InApps

Google announces in-app subscriptions for Android apps

Google today announced a new feature for Android applications offered through the Google Play store. Available immediately for Android developers, in-app subscriptions will allow users to pay for monthly or annual subscriptions directly inside of apps. And as detailed by Google, the feature is set to auto-renew by default with transactions managed by the Google Play store.

In addition to adding a new level of convenience, the move opens the door to added revenue streams and even new types of content through Google Play. Looking forward, today's announcement could entice magazines and news journals to offer subscriptions to consumers … Read more

Earn rewards by watching TV with Viggle for Android

Still making time to catch your favorite shows on TV? Well, why not get rewarded for doing just that? Viggle is an Android app that lets you check in to the shows you're watching at that moment. It works sort of like Shazam does for music (and TV on iOS): the app listens to the TV and then compares character voices or other sounds within their database to get the show's name.

After checking in, you'll be rewarded with points. The point values differ from show to show, with featured shows granting more. … Read more

EA's Rock Band for iOS 'no longer playable' after May 31

Update at 5 p.m. PT: EA now says that the message to users was an "error" and that the game will continue to be playable. See the full story on that here. Original story follows:

Owners of EA's Rock Band app for iOS are discovering a nasty surprise today: the game they bought has just weeks to live.

Reported on by The Guardian and first spotted by Rockbandaide, the software -- which is still for sale at $4.99 -- today began serving up a pop-up message that says "Dear Rockers, On May 31, Rock … Read more

Amazon's new Appstore feature could be patent suit bait

Amazon's latest addition to its Appstore could very well ignite the ire of a litigious patent holder, and cause a new legal and monetary headache for app makers.

Amazon yesterday announced its in-app purchase service, offering developers a way to let users spend money inside of apps. While not a new feature among mobile apps, it adds new ways for developers to make revenue after an app has been downloaded, whether it was paid or free.

That particular mechanism, which has been available for app makers on Google's Android and Apple's iOS platforms for some time now, … Read more

Amazon Appstore adds in-app purchasing, following Apple, Google

Developers now have a new way to monetize their applications in Amazon's Appstore.

The e-retail giant announced today that the Amazon Appstore now allows developers to integrate in-app purchasing. Amazon plans to take 30 percent of the revenue generated from each transaction, matching Apple's App Store revenue share.

Amazon's in-app purchasing platform takes advantage of the accounts Amazon customers have already set up both online and on their Kindle Fire. In addition, Amazon says that the in-app payments will support the one-click purchasing that its online customers are already familiar with.

"In-App Purchasing is simple to … Read more

Amazon tests mobile in-app purchases, Bloomberg says

Amazon is holding trials for a service that lets consumers pay for additional services or features through a mobile application, a burgeoning business called in-app purchases.

The service is being tested by Skimble, which sells physical fitness programs and has been involved with the pilot program for about a month, according to Bloomberg.

Such a move would put Amazon even more directly at odds with Apple and Google in the mobile world. Amazon already offers a competing application store that sells apps for Google's Android operating system (Apple's App Store is closed to outside vendors). The capability could … Read more

iPad users spending $70K a day on newspaper and magazine content

A new report, released by the analytics firm Distimo (via Business Insider), finds that iPad users are spending upwards of $70,000 each day on magazines and newspapers for their iPads.

The report looked at the top-100 Newsstand apps in terms of gross sales, finding that iPad users seem willing to pay for newsy content. At the top of the list, as expected, are apps from The New York Times, The Daily, and the New Yorker. Also interesting to note, news apps account for 7 percent of the top-200 grossing apps.

The revenue from those apps comes largely at the … Read more

How to prevent accidental Amazon in-app purchases on Android

Amazon's Appstore for Android include apps that allow in-app purchases. In-app purchases may include items like premium content, subscriptions and game unlock codes.

To prevent a scenario in which your 3-year-old daughter accidentally makes an in-app purchase of an unlock code while playing Cut The Rope (true story), here's how to set the Amazon Appstore's parental controls :

Enable parental controls

Step 1: From within the Amazon Appstore, touch the menu key and select Settings.

Step 2: Select Parental Controls.

Step 3: Check the first box to enable parental controls and enter your Amazon.com password. This will … Read more

How an increasingly fragmented mobile world helps Gameloft

The mobile world is getting crazier, and that suits Gameloft just fine.

The upcoming year should see an even greater diversity of mobile devices, including multiple designs, processors, and operating systems. Gameloft, with an army of developers devoted to mobile games, believes it is best suited to handle the different products, whether that means the iPhone or an Android tablet.

"We're structured to handle fragmentation," Baudouin Corman, vice president of publishing for the Americas region for Gameloft, says in an interview. "It's a dynamic market where different companies are bringing differentiation. We'll benefit." … Read more