Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad , iPhone , iPod touch , iDevice Apps , Mac Software Macintosh and iPhone/iPod/iPad product updates and announcements for March 10, 2010: Macintosh iPod Macintosh iWebThemesPark has launched ten new iWeb Themes for Apple’s iWeb. In addition, a free iWeb Theme has been released for all iWeb users. Brand new, amazing and supreme quality iWeb Themes from iWebThemesPark are the perfect way to create or update a website. Some iWeb Templates are recommended for building business websites, so everyone can find a perfect theme for any kind of website. The package of ten themes for an unbelievably low price is most likely to be the best offer ever. iUseMac has announced that it will be featuring the innovative image identification software PhotoBrain at 50% off on Wednedsay March 10th and Thursday March 11th. PhotoBrain is an advanced software for image identification and photo matching, it’s the first image search engine on the local drive to use image identification technology. iUseMac offers popular Mac applications at reduced prices for limited time periods. This offer will start on Wednedsay March 10th and will end 48 hours later. Intego has announced VirusBarrier X6 Dual Protection , featuring the latest version of its acclaimed anti-malware and network security software together with BitDefender Antivirus 2010 so Mac users can protect their Windows installations. The latest version of Intego’s anti-malware and network security program includes new threat-detection techniques, improved methods of detection, combined detection protocols, proactive behavioral analysis, and a full range of defensive functions. Bambooapps today announce Quiet Read Pro , an important update to their popular link management application for Macintosh. Quiet Read lets you save any link for later, and is an unobtrusive, easy to use application that features a clean interface. Quiet Read Pro features a comfortable and simple user interface, providing support for bookmarklets, syncing with MobileMe, short URLs, with list searching and filtering capabilities. Eltima Software has announced the release of Folx 1.0 , a free download manager for Mac OS X

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Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad product news – March 10, 2010

Filed under: Gaming , Freeware , Apple , Developer , iPhone , App Store There’s been some interesting discussion in our comments section lately about Ngmoco’s freemium model — first they made headlines by endorsing it even to the detriment of one of their most popular games , and then they bought Freeverse and the conversation started up again. But while customers don’t seem to like the freemium model very much, there’s a growing number of examples that go the other way, and here’s another: Appy Entertainment is a company that’s been doing fairly well with a game called FaceFighter , but last weekend, they decided to drop the price of that game to free, and use the giveaway to promote their newest game, Tune Runner . And the plan worked extremely well — after just a week, their original music game is rivaling Rock Band and Tap Tap Revenge for downloads. FaceFighter hadn’t been doing badly, but offering it up for free not only increased its downloads to several hundred thousand (which sounds like a lot for Appy), but put the new game in front of a whole bunch of people who otherwise might not have heard about it. And Tune Runner is a “freemium” app — you get the first hit for free, and can buy more premium content inside the app. With an example like this, why would a developer not go with a freemium model? As Freeverse’s CEO told us , customers may complain about the model, but assuming your game has the quality to support it, it’s the best way to monetize the App Store’s huge audience. That’s not to say that the paid model should be abandoned for good — even Appy says they plan to release a paid version of their app with the in-app purchase content already unlocked.

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Tune Runner rises to the top on a wave of free

Developer ngmoco secured $25 million and used the money to purchase developer Freeverse. Get ready for all your favorite Freeverse apps to get in-app purchases. We debate Apple’s latest app store controversy concerning adult apps. Just how sexy can your app be before it’s pulled by Apple? Plus, we answer your hard-hitting Twitter and Facebook questions! Okay, they weren’t that hard-hitting. Got a question, but you’re afraid to leave a voice message because of Witness Relocation Dept. rules? Drop us a question via Twitter twitter.com/maclife . This week’s Battlestar Applactica picks: Plants vs Zombies – $2.99 … – $1.99   Don’t forget, the Mac | Life staff would love to hear your thoughts, comments and ideas for the new podcast. Just leave a message on the Mac | Live question/comment line: (877) 404-1337, extension 622. Please limit the length of your messages to 1 minute max. We’ll review these calls each week and feature our favorites, along with responses, on that week’s podcast. To subscribe to the Mac | Live podcast series through an RSS feed, click here ; if you want to subscribe through the iTunes Store, click here .  

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Podcast #129: ngmoco Swallows Freeverse and Apple Removes Sexy From the App Store

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad , iPhone , iPod touch , iDevice Apps , Mac Software , Originals Macintosh and iPhone/iPod/iPad product updates and announcements for February 23, 2010: Macintosh iPod Macintosh Yummy Software has announced Yummy FTP 1.8.2 , an update to their popular FTP client for Mac OS X. Built from the ground up as a native OS X app, Yummy FTP was designed with the goal of providing a reliable, powerful, yet easy to use file transfer utility. Version 1.8.2 gains a Transmit favorite import capability, amongst several other enhancements, as well as some bug fixes. Yummy FTP has gained a reputation for being the fastest, most reliable, and most flexible FTP client available. Araelium Group has announced DMG Canvas 2.0 , an update to its disk image creation application for Mac OS X. DMG Canvas builds disk images from template documents designed using a slick graphical WYSIWYG editor, and allows users to specify the license agreements displayed when the disk image is mounted. Version 2.0 offers advanced background layout with customizable text and image objects, and much more. iUseMac has announced it will be featuring the popular racing game for Mac— Island Racer —for 24% off on Tuesday February 23th and Wednesday February 24th. iUseMac offers popular Mac applications at reduced prices for limited time periods. Island Racer is a casual racing game full of fun for your Mac. Select from different cars and colors to race in head-to-head competition

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Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad product news – February 23, 2010

They might have cancelled the follow-up to their cute little rolling blob series, Rolando, because it couldn’t be turned into a “freemium” title, but iPhone game startup Ngmoco clearly isn’t doing bad itself: they’ve raised $25 million in capital fund and purchased Freeverse. Who is Freeverse? They’re another popular iPhone gaming company, responsible for titles such

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Ngmoco’s “freemium” model pays off, acquires iPhone game company Freeverse

Big news today as two of the iPhone’s biggest game makers become one through acquisition. ngmoco, makers of such hits as Rolando 2 and Eliminate Pro , has purchased Freeverse , another hit game maker with some significant successes under its belt, including many early App Store hits. Flick Fishing and Moto Chaser might ring some bells, sitting as they did on the top 25 list for long stretches. The acquisition brings together two of the most significant developers in App Store history, both of which have built their considerable reputations exclusively through their efforts with the iPhone and iPod touch. It’s a step that represents a big milestone in the life of the App Store’s maturing ecosystem. On the surface, it doesn’t appear at this point as though the merger will affect what most App Store users see. According to ngmoco’s CEO Neil Young: Freeverse, much like us, is comprised of true game-makers. Now with our combined forces, their titles can reach more people and the talented folks at Freeverse can keep doing what they do best, which is making great games. Freeverse won’t undergo any changes in terms of its name, branding or management now that its owned by ngmoco. All Freeverse games will likely now include Plus+ network features, which allow gamers to have a more social experience akin to an Xbox live for iPhone users. Freeverse was already a partner involved in that ngmoco-started endeavor, beginning with Flick Fishing. Even if the effects of this acquisition aren’t immediately apparent or even visible to the average consumer, that doesn’t mean this doesn’t represent a significant change in how the App Store operates. Freeverse is just the beginning for ngmoco, and a way to diversify its brand. The maker of Eliminate Pro and Touch Pets Dogs has itself acknowledged a shift towards producing primarily free-to-play games in the press release announcing the acquisition, which depend on additional purchases of in-app content to generate revenue: Last year ngmoco added top executives from the games, platform technology and web sectors and launched its leading player network, Plus+

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The App Store Gets a Little Smaller: ngmoco Acquires Freeverse

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad , iPhone , iPod touch , iDevice Apps , Mac Software , Games Big news this morning is that Freeverse has been bought out by games publisher ngmoco following a major infusion of funding for the latter company. It’s a smart purchase: Freeverse has made several games for the App Store which turn up in the Top Picks section, but Mac users of another decade will remember them as the makers of oddball games like Burning Monkey Solitaire and more offbeat “toys” such as Sim Stapler and, of course, Jared, Butcher of Songs . In recent years, though, Freeverse shifted away from OS X development to focus on the more lucrative iPhone/iPod touch market. No word yet on how the purchase will affect Freeverse in terms of corporate identity (and how odd it is to type that phrase when referring to the makers of Jared), whether they will continue as a distinct unit inside ngmoco or be absorbed entirely. We’ll update you when we know more. Via [ Touch Arcade ] Full Story » | Written by Bill Stiteler for Appletell . | Comment on this Article »

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Freeverse sold to ngmoco

Ladies and gentlemen, the consolidation of iPhone gaming companies has begun! Will startup ngmoco be the Godzilla of App Store gaming? TechCrunch is reporting that iPhone game startup ngmoco has raised a $25 million series C round and taken its first step toward dominance in the App Store by acquiring Freeverse , creator of such popular games as Moto Chaser , Flick Bowling and Flick Fishing . The financing round was led by Institutional Venture Partners, with existing shareholders Kleiner Perkins, Norwest Venture Partners and Maples Investments also participating. That brings ngmoco’s total capital raised to $40.6 million — which yet again proves that iPhone gaming is indeed nothing to sneeze at. ngmoco CEO Neil Young (not to be confused with the performer of the same name) claims that he wants to “amass enough scale to accelerate away from the pack,” and the swallowing up of Freeverse is certainly a good start. ngmoco has already made a name for themselves in the iPhone gaming world, with two of its titles alone ( TouchPets and Eliminate ) having been installed 9 million times, with hundreds of thousands of customers playing their games every day. Last year, ngmoco switched their games to a free model with in-app purchases for virtual goods through its Plus+ social game network. By comparison, all of the Freeverse games have been paid apps, with their Skee-Ball ranked as the No. 4 paid app in the App Store. Young plans to switch the Freeverse games to the free-to-play model, which should net them more downloads and then the potential to make money from the in-app purchases. Young also reports that he has acquired the 99-cent game Charadium from a separate developer and plans to convert it to the same model. That business model appears to be working: Young says that ngmoco’s TouchPets had “its biggest revenue day” last weekend and they currently have two new games — We Rule and GodFinger — on deck specifically designed for the free-to-play model. “On any given day, you have about two percent of your audience paying you money,” Young says. But don’t expect these acquisitions to slow the ngmoco team down — they’re already planning 20 new games for this year, with Freeverse expected to nearly match that. Can stomping Tokyo be far behind

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iPhone Gamer ngmoco Raises $25 Million, Swallows Freeverse Whole

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad , iPhone , iPod touch , iDevice Apps , Mac Software , Originals Macintosh and iPhone/iPod/iPad product updates and announcements for February 22, 2010: Macintosh iPod Macintosh Kanex has announced the official pre-order availability of its Macworld 2010 Best of Show Award Winner: Kanex XD . This HDMI to Mini DisplayPort converter is specifically designed to give you multiple functionalities with your Apple iMac 27-inch display. Now you can enjoy your iMac 27-inch as both a desktop computer and an HDTV with the Kanex XD. Using the iMac’s beautifully backlit LED display, you can play your PlayStation3, Xbox 360 Elite, and Blu-Ray DVDs experiencing amazing HD visuals. Audio is also transmitted through the Mini DisplayPort into the iMac 27-inch for audio playback. Independent software developer Christian Kienle today announced Ebbinghaus 3.2 for Mac OS X. Ebbinghaus is an easy-to-use flash card application with a beautiful iTunes-like user interface. Organize your cards in decks, folders and smart decks. Ebbinghaus 3.2 comes with a lot of new refinements, including the ability to resize the study window

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Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad product news – February 22, 2010

Filed under: Gaming , Software , Apple , iPhone , App Store TechCrunch is reporting that iPhone game company Ngmoco has just picked up $25 million in another round of fundraising, which they used to buy out Freeverse , one of the most storied Mac game developers (and recently, iPhone game developers) on the block. The two companies were already close — Freeverse went with Ngmoco’s Plus+ network for social connections in its games, including Flick Fishing and Moto Thunder — but this buyout would put Ngmoco in charge of their whole catalog. Ngmoco CEO Neil Young says that he plans to take all of Freeverse’s currently paid games and convert them all into the free-to-play model that Ngmoco has grown so comfortable with. It’s a pretty bold move — Ngmoco is seriously investing in this model (even to the extent where they’ll cancel planned games unless they can squeeze them into the model ), and now Freeverse will have to follow suit. There’s no word on what will happen to Freeverse’s significant Mac game library as well — will that part of the company be split off? Will Ngmoco shut it all down and choose to focus on iPhone apps? Unfortunately, the only available information is the post on TechCrunch. We’ve put out calls to both developers and will get back to you when we know more. Ngmoco picks up $25 million in funding, buys Freeverse originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Ngmoco picks up $25 million in funding, buys Freeverse originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Ngmoco picks up $25 million in funding, buys Freeverse