Zynga acquires Wonderland Software in UK mobile game expansion

Zynga has expanded its game development reach into the United Kingdom with the acquisition today of Wonderland Software.

The deal adds more mobile game development talent to Zynga’s fold as it tries to rapidly expand into the smartphone and tablet game markets. While Zynga dominates social games on Facebook with 259 million monthly active users, it doesn’t have nearly the same presence in mobile, which could turn out to be a larger and more lucrative... Continue Reading

Minecraft creator opens the doors to custom mods

Indie darling Minecraft creator Marcus Persson will reveal the game’s guts to game developers looking to create custom modifications for the build-your-own-adventure sandbox game.

Minecraft is an important independent game because it is so wildly successful and it was released without a publisher. The game has sold more than 1 million copies and raked in some serious cash for Persson, who goes by his online handle “notch,” and the rest of his team. It’s always been... Continue Reading

The elusive white iPhone 4 finally arrives tomorrow

After a long delay, Apple announced that its white iPhone 4 will finally be available beginning tomorrow.

Apple first announced the white iPhone 4 in June, 2010, but it only shipped the black model, offering no explanation except that it had manufacturing challenges. Some speculated that the white iPhone delay was due to problems with the phone’s camera and how white reflected from the back of the case.

At this point, the white iPhone is... Continue Reading

PapayaMobile raises $18M for mobile social game platform

PapayaMobile, the Chinese mobile social game platform start-up, has raised $18 million in a second round of funding. It’s another sign that mobile gaming is heating up.

The company plans to use the funding to expand its ecosystem of Android developers in both the U.S. and Europe, said Si Shen (pictured), chief executive and co-founder of PapayaMobile. The company makes a platform for game developers, who use it to create mobile games with social features... Continue Reading

YetiZen starts an incubator for game startups (exclusive)

The game industry is hot, with lots of companies chasing the success of social game darlings such as Zynga and mobile game successes such as Ngmoco. That’s why YetiZen is forming a new incubator to help launch game startups.

To some people, that’s a sure sign of a bubble. But YetiZen founders Sana Choudary and Japheth Dillman believe that their focus on the fast-growing and highly specialized game business will help them stand out from... Continue Reading

RockYou signs second social game deal with Loot Drop

RockYou has signed a second game publishing deal with Loot Drop, the studio created by veteran game developers John Romero (right) and Brenda Brathwaite (left).

Loot Drop is an interesting social game developer that is testing the notion of whether an independent developer can create social games for a variety of publishing masters. It’s worth watching because Romero’s previous game, Ravenwood Fair, has more than 10 million monthly active users and the company is going... Continue Reading

Twitter and LinkedIn go Dutch

ComScore just released a social networking study which shows that the highest Twitter and LinkedIn penetration in the world is in the Netherlands.

Twitter is used by 26.8 percent of Cloggies and LinkedIn by 26.1 percent. The U.S. in contrast doesn’t even make it into the top 10 Twitter-mad countries, which is dominated by Asian and South American states like Japan and Brazil.

The U.S. is number 3 on the LinkedIn list with 17.6 percent... Continue Reading

SignalSet raises $6M to let mobile phones switch between networks

Seattle startup SignalSet has raised $6 million in venture funding for its software that can enable a mobile phone to switch from one carrier’s network to another automatically.

The technology could help users get reception in areas where one mobile network works better than another. A user can, for instance, switch from the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) to Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). That’s like switching from AT&T’s network to Verizon’s. That’s a... Continue Reading

Scoreloop creates mobile social game platform for Hong Kong carrier

Munich-based Scoreloop is announcing today a deal with a Hong Kong mobile carrier to create a dedicated mobile game portal using Scoreloop’s social game platform.

The deal with CSL showcases Scoreloop’s ability to create a social network that is focused around mobile games. It’s a quick way for major carriers around the world to draw more attention to money-making games, since the social networks are often embedded in phones much the same way the phones... Continue Reading

China’s Twitter-like Weibo service won’t seek an IPO, says CEO

Huge Chinese Internet portal Sina denied today that it has plans to launch an IPO for its popular Weibo microblogging service. Rumors have been circulating about a potential IPO and about how valuable such a move could be for Sina. However, Sina CEO Charles Chao said on stage at the GMIC (Global Mobile Internet Conference) in Beijing today that an IPO was not the best route to take with Weibo.

Chao said the business model... Continue Reading

Is the battle between HTML5 and native apps a non-issue?

Will HTML5 or native apps lead the charge for the superphone platform? Or is the conflict between the two simply getting overblown?

Today at VentureBeat’s Mobile Summit, we tried to suss out the many aspects of the HTML5 and native mobile app debate by gathering some talented minds to discuss the issue, including Peter Relan, the founder of YouWeb; Asokan Thiyagarajan, platforms director at Samsung; and Sayeed Choudhury, director of product management and web technologies... Continue Reading

Kevin Rose raises $1.5M for mobile development lab Milk

Many venture capitalists like to say they invest in people, not ideas. That seems particularly true in the case of Milk, Kevin Rose’s new mobile development firm, which just raised $1.5 million in angel funding.

Rose, of course, is famous for founding social news aggregator Digg, but he resigned earlier this year, after the company launched a controversial redesign and seemed to stagnate. He reemerged in April with Milk, which he said consists of a... Continue Reading

Android overtakes iPhone in consumer desirability

Android is now the most desired smartphone operating system, reports market research company Nielsen. According to Nielsen’s figures from January to March 31 percent of consumers indicate Android as their preferred operating system. Apple’s iOS’s share was 30 percent.

Android did overtake iPhone quite quickly. Nielsen did the same study in July-September 2010. During that time, 33 percent of consumers wanted an iPhone and 26 percent wanted a device with Android operating system.

Desirability... Continue Reading

DoubleDutch hops into $1.2M for enterprise geolocation apps

DoubleDutch, a developer of geolocation applications which help companies connect with employees and customers, has announced that it has landed $1.2 million in seed funding.

Launched in March last year, the startup currently provides three solutions to enterprises — an app that helps conference attendees stay in touch at events, one which lets field workers exchange information on-the-go, and another that enables local brands to interact with their communities.

Enterprises can license these applications and... Continue Reading

Who wins in the 4G nirvana? Find out at MobileBeat 2011 on July 12-13

MobileBeat 2011 — VentureBeat’s fourth annual conference on the future of mobile — is convening the brightest minds in the industry to explore who will win in what we’re calling “the 4G Nirvana.”

The mobile industry was already on fire. But the arrival of 4G wireless networking this year the will drive the industry through an even more radical transformation: Joined with faster mobile chips, new operating systems and tablets, the promise of full... Continue Reading

Microsoft: Windows Phone 7 doesn’t store your location

Microsoft guarantees that smartphones with its Windows Phone 7 operating system doesn’t store location history like iOS and Android devices do, PCMag reports.

That’s good news for the small handful of users with Windows Phone 7 devices.

Microsoft was the only manufacturer that answered PCMag’s query about storing the location. PCMag also contacted Nokia, RIM, HP and Google about storing the user’s location information but they didn’t answer.

The location storing issue came into light... Continue Reading

Mobile-focused “GamesBeat 2011″ is coming on July 12-13 in SF

Disruption is happening every day in the video game business. Big companies and startups alike have adapted to the constant change that is shaking up business as usual. In 2011, much of the action has shifted to the big wide-open mobile battleground. Mobile games are leveling up.

GamesBeat 2011 is VentureBeat’s third annual conference on disruption in the video game market. This year we’re focusing on the intersection of games and mobile, two of... Continue Reading

Sony tells PlayStation Network users their personal data was stolen

A security breach in the Playstation Network by still unidentified hackers resulted in stolen personal information, Sony confirmed today. Now the company has begun the unpleasant process of notifying users that their data was compromised. If you get an email from Sony, it’s time to pay attention to it.

Sony says while personal information was likely stolen, it doesn’t believe credit card numbers were and that it hopes to have the Playstation Network service back... Continue Reading