This week’s headlines from across Inside Network
A roundup of all the news Inside Network brought you between Oct. 22 and 28.
Inside Mobile Apps
Tracking the convergence of mobile apps, social platforms and virtual goods.
Monday, Oct. 22
- Monster-catching for grown-ups in Monster Quest
- Telerik’s Icenium tool aims to simplify cross-platform mobile development
- Borderlands Legends revealed through advertisement
- Flurry: Utilities, news, weather and sports are the most engaging app categories
- Adobe: iOS users almost twice as likely to convert through mobile search ads as Android users
- 80 percent of Bingo Blitz’s mobile revenue comes from Facebook-connected players
- Retro-photo trend continues with Vintique
- Diamond Dash reaches 30 million downloads, 68 percent of users connect the app to Facebook
- Vintique, Monster Quest, The Price is Right Slots and more on this week’s top free mobile apps
Tuesday, Oct. 23
- Sonic Jump, Sonic’s first mobile-only game, hits the App Store
- iTunes App Store earned $3.6B since January, has now paid out $6.5 billion to developers
- Apple announces $329 iPad Mini with 7.9 inch display and fourth generation iPad
- Apple takes aim at Android and the Nexus 7 with the new, developer approved iPad Mini
- Manage your projects and money with Weave
Wednesday, Oct. 24
- Marvel joins the battle of the cards with War of Heroes
- True Skate, Sonic Jump, Walking Dead and more on this week’s top paid app charts
- Google announces tracking for iOS app downloads with AdWords
- The Inside Network Job Board: Kabam, Social Point, Wooga and more
- Android’s Jelly Bean generates $1.63 ARPU, 35 percent higher than Gingerbread’s $1.20
- Reach your financial goals with CoinKeeper
- GREE purchases mobile social game developer Pokelabo for $173M
- Zynga goes for a “must have mobile” game development approach
- New hires in mobile apps: GREE, DeNA and Wooga
Thursday, Oct. 25
- Build your own haunted house in Monster Mansion
- Breaktime Studios sets itself apart with a less casual breed of casual game
- GREE reveals first English language sports game MLB: Full Deck
- Yahoo picks up Stamped in talent deal to bolster its mobile business
- Apple profits jump 23.8% year-over-year to $8.2 billion in Q4 2012
- Apple reports Chinese Q4 2012 revenues of $5.7 billion — China now 15 percent of Apple’s sales
- Symmetry is beautiful in Mirrorgram
- Tap Campus Life, Walking Dead, ForeFlight Mobile and more on this week’s top grossing apps charts
Friday, Oct. 26
- Ngmoco co-founders Neil Young, Bob Stevenson depart, Downie steps up as CEO
- Get on down with Funky Smugglers
- Competition Concerns: Google, Samsung, Microsoft gain steam while Apple stock dips on margin
- Rockstar Games to release Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on iOS and Android
- Bringing a game back from the dead: How Brainz saved its quirky tower defense title Vampire Season
- Give your movies the Michael Bay touch with Action Movie FX
- Mobile app news roundup: Gogobot, Zynga, GREE, HTC and more
Saturday, Oct. 27
Inside Social Games
Covering all the latest developments at the intersection of games and social platforms.
Monday, Oct. 22
- Stardoll review
- FarmVille 2 once again on top of this week’s fastest-growing Facebook games by MAU
- Facebook’s new features driving Bingo Blitz’s renewed success
- Webkinz launching mobile version of Webkinz Friends for iOS
Tuesday, Oct. 23
- Grand Poker review
- James Whitmarsh Speaking at Smartphone and Tablet and Games Summit
- Zuckerberg: The games ecosystem is growing
- Zynga lets 100+ employees go, closes Boston studio and contemplating more closures
- 120 employees let go from Bigpoint, CEO resigns [Update]
- McDonald’s yanks social features from kids-oriented online portal
Wednesday, Oct. 24
- SGN names Josh Yguado president
- Diggy’s Adventure takes players beneath the sands of Egypt
- Ahead of earnings report, Zynga shares open at all-time low
- FarmVille 2 reaches new heights among fastest-growing Facebook games by DAU
- The Inside Network Job Board: Kabam, Social Point, Wooga and more
- Zynga partners with bwin.party for poker and casino games in the U.K.
- Zynga reports Q3 2012 with $317 million in revenue, declines in users from Q2 2012
- Zynga goes for a “must have mobile” game development approach
- FarmVille 2 growth encouraging, but it’s not out of the woods yet
- Zynga’s game traffic reveals likely sunset candidates
- New hires in social games: Big Fish Games, East Side Games and Wooga
Thursday, Oct. 25
- NBA 2K MyLIFE review
- Facebook games whiteboard session reveals how some viral channels have recovered
Friday, Oct. 26
- Merlin: The Game review
- Happy Wars review
- Ngmoco co-founders Neil Young, Bob Stevenson depart
- Dragon City and CityVille are this week’s gainer and loser among the Top 25 Facebook games of October 2012
- Social games news roundup: Bossa Studion launch Merlin, Playdom celebrates Halloween, Peter Moore on the state of social games and more
Saturday, Oct. 27
Inside Facebook
Tracking Facebook and the Facebook platform for developers and marketers.
Monday, Oct. 22
- News Feed and mobile ads bring Facebook CPCs down to 2010 levels, TBG report finds
- Facebook tests ‘suggested post’ label for non-social News Feed ads
- Farmville 2, Muzy.com, TripAdvisor, JetSet Secrets and more on this week’s top 20 Facebook apps growing by MAU
- Facebook’s new features driving Bingo Blitz’s renewed success
- Facebook wants Open Graph language to ‘feel natural,’ represent actual behavior
Tuesday, Oct. 23
- Facebook code hints at ads possibly coming to messages product
- Zuckerberg: The games ecosystem is growing
- Facebook reports $1.262B in revenue for Q3 2012, net loss of $59M
- Facebook’s global growth in Q3: 1.01B MAU, 604M people connect through mobile
- Facebook addresses mobile monetization concerns with stats and reminders about newly launched products
Wednesday, Oct. 24
- Facebook rolls out messages update with new layout, photo sharing, emoticons, keyboard shortcuts and more
- Facebook tests star ratings for places
- Romney, Obama and others in this week’s top PTAT gainers for political pages
- Facebook spent $715M on Instagram, $87M on other acquisitions this year
Thursday, Oct. 25
- Facebook Exchange: what it is and who to work with to get started
- Facebook CTR, CPC and CPM trends are ‘win-win-win,’ Spruce Media says
- SchoolFeed, Instagram, Angry Birds Friends, Amazon and more on this week’s top 20 growing Facebook apps by DAU
- Facebook reveals some viral channels for games have recovered
- Facebook hires: lead privacy counsel, executive briefing center manager, merchant operations analyst, more
- Facebook careers: strategic partnerships, media solutions, finance, SMB sales, more
Friday, Oct. 26
- Facebook removes Collections feature after test, prepares for full launch
- Facebook adds more quality controls for app notifications, gives developers better tracking tools
- Facebook users reached with paid media have higher shopping and buying participation than Internet average
- JetSet Secrets, MeuChip, Cinemagram, Jurassic Park Builder and more on this week’s emerging Facebook apps
- Facebook recommends upcoming concerts in News Feed
- Facebook roundup: share price up, Firefox gets social, Radian6 staff cut and more
Inside Social Commerce
Tracking the convergence of social media and commerce.
Monday, Oct. 22
Tuesday, Oct. 23
Wednesday, Oct. 24
- U.K. classifieds service Gumtree comes to mobile
- Report: Salesforce cuts Radian6 staff 17 months after acquisition
Thursday, Oct. 25
Friday, Oct. 26
