulum: Word of mouth, app store features trump mobile advertising
- Inside Network Job Board: Ubisoft, GREE, King.com and more
- CSR Racing, Rage of Bahamut, Zynga Slots and more on this week’s top grossing iOS apps
- Disney rebooting Tap Tap Revenge for mobile devices with Tap Tap Revenge Tour
Thursday, July 12
- Jewels With Buddies adds match-3 to “With Buddies” series
- PapayaMobile launches AppFlood, an Android-only cross-promotion network
- Spreading harmony in the Middle East with Run for Peace
- New hires in mobile: GREE, Gameloft and InMobi
Friday, July 13
- Amazing Alex is the No. 1 paid app in over 50 countries, but can’t crack the top grossing charts
- Build an incredible machine with Amazing Alex
- App-o-Day seeing 3x growth rate for its app promotion service
- Docomo and Baidu complete investment in mobile content platform, DeNA benefits
- Amazing Alex, Airport City and more on this week’s Android app charts
- Mobile app news roundup: Russian hacks, Chinese revenues and aggressive adware
Saturday, July 14
Inside Social Games
Covering all the latest developments at the intersection of games and social platforms.
Monday, July 9
- Betable launches real money games platform
- Bubble Safari on top of this week’s fastest-growing Facebook games by MAU
- Jane Austen’s Rogues & Romance review
- 5th Planet Games launches Legacy of Heroes exclusively on Kongregate
Tuesday, July 10
- East Side Games grew a massive Facebook hit with $800 worth of marketing
- Richard Garriott’s Portalarium closes $7M Series A round of financing
- Rainbow Rush review
Wednesday, July 11
- Social Point closes $7.4M round of Series B funding
- EA’s “Sim” games are this week’s fastest-growing Facebook games by DAU
- Inside Virtual Goods: Spending and Usage Patterns of the Mobile Gaming Audience Is Here
- Botkin’s Hidden Cove review
- Inside Network Job Board: Ubisoft, FunSockets, King.com and more
- Disney rebooting Tap Tap Revenge for mobile devices with Tap Tap Revenge Tour
Thursday, July 12
- Jewels With Buddies adds match-3 to “With Buddies” series
- Disney’s Ghosts of Mistwood review
- SongPop and Bubble Island this week’s gainer and loser among July’s Top 25 Facebook games
- New hires in social games: Zynga, EA PopCap and Wooga
- Birdopolis flies to the top of this week’s list of emerging Facebook games
Friday, July 13
- Bubble Country review
- Zynga, Kixeye and EA work with Facebook to allow users to begin playing games without requiring permissions dialog
- Social games news roundup: Social games need regulating, Farm Kingdom gets an update and Bingo Blitz comes to mobile
Saturday, July 14
Inside Facebook
Tracking Facebook and the Facebook platform for developers and marketers.
Monday, July 9
- App Center launches for English-speaking countries; translations now accepted
- Facebook and CNN team up for U.S. presidential election initiatives
- Face.com shuts down API and Klik mobile app following Facebook acquisition
- Facebook now allows pages to make ‘unpublished’ posts to test creative options
- TripAdvisor, Bubble Safari, SongPop, SimCity Social, more on this week’s top 20 growing Facebook apps by MAU
Tuesday, July 10
- Facebook adds music sharing feature, total Spotify plays, top videos and more to artists’ pages
- Oracle buys Involver less than 2 months after Vitrue acquisition
- Facebook now displays up to 10 ads on a single page
- Facebook pages now show top related articles and videos based on users’ Open Graph activity
- New Facebook platform industry hires: GraphEffect, Nanigans, Shoutlet
Wednesday, July 11
- Early tests show Android users respond better to mobile Facebook ads than iPhone users do
- Inside Virtual Goods: Spending and Usage Patterns of the Mobile Gaming Audience Is Here
- Facebook updates developer SDK for iOS
- Facebook groups will soon show members who has seen each post and when
- Facebook and NBC partner for Olympics coverage and Timeline integration
- Facebook puts events in calendar view for easier browsing and planning, but improvements still needed
Thursday, July 12
- Pages can now add location to their posts
- Kiddie Mojo, Wet Seal, Old Navy and others in this week’s most talked about pages among clothing retailers
- Social Curation Summit attracts expert curators and tastemakers — July 31 in New York
- Facebook creates new feature to announce weddings and engagements on homepage
- SimCity Social, SongPop, Chill, TripAdvisor and more on this week’s top 20 growing Facebook apps by MAU
- Facebook hires: software engineers, product design manager, client partner, account managers and more
- Facebook career postings: new positions for growth in China and Russia, creative strategist, revenue forecasting and more
Friday, July 13
- Facebook begins rolling out Timeline for pages on mobile devices
- Facebook tests ‘start now’ option to allow users to begin playing games without authorizing permissions
- Facebook begins rotating ads on static pages if users don’t interact
- Votigo moves beyond promotions to provide conversation management and other social marketing software
- CSR Racing, Ghosts of Mistwood, The Ville, GifBoom and more on this week’s top 20 emerging Facebook apps
- Facebook roundup: homepage ads, Android update, measurement challenge, malware checkpoints and more
