insiders

How push notifications can save your app from getting dumped

Generally, I'm not a fan of apps shooting push notifications out to my phone.

No, "Words with Friends," I don't care that I'm about to forfeit my game. There's a reason I stopped playing it. I don't need an alert any time I get a new friend on Facebook.

But apparently, notifications do make a difference when it comes to engagement, and sometimes they're what keeps an app from getting deleted off the phone or being one of the myriad of unused "zombie" apps left ignored on a smartphone. With … Read more

How to simplify your messy photo collection

Woven is aiming to create some order out of the chaos that is your photos.

If you're anything like me, your collection of photos are in a number of disparate places, from Facebook to Instagram, as well some stored on a smartphone, with others on a PC. Sure, there's Dropbox, but who's going to pay for that much storage?

So Woven, created by a Boston start-up called Litl, is a nice, if basic, start to the organization of all your albums, drawing from a variety of different sources. It's designed to be a one-stop shop photo … Read more

How to load up on apps for back-to-school season

The new school year can be hectic enough.

So I figured that I would round up some useful smartphone apps for students trying to survive their first few days back at school. While I assume this column will be read by college students starting a new semester or quarter, I can only imagine younger kids and parents can find some use in this as well.

Given the increase in smartphone use across all ages, I wouldn't be surprised. Fortunately, much of the advice applies to everyone.

Some of these may be obvious, but hopefully not all of them are. … Read more

How Electronic Arts resurrected its DOA Simpsons game

Don't call it a comeback.

"The Simpsons: Tapped Out" made its quiet return late last week after suffering through one of the more embarrassing meltdowns in app history when Electronic Arts pulled the game from Apple's App Store just a few days after its first launch in March. Simpsons fans had overwhelmed the server, causing connection problems, while massive bugs made for a terrible playing experience.

The incident is a lesson for any developer looking to launch a game with any amount of anticipation: be sure you're ready for the demand. Also, don't rush … Read more

How one start-up is turning movies into mobile apps

MoPix CEO Ryan Stoner has a novel way for independent filmmakers to get their work directly into the hands of their audience: turn the movies into apps.

MoPix today unveiled a platform that will allow directors to create apps out of their movies. In addition to the film, the app can include DVD-style extras like behind-the-scenes footage, a photo gallery, filmography, and other features. Think of it as buying a DVD or Blu-ray disc, only stored to your iPad.

Admittedly, I was a bit confused by the notion. Can't filmmakers just sell them through iTunes?

But Stoner said he … Read more

How SportStream adds the social element to viewing games

I'm a big sports fan, so I was happy to get my hands on SportStream, which promises to bring a sense of community to your sports-viewing experience.

Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed with the app, and felt it missed a big opportunity.

SportStream, which is available as an iPad app, is fairly simple. You pick a professional baseball, basketball, football, or hockey game, and are brought to a social feed page. The feed provides play-by-play updates, as well as notable tweets from bloggers, sports journalists, athletes, and other personalities.

There's a section to the right in which … Read more

Zynga slapped with dueling shareholder lawsuits

It's been a dismal week for Zynga. First news of bleak revenue growth in the second quarter followed by plunging stock prices, then accusations of insider trading... and now the gaming company is being slapped with two shareholder lawsuits.

The almost identical lawsuits are being filed by two California law firms seeking class-action status on behalf of stockholders who are accusing Zynga of not warning them about slumping revenue growth before the company's shares plummeted 42 percent last week, according to Reuters.

"Zynga misrepresented or failed to disclose material adverse facts about its business, operations, and growth … Read more

For iOS developers, enterprise is the place to be

I normally loathe writing about the corporate world, but seeing as this is a column focused on the business of apps, I figured I would make an exception.

While it's great to talk about the latest mobile game or local search app, the real money may be made in the enterprise arena. That's particularly the case with Apple and iOS.

With Research In Motion and its BlackBerry line reeling, there's a wide opening for another smartphone operating system to take over as the de facto corporate standard. Several Android players have attempted to fill that gap, notably … Read more

Law firms target Zynga for alleged insider trading

Multiple law firms plan to investigate Zynga CEO Mark Pincus and other people who work at Zynga on insider-trading claims, gamer blog Kotaku noted today.

The blog listed all the firms that have announced investigations so far: Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe, Newman Ferrara, Johnson & Weaver, Wohl & Fruchter, and Levi & Korsinsky.

The maker of Farmville reported disappointing earnings on Wednesday, which caused its stock to plummet. Zynga's shares closed at $3.09 today. On Wednesday, just before Zynga's earnings report came out, the stock ended the trading day at just over $5.

The investigations note that … Read more