Star Wars Augmented Reality Game - Falcon Gunner

It's true there is now a Star Wars App games called 'Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner' which puts you in the seat of a Millennium Falcon as you're attacked by an incoming fleet of Tie Fighters coming in at you from 360-degrees. As the player you can use the game view, showing a picture of the Death Star, or the background of your choice using the AR functionality. The game is nicely demonstrated in the video below, and works pretty well against the New York skyline.


Video - Star Wars Augmented Reality: Falcon Gunner


I think this is a really nice example, and will definitely be paying to down load this one. Although this is nothing new and works in exactly the same way as something like the Firefighter augmented reality iPhone game... it's Star Wars, and so is automatically a lot cooler than most things out there.



Pic - Star Wars Augmented Reality: Falcon Gunner


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Tiger Beer Augmented Reality App - Helps you Celebrate Chinese New Year 2010!

Well it's nearing Chinese New Year once again, the year of the Tiger, and what could be more fitting than beer brand Tiger creating an augmented reality iPhone app to help all those revelers celebrate this weekend. In association with Dazed and Confused magazine, according to iTunes this app is 'your expert guide and precision compass to electrifying festivities'.


Video - Tiger beer iPhone app demo

Features include everything you'd expect from an AR app like this, as we have seen similar apps from Stella Artois, and other such as Urban Spoon etc. It therefore uses AR to point you in the direction of all the top hotspots, and includes reviews for the best events, restaurants and bars, with previews of each venue’s offering with exclusive Dazed and Confused reviews.


Pic - Tiger beer iPhone app

I think what sets this app aside from others out there is a neat little game, which although simplistic, does make this app feel a lot more rounded, adding a bit of standout to the others in the App Store. Definitely worth checking (App found here) out as it is free, and fun to play around with.

Enjoy, & Happy New Year!!


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Thanks to Lee for pointing this in my direction!

Firefighter augmented reality iPhone game hits iTunes

Firefighter 360 is the latest augmented reality iPhone App from Presselite, creators of the Tube and London Bus apps, recently upgraded with their AR updates. The user must use their iPhone (and hose... Provided) to put out the fires which can appear in any 360 degree direction, and save the women which also appear.


Pic 1 - Fireman 360 augmented reality iPhone app

Not only is it pretty cool putting out the fires on commuter's backs while killing time on the train, but it again demonstrates that AR doesn't have to be simply for the techy folk among us. I must admit that although this is certainly not the best example we have seen (I do prefer examples such as Kia's 'Go Hamster Go'), AR based games have been near non-existent on the iPhone which seems like a massive opportunity for growth next year. So yes although it hasn't got the best graphics, but it certainly is laugh, and for 59p is worth a dabble.


Pic 2 - Fireman 360 augmented reality iPhone app


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COD 5 Nazi Zombies IPhone Game

Yes that's right, as if destroying the record books wasn't enough for the Call of Duty franchise with 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2', Activision has now released an iPhone game version of the hit DLC shoot 'em up 'Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies' available on iTunes from yesterday.


Pic 1 - 'Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies'

Not only is the game getting some very positive reviews, but it is fully multiplayer over Wi-Fi, and there are also promises of future downloadable content releases. We have already seen a big shift by the gaming industry for high quality versions hitting iTunes with the likes of Rock Band and Need for Speed, and so it will be very interesting to see how this area of mobile develops in time.

The PUMA Index - iPhone App: Stocks and shares with sex appeal

Making the best of a bad situation is not always the easiest thing to do, however in this instance PUMA have got it spot on. Their new iPhone app 'The PUMA Index' allows users to not only check how their stocks are doing, but has the added benefit that if the stocks are going down so will a rather attractive girls pants!



Pic - The PUMA Index - iPhone App


Not you're type, well there's a selection of women and men to choose from, with a video of a sleeping beauty once the stocks are closed for the day. Definitely worth checking out as it's free, and slightly more interesting than the one provided as default to the iPhone. There's also a site to support the activity (for all those non-iPhone users), and a video explaining how it all works (shown below).



Video - The PUMA Index


Enjoy!

Axe - 'Double Pits to Chesty' Viral and iPhone App

As part of the recent 'Double Pits to Chesty' campaign, Axe have released a series of videos, the latest of which is battle of the skaters, which sees Ryan Sheckler, Greg Lutzka and Jereme Rogers in a quest for one upmanship. To achieve this they attempt the 'Double Pits to Chesty' a move that involves spraying yourself under the arms and across the body!



Video - Ryan Sheckler Axe Skate Film Double Pits to Chesty - Trailer


To also support the campaign Axe have launched the 'Axe Pogo Extreme' iPhone App. The free application is a ridiculously addictive game, where the user is tasked with bouncing upwards to collect Axe cans using the iPhone's accelerometer functionality while pulling off tricks in order to win the girls heart (well the girl on that level anyway)!



Pic 1 - 'Axe Pogo Extreme' iPhone App


Users can also play a freeplay mode which enables them to connect to Facebook to share their scores among their friends.



Pic 2 - 'Axe Pogo Extreme' iPhone App


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Spotify iPhone App preview

It's nearly upon us. Quite possibly one of the most anticipated music apps, and from what I've seen, and heard, in my view one of the best. Set to be available for premium subscribers via the App Store.



Video - Spotify iPhone App in action


As Spotify continues to grow, now at 2.15M UK unique users alone, the Spotify application will allow users to listen to individual songs, full albums, or even create playlists, which users can store songs to listen to offline.

Apple App Store Turns 1 (a good excuse for a fact or two)

Happy Birthday to the Apple's iTunes App Store which turns 1 today. Apple has celebrated the fact by highlighting it on the iTunes front page, and putting together this page (below) with a rainbow arrangement of apps, similar to the Pulsing Wall of iPhone Apps posted last month. In the full spirit of all things app related I thought that it was the perfect excuse for some app related facts (as much for your amusement, as for giving myself a place to find them all again in the future).




Apple iTunes App Store Trivia:

1) The App Store first opened its doors on the morning of July 10th 2008

2) The most expensive app sold in the App Store was the 'I Am Rich' app released in August 2008, this was "a work of art with no hidden function at all", with its only purpose being to show other people that they were able to afford it. It cost a whopping £599.99 ($999.99). The application was removed from the App Store the day following its release, on August 6, 2008, however Six people had allegedly already bought it before it was pulled.

3) The one billionth app downloaded was "Bump", created by Bump Technologies, was downloaded by Connor Mulcahey, age 13, of Weston, who was hailed the grand prize winner of Apples one billion app countdown contest.

4) US blog 'Busted Loop' revealed after some research that in order to buy all 55,732 apps that were available as of 7th July 2009 you would need to fork out $144,326.06 (An average of about £1.60 per app to you and me).

5) In May 2009 Pinch Media analyzed 30 million iPhone app downloads and discovered that only 5% of users will open either a free or paid app 30 days after the initial download.


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Pulsing Wall of iPhone Apps

Yesterday was the WWDC event, where Apple wowed passers by with a 5x4 matrix of cinema display monitors, sprinkled with thousands of iPhone app icons, which pulsed as they were downloaded.



Pic - Apples - Wall of iPhone Apps at WWDC event (Photo Credit Techcrunch)


Although according TechCrunch this wasn't quite real-time, I think you'd agree from the picture it looks pretty awesome. The video below shows the display in action, although I failed to spot the one or two that I have actually downloaded.



Video - Apples - Wall of iPhone Apps at WWDC event


It's reported that there are now 50,000 applications now available in the Apple App Store. With more than a billion downloads now recorded as posted last month (Apple Celebrates 1 Billion App Downloads on iTunes)


Enjoy!

Westfield: Interactive Outdoor iPhone ads

Shoppers at London shopping centre Westfield will soon have the chance to interact with advertising on digital LCD screens via their iPhones, which are connected via WiFi or 3G.



The technology developed by digital creative agency Clusta in partnership with CBS Outdoor to develop a new ad platform showcased yesterday at the Media Playground conference and exhibition in London.

As reported in Campaign by swiping on the iPhone’s touchscreen, users can make the object in the digital poster spin left or right, or even make the display change colour. Also by using the 'pinch' and 'stretch' finger gestures on the iPhone, consumers will be able to zoom in or out of the object displayed on the screen.

Apparently this will be rolled out according to advertiser demand, however despite the hit the retail industry has suffered in recent months, in a stylish environment such as the Westfield Centre I can image plenty of brands showing an interest.

MINI IPhone App - Openness

A few weeks ago MINI launched their iPhone App for the new MINI Convertible, and their 'Stay Open' campaign. Allowing the user to find out that life's more interesting when you stay open, the objective of the app is to find our how open they are? There is a link to iTunes for the app at the bottom of this post for those curious.



The first thing you do is to select one of four levels of 'Openness', from 'New to this open thing' to 'Open is my middle name', at which point using the phones GPS function you are located, and served suggestions of strange and interesting activities based on where you are.



The list activities range from things such as dining on a zebra steak, to rendering a naked person in pastels. You can then save these to a list, or send to a friend in order to test them on how open they are, there is also a chance to take a 360 look at the new MINI Convertible.



The application does state that is for those 18 and over only, but is free, and offers activities in 10 cities over the UK including London, Manchester, Cardiff, Edinburgh.

The app can be found here: The MINI IPhone App - Openness


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Apple Celebrates 1 Billion App Downloads on iTunes

To mark the milestone of 1 billion application downloads by iPhone and iPod users on iTunes, Apple run a number of homepage takeovers on New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and CNET.com. The takeovers once again show the continuous clean and simple creative we associate with Apple, and finishes by thanking consumers for their help (shown below).



The one billionth app downloaded, "Bump" created by Bump Technologies, was downloaded by Connor Mulcahey, age 13, of Weston, who was hailed the grand prize winner of Apples one billion app countdown contest. For this he received a $10,000 iTunes gift card, an iPod touch, a Time Capsule and a MacBook Pro (not bad going for an app costing a couple of dollars).



Apple '1 Billion App Downloads on iTunes' (New York Times) - Image 1



Apple '1 Billion App Downloads on iTunes' (New York Times) - Image 2

Dockers Launch World’s First 'Motion-Sensitive' Ad for iPhone

Dockers have announced the release of what is believed to be the first truly interactive, "shakable" mobile advertisement within iPhone, which will sit within a series of applications (iBasketball, iGolf, iBowl and iTV) and will be released this month and run for four weeks.



The ad developed by Razorfish and OMD, and titled ‘Shakedown 2 Get Down’ features Dufon a freestyle dance expressionist from the Seattle dance group ‘Circle of Fire’, and uses the iPhone’s built-in accelerometer, to see him dancing around the screen within the application.



Between the various levels of game play users will be asked to ‘shake 2 activ8’ the iPhone to make Dufon dance.



This is quite an exciting idea, especially as this could see a new wave in ways in which brands can captivate their audience through new technology with engaging advertising placements as opposed to apps alone.

Pepsi Max drives consumers to mobi site via QR Codes

This morning whilst carrying out my morning browse around the web, I noticed a new campaign by Pepsi which seems to be pushing QR codes to the UK public via online display. The banner ad shown below features the QR code with a message to click through and find out more.




Pepsi Banner Advert


Once on the site the user is educated as to what QR codes are, and how they work. There are also pointers on how to enable your mobile to recognise QR codes, and the benefits of doing so. In the case of Pepsi, the benefits to visiting their mobi site are games, videos, and other free content.



It is good to see another example in the UK of a brand trying to push consumers to use mobile to engage with their brand, but I can’t help but think that we as advertisers should be doing more. Although in the current economic climate it is challenging to encourage brands to ‘try something new’, there are brands which are proving that mobile can be a cost efficient media, and an effective branding tool.


http://www.comscore.com


The use of the mobile Internet has seen massive growth since the release of the iPhone in the UK, in early November 2007 (above), offering unlimited online access as part of their monthly package, and has shown how a simple technological movement can have such an effect on users browsing habits. As we are already seeing brands capitalise on this trend, it could again illustrate why it is so important for brands to test mobile sooner rather than later.


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Top 20 Coolest Brands - CoolBrands release 2008 winners

CoolBrands have released the 2008 definitive list of the UK’s coolest brands as voted for by consumers. The list (below) seems to have been highly influenced by the James Bond movies as we see Aston Martin take the CoolBrands top spot for the third year running:

1. Aston Martin
2. iPhone
3. Apple
4. Bang & Olufsen
5. YouTube
6. Google
7. Nintendo
8. Agent Provocateur
9. Rolex
10. Tate Modern
11. Dom Perignon
12. Virgin Atlantic
13. Ferrari
14. Ducati
15. Playstation
16. Sony
17. Nike
18. Boss
19. Facebook
20. Lamborghini



The list seems to have been largely impacted by brands offering escapism to ones day to day life, with brands like YouTube, Facebook, Bang & Olufsen, iPhone, and consoles such as Nintendo and Playstation dominating the Top 20.