Gadgets

9:50 PM

Independent game developers who are excited about selling new games on the Xbox One got some bad news on Wednesday. Microsoft confirmed to ShackNews that independent developers cannot self-publish their own games on Xbox Live Arcade, and are instead required to partner with Microsoft Game Studios or a third-party publisher. The policy is completely different from those employed by Sony and Nintendo. Sony embraces independent developers and welcomes them to create and self-publish content on the PlayStation Network. Microsoft?s upcoming console matches up with Sony?s PlayStation 4 on paper, however there are still some questions that have been left unanswered, such as the ability to play used games.

The Nokia Asha Touch range of smartphones has been a big success all over the world since they were first released last summer.

One country where the people have taken the phones to their hearts is in Russia, where, for the six months after launch, the Nokia Asha 311 was consistently the number one, top-selling device at its price point (4,990 roubles, about 125 euros) and in the top 3 of all smartphones sold by volume. 

There are several factors why Asha Touch has proved so popular in Russia: clever marketing, the launch of special ?Nokia Charme? editions, 40 free EA Games and of course, the inherent features and brilliance of the devices themselves.

 In an interview with Conversations, Irina Nechaeva, Nokia Russia?s head of marketing says:

?The key to our success is that it?s a very affordable and easy-to-use smartphone.?

?In Russia there is a very big percentage of feature phone users who aspire to own a smartphone but have limited budgets so they are concerned that it would be too difficult to switch.

?Also, the Nokia brand is still quite important in our market, so a smartphone from Nokia was a big driver.? 

The Russian market

Irina told me that as of February 2013, Russia?s mobile phones market consisted of 39% smartphones and 61% in mobile phones. Clearly, that leaves a lot of people who are still eager to experience their first touchscreen smartphone.

From the beginning, Asha Touch devices were positioned as entry-level smartphones in Russia. The slogan for the campaign was  a Russian phrase with a double meaning: affordable and easy to use:

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This slogan turned out to be ?perfect? for the campaign.

?Asha consumers in Russia are a bit older and are first-time smartphone buyers. A lot of them fear that if they buy a smartphone, it will be too difficult to use. Of course, when they use a Nokia Asha it is really easy,? says Irina.

The Russian Nokia Asha project team of 12 also found clever ways of making the devices visible to large audiences, such as the Nokia Asha 311 being regularly used in a popular TV shows, like ?Dom 2? and ?Big dances?.

Nokia Charme

Another innovative approach that has contributed to the strong momentum behind Asha Touch in Russia was the introduction of Nokia Asha Charme.

These are special editions of the Nokia Asha 311, the Asha 308 and Asha 309, decorated in a pretty floral pattern of chrysanthemums aimed directly at women.

The pattern on the cover of the phone is complemented with additional elements such as special screensavers, wallpapers and pre-loaded, local social networks. 

The availability of Nokia Asha Charme smartphones coincided with Women?s Day in Russia, when it is traditional for men to buy women flowers and nice gifts. What could be nicer than a new smartphone?

Successful and important

The Asha Charme initiative ? designed and managed entirely by the local team in Russia ?  has been a big success, with the potential to also be in used in China and other Asian countries.

Asha Touch isn?t just popular in Russia, but it?s important, too.

Many people buying Asha Touch smartphones will be connecting to the mobile Internet for the first time. This opens up a world of new possibilities and experiences for every Nokia Asha owner in Russia.

Is your iBooks library starting to outgrow those beautiful skeuomorphic wooden bookshelves that Apple provided for you? Have you purchased way too many Star Wars novels, only to find them crowding out your beloved Jane Eyre collection?

Well, there?s a simple way to manage an epic, ever-growing iBook collection, of course (why else would I be writing this), and here?s how.

First of all, decide what categories make the most sense for you, based on the books you own. Should you categorize by genre, subject matter, have a list of favorites? It?s up to you, and you can of course create categories for anything, like ?books my mom likes,? or ?books that no one should ever see me reading, but that I love anyway.? Ahem.

Once you decide, then, head on over to your iOS device and tap the ?Collections? button (on an iPad) the ?Books? button on an iPhone or iPod touch. You can then create your own collections by tapping the ?New? button, or edit the collection names you?ve already created by tapping on the (duh) ?Edit? button. The default categories are Books and PDFs. You can be more creative than that, right? Of course you can.

Once you?ve created the categories, it?s time to start organizing your books. Return to your shelves and tap the Edit button in the upper right hand corner of the iPad screen, or the upper left hand corner of your iPhone or iPod Touch screen. Tap all the books on the shelves that you want to move to the new category, then tap the ?Move? button. Notice that you?ll have another chance to create new categories and edit the names here as well.

That?s all there is to it! Enjoy your new bookshelves, and be sure to share with us your interesting (and humorous) categories in the comments below.

Rob LeFebvre is a freelance writer and editor living in Anchorage, Alaska. He contributes to online tech, gaming and iOS websites around the net, including Cult of Mac, 148Apps, VentureBeat, and Paste Magazine. He owns and operates GamesAreEvil as well, so it’s surprising he finds time to have two amazing kids, a disco band, and (yes) a day job. Feel free to find Rob on Twitter @roblef

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iOS 6 came with some social integration built in, Twitter and Facebook, and if the latest rumors turn out to be correct we could be looking at social photo and video integration in iOS 7. The rumor points towards the recently revamped Flickr and video sharing service Vimeo coming on board. The story comes by way of 9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman:

“Both Flickr and Vimeo will now also be integrated deeply into the new operating system, so users will be able to sign into the respective networks via iOS 7?s built-in Settings application. Like with iOS?s Facebook and Twitter ties, Apple customers will be able to log-in one time into each social network and have full sharing access.”

Presumably that would also mean that as with Twitter and Facebook, other third-party apps would be able to hook into Flickr and Vimeo by way of an instant log in. It’s important to remember also, as the source points out, that any feature currently in testing could still be removed prior to the release of iOS 7. Interesting stuff, for sure. Does either of these two social options get you excited?

Source: 9to5Mac

Google updated the mobile web design of Google+ on Tuesday after a massive overhaul of the service. 

The improved user interface now displays posts as “cards” in the stream - just like the desktop web version. The update also features a Profile and Page redesign with the addition of cover photos and larger tap targets.

Google has been tweaking its social network a lot recently. The company launched 41 new features last week at Google I/O 2013 for Stream, Hangouts and Photos, and another revamping update landed just yesterday for the service’s Android app.

The new Google+ mobile site is already live, so check it out. 

Video offerings through the PlayStation Store should be getting a bit of an upgrade soon. But, before rolling out a brand new streaming tech to the entire catalog, Sony is beta testing the faster and more adaptive format with select discounted titles. Though the company is being a bit tight-lipped about what exactly the new tech entails, it’s letting anyone who wants to take part in the trial period. Simply log into the store, scroll down to movies and you should see the “beta” section right on the front page. Movies in here will be delivered at a steep discount as a thank you for helping Sony put the more efficient format through its paces. HD films will set you back $1.99, while SD videos are just $0.99. Lets us know if you notice and discernible differences in the comments.