Amazon is rumored to release tools for game developers that will allow them to add social features to their games. The information comes from Bloomberg, who spoke to an anonymous source.

The report would make sense, as the company has been openly hiring for developers with social and mobile game development experience for over a year. According to Bloomberg’s source, developers will be able to implement features like monitoring high scores and keeping track of awards won in a game.

Allowing developers the option to add social features to their Kindle Fire games could help the device stay competitive with Apple’s iOS devices and the recently-announced Nexus 7 from Google. While the Kindle Fire had strong initial sales, Amazon hasn’t followed up any sales data, so it’s hard to tell if the device has kept up its momentum.

In order to stay competitive, Amazon needs to provide apps with similar features to those already available on the Apple App Store and Google Play (formerly the Android Marketplace), especially since Amazon’s app store only offers roughly 43,000 apps compared to the 600,000+ available by both Google and Apple.

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This story originally appeared on our sister site Inside Social Games.

Advertising impressions on tablets are growing twice as fast as they are on smartphones, according to mobile advertising network InMobi.

Over the last six months InMobi has seen the number of tablet impressions grow by 88 percent on its network. Android devices now account for 28.9 percent of all tablet impressions the company serves, up from 18.2 percent in Q4 2011.

InMobi credits the growth in Android tablets almost entirely to the success of Amazon’s Kindle Fire, which alone accounts for 9.2 percent of impressions. The Kindle Fire is the second most popular tablet in the market, behind Apple’s iPad. The third most popular tablet is the Asus Eee Pad Transformer, which accounts for just 5.2 percent of InMobi’s tablet impressions.

Overall, InMobi’s numbers echo the results of another mobile advertising company’s latest study. Competitor Millennial Media’s latest Mobile Mix Report noted impressions on non-phone connected devices (i.e. tablets, e-readers and MP3 players) were up 33 percent quarter-over-quarter. In that category, Millennial reported the iPad was the most popular device, followed by the Samsung Galaxy Tab, with Amazon’s fast-growing Kindle Fire taking the No. 3 spot.

With two of the biggest independent mobile advertising networks both highlighting the growth of the Kindle Fire’s market share among Android tablets, it’s safe to assume if Amazon’s device can continue its momentum it will split the Android market, making Amazon App Store the best way to reach Android tablet owners.  With developers like Crowdstar and TinyCo reporting the Amazon App Store is capable of delivering higher average revenue per user that both Google Play and the iTunes App Store for iPad, it seems prudent for Android developers to begin exploring their options on Amazon if they wish to participate in the Android tablet market at all.

Unity Awards nominations now open — Nominations for the annual Unity awards are now open. The awards were created to recognize outstanding examples of games and other projects created using Unity. The deadline for nominations is June 15 and the winners will be announced on August 23.

Industry vets unite to form Fun Machine — Video game industry veterans Patrick Curry, Michael Hadwin, Neill Glancy and Stephen Palmer have taken their mobile entertainment start-up, Fun Machine out of stealth. Based in Austin, the company’s first game Awesome Eats has been downloaded more than 800,000 times on iOS.

GameSalad expands to Windows — GameSalad’s code-less mobile app development tool is now available on Windows. To date GameSalad users have created more than 60,000 mobile and web apps.

iZettle distributes 3,000 free mobile payment readers to small businesses in the UK — Swedish mobile payment provider iZettle is looking to cement its lead over potential rivals Square and Paypal in Europe. This week the company launched its UK service by distributing 3,000 free mobile payment readers to small businesses in the country reports TechCrunch.

iOS has 55 percent of mobile advertising market, Android 45 percent — According to mobile marketing company Velti’s State of Mobile Advertising report, iOS now accounts for 55 percent of mobile advertising impressions.

Amazon selling $600,000 advertising packages on Kindle Fire — Amazon is offering advertisers a chance to get their ads on the welcome screen of its Kindle Fire tablet. AdAge reports the packages begin at $600,000 and will run for 2 months.

Everyme unveils new apps — Mobile group sharing startup Everyme has launched new Android and web apps and revamped its iOS app. According to TechCrunch, the service’s users have shared 100,000 stories and 30,000 photos since launching last June.

[Earnings] Gamevil posts $4.45 million profit in Q1 2012 – South Korean mobile-social game company Gamevil has posted a net profit of 5.2 billion won ($4.45 million) and 16.6 billion won in sales for Q1 2012 ($14.2 million), up 160 and 105 percent year-over-year. 91 percent of the company’s total sales were from in-app purchases and 92 percent of total sales were from smartphones.

[Earnings] Millennial reports net loss of $4 million — Mobile advertising company Millennial Media had a disappointing first earnings report as a publicly traded company. The company’s revenues increased to $32.9 million but posted net loss of $4 million for Q1 2012. The company lost $23,000 in the first quarter of 2011.

[Funding] Serious Parody nets £1 million — Scottish iOS developer Serious Parody has recived a £1 million investment from private investors, but also including £230,000 in funding from the Scottish Enterprise Regional Selective Assistance grant, reports VentureBeat.

[Launch] Songify comes to Android – Smule has released Songify, an app it picked up when it acquired Khush, on Android reports VentureBeat.

[Rumor] Next iPhone to have 4 inch screen – Various sources are reporting the next iPhone will have a much larger screen, measuring 4 inches from corner-to-corner, up from the current 3.5 inch screen.

[Rumor] Chrome coming to iOS — Macquarie analyst Ben Schacter is predicting Google is bringing its Chrome browser to Apple’s iOS operating system, reports Business Insider.

Google improves mobile search ads — Google has added several new features to AdWords to improve its mobile advertising tools. Advertisers can now advertise both their website and their app through the new Mobile App extension and Mobile ads units now show more information about mobile apps. Advertisers can also track downloads through AdWorks and a new AdMob SDK allows for custom search ads in tablet apps. More information can be found on the Google mobile ads blog.

Newzoo: 91 percent of mobile game revenue comes from in-app purchases — According to a study from Dutch research firm Newzoo, 91 percent of mobile app revenues on iOS and Android (excluding ad revenue) come from in-app purchases, not up from App purchases. 36 percent of all mobile gamers in the U.S. are now paying for in-app purchases and other virtual goods.

Kingdom Age racks up 1 million downloads in 12 days – Funzio’s latest iOS game Kingdom Age has seen more than 1 million installs and 20 million player-vs-play battles since its release on April 19. The company’s success was a major reason behind GREE’s $210 million acquisition of Funzio, according Shanti Bergel, GREE’s SVP of business and corporate development. For more information on the deal read our interview with Bergel and Funzio COO Anil Dharni.

Zynga adds paid advertising into Draw Something — Zynga has found a new way to monetize Draw Something. Advertisers can now pay to have words added to the popular game. According to AdAge, new words sponsored by Coca-Cola, Doritos and the National Hockey League have all bought brand advertising.

CyberAgent becoming mobile social network — Japan’s CyberAgent, best know for its cross-platform Ameba blogging service is pivoting. Starting next month the Ameba platform on smartphones will be a social network with a focus on social games, reports Dr. Serkan Toto. The move will put CyberAgent in direct competition with DeNA and GREE, two of the most profitable game companies in the world.

Angry Birds Space hits 50 million downloads — Angry Birds Space is now the fastest growing mobile app in history, passing 50 million downloads in 35 days according to Rovio. The previous record holder was Zynga’s Draw Something, which took 50 days to reach 50 million downloads.

Instagram up to 50 million users – Photo sharing service Instagram now has more than 50 million users, and is adding more than 5 million new users a week, reports Mashable.

More Android earnings figures emerge from Google/Oracle trial — According to the latest numbers revealed in the Google/Oracle trial over the use of Java in the Android OS, Android was a net loss for Google every quarter of 2010. Reuters has more information.

Kindle Fire shipments crash and burn? — Amazon shipped just 750,000 Kindle Fire tablets in the first quarter of 2012, down from the 4.8 million it shipped in Q4 2011 according to AllThingsD. Apple sold 11.8 million iPads in the same period.

Gameloft commits to BlackBerry 10 — Gameloft has announced 11 of its games are being optimized for BlackBerry 10. Shark Dash, N.O.V.A 3, Ice Age Village and Oregon Trail: American Settler will be available on BlackBerry App World at launch. The other seven titles will follow.

Mobile Roadie launches native iPad app and mobile website products — Self-service mobile app creation service Mobile Roadie has expanded its product offerings. Clients can now use Mobile Roadie to create native iPad apps and mobile websites.

It’s now easier for Unity devs to use Kontagent — Developers creating games in the popular Unity Engine can now use Kontagent’s plug-in to add the company’s analytics service to their apps, streamlining the implementation process.

Citron unveils new mobile game studio — OpenFeint co-founder Jason Citron has founded a new mobile game studio called Phoenix Guild, reports Gamasutra. The former GREE executive will be targeting hardcore console gamers.

Appssavvy’s Adtivity celebrates first birthday — Appssavvy’s Adtivity advertising platform is celebrating its first birthday. The service has almost 100 publishers signed up, and counts Ubisoft, TheBroth and Coca-Cola among its client list.

RIM promises certified apps will make at least $10,000 – In order to attract app developers to BlackBerry RIM is promising that all certified apps that can earn at least $1000 on their own will earn $10,000 in its BlackBerry App World app store. If not, RIM will pay developers the difference, reports The Verge.

CocoaChina wants Apple to open WWDC ticket exchange — Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference sold out in less than two hours, leaving many without tickets. Chinese iOS developer community CocoaChina is trying to convince Apple to open a ticket exchange (as tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable) to help developers without tickets attend the event. The group has created the WWDC waitlist website: http://www.wwdcwaitlist.org/ in order to coordinate developers who missed out on tickets.

[Launch] GREE launches Dino Life on Android — GREE’s has launched its first Android exclusive title, the free-to-play animal care game Dino Life. The game is free-to-play.

[Funding] SocialCam raises celebrity Angel seed round — TechCrunch is reporting SocialCam has raised a round of seed funding from several well known investors such as Ashton Kutcher, Tim Draper, Yuri Milner. The amount of funding SocialCam raised is not yet known.

[Funding] Appthority nets $6.25 Series A — Mobile app security company Appthority has raised $6.25 million in Series A funding. The round was lead by Venrock and US Venture partners.

[Funding] Pindrop raises $1 million seed round – Mobile phone security company has raised $1 million in seed funding. Its seed round was lead by Andreessen Horowitz.

Trial unearths Android earnings — According to information revealed in Google/Oracle trial over the use of Java in Android, in 2010 Google estimated it would earn $278.1 million from Android, breaking down to $158.9 million on ads and $3.8 million from app sales, reports The Verge.

Nintendo posts $534 million loss — Nintendo has posted its first annual loss in 30 years. Numerous factors contributed to the loss: selling the 3DS below cost, a 30 percent drop in sales due to low demand for the Wii and competition from smartphones and tablets.

Draw Something now on Fire — Zynga has brought its smash-hit social game Draw Something to the Kindle Fire. As with iOS and Android, the game is available in both a free and a paid $1.99 version in the Amazon Appstore.

Indie hit SpellTower adds 20,000 downloads in two days – Gamasutra is reporting Zach Gage, the creator of SpellTower, was able to sell 21,576 copies of his game in two days after going on a social media push. The game had sold 61,987 copies in its previous five month on the App Store.

Viddy raising $30 million – Popular mobile video sharing app Viddy is raising a $30 million round of funding that would value the company at over $300 million, reports VentureBeat.

Carmen Electra the new face of Texas Hold ‘Em Poker app — Kama Games has signed Carmen Electra as the face of its top grossing poker app Texas Hold ‘Em Poker. Electra appears in the game’s loading screen, main menu, tutorial and as the dealer at each table.

Google expected to sell 10 million Android tablets in 2011 — Google had lofty goals for its tablet plans. The company expected to sell 10 million tablets a year in 2011 and 2012, owning a third of the tablet market, reports The Verge.

Gumi opens Singapore office — Japanese mobile social game company gumi has opened its second overseas office in a month, setting up shop in Singapore.

Kindle Fire captures 54% of Android tablet market – More than half of all Android tablets are Kindle Fires, according to the latest study from ComScore. The Amazon devices make up 54.4 percent of all Android tablets. The second most popular choice is a Samsung Galaxy tablet, which accounts for 15.4 percent of all Android tablets.

Rovio execs depart to form own studio — Rovio’s Antti Stén and Tuomas Erikoinen have left the Angry Birds nest to form their own game studio, Boomlagoon. Erikoinen was the lead artist for Angry Birds, Angry Birds Rio and Angry Birds Seasons.

[Funding] DoubleDutch nets $2 million Series A — Cloud-based mobile enterprise platform DoubleDutch has closed a $2 million round of Series A funding. The round was lead by Bullpen Capital.

[Funding] Moat float $12 million – Advertising analytics company Moat has netted $12 million in a second round of funding. The round was lead by Mayfield Fund. Mayfield’s Tim Chang has also joined Moat’s board.

King.com is expanding its “Saga” games beyond Facebook today, launching Bubble Saga for the Kindle Fire.

The tablet version of Bubble Saga is completely cross-platform, as player scores, progress and virtual goods are synchronized with the Facebook version of the game. This is similar to what King.com did with the iOS version of its match-3 title Miner Speed; cross-promotion led to significant traffic boosts for the Facebook version of the game.

Bubble Saga is one of the oldest “Saga” titles on Facebook, having launched in April 2011, but it still brings in over one million daily active users and appeared on our April list of the Top 25 Facebook Games. Starting out with Bubble Saga allows King.com to work with a smaller audience, smoothing out any kinks with the platform that may pop up before larger audiences.

Bubble Saga is only the first “Saga” title King.com has planned for mobile devices. When Candy Crush launched a few weeks ago, CMO Alex Dale confirmed multiple titles were coming to both both iOS and Android, but there isn’t a confirmed timeline for this. King.com tells us it will probably bring Bubble Witch Saga to mobile devices next, though it can’t say when.

The Kindle Fire version of Bubble Saga can downloaded for free both directly on the Kindle Fire itself or from the Amazon Appstore.  King.com confirmed that a version of the game for all other Android devices is in the works, but didn’t provide us with a planned release date.