Los Angeles, U.S.A. — Alicia Keys and AK Worldwide have teamed up with Bento Box Interactive, to create a one-of-a-kind immersive storytelling app, entitled The Journals of Mama Mae and LeeLee. Centered on a touching story, the app encourages exploration through music, journaling, games, rewards and more. Underscored by Alicia Keys’ original music and inspired by Keys’ own relationship with her Nana, the app tells the story of a relationship between a young girl (LeeLee) in New York City and her wise and mystical grandmother (Mama Mae).

The app has been created to redefine the classic storytelling experience for children and parents utilizing interactivity and animation within innovative tactile features to engage them within the story and immerse them into the world beyond the pages of a book.  Combined with stylized art direction and beautiful animation, Mama Mae’s magical adventures from her journal provide empowering life lessons to LeeLee and drive the app’s unique interplay.

Co-produced by AK Worldwide and Bento Box Interactive, the new app is available for download from the Apple App Store for the iPad, iPhone and iTouch on October 25 for $3.99;  and shortly after on other devices and platforms. The characters and stories for the app were created by Alicia Keys, DJ Walton and Jessica Walton with the innovative App technology and platform developed by Bento Box Interactive and animation produced by the Bento Box team.

“I feel it’s so important to tell the story of Mama Mae and LeeLee through an app because this has the potential to really bring everybody together in an interesting way,” said Keys. “Mama Mae is a character that is partially born from the spirit of my Nana, who instilled in me all of the values that still guide my path to this day. As technology continues to advance, I feel it is so important to continue growing and fostering those indelible relationships as children tap into the digital landscape. The Journals of Mama Mae and LeeLee has the potential to enrich the way children, parents and grandparents participate in each other’s lives.”

“This is a very proud moment for all of us at Bento Box Interactive,” said Scott Greenberg, CEO Bento Box Interactive. “We are absolutely thrilled to collaborate with such a great storyteller in Alicia Keys and her amazing team. Alicia keenly understands technology and its great potential for engaging the iPad generation. Together, we’ve opened the door to a new kind of storytelling experience. With music, games, journaling, rewards, and so much more all in one app we are charting a course for the next generation of readers. We are incredibly excited to share The Journals of Mama Mae and LeeLee with the world.”

The first story in the app titled “Blue Moon,” challenges users with true-to-life obstacles which empower children to face their fears, break free from limitation, and open themselves to unearthing their love for adventure and discovery within. This first story is highlighted by the song, “Follow the Moon,” composed and produced by Keys.

Throughout the app and the series of story-packs, all music is produced and scored by Alicia Keys including the main theme song “Unlock Yourself,” which is composed and performed by Keys and serves as a central theme reminding children to be true to themselves and follow their dreams.

Additional story-packs, featuring the magical adventures within Mama Mae’s journal, will be released within the app’s bookshelf in the future on a regular basis. Each story-pack will also populate the interactive environment of LeeLee’s 3D animated bedroom with additional original content that encourages users to explore and “unlock” all the possibilities.

The pristine functionality of the app’s design allows for seamless transitions between the series of stories and the interactive world of LeeLee’s bedroom that enables the reader to immerse within the story’s experience. Through Mama Mae’s wisdom and the app’s compelling features, children can explore new worlds with the touch of their fingertips.

To access a trailer of the app, please visit the link: http://www.youtube.com/embed/IbNfdFhNZrY

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San Francisco, U.S.A.– Wondershare Software announced on October 8, an important update to its popular Dr. Fone iOS device data recovery solution. Dr. Fone now supports iOS 6 enabled devices with a newly enhanced selective iTunes recovery feature which allows mistakenly deleted photos, videos, text messages, contacts and more to be recovered from the iTunes backup file.  ITunes will only restore an entire iOS device from a backup, however, Dr. Fone allows individual pieces of content within the iOS 6 iTunes backup file to be recovered, with a full preview beforehand.

Dr. Fone is as easy to use as it is effective; simply connect the iOS device to the computer, launch Dr. Fone, and with a few clicks even the most casual user can scan the most recent iTunes backup, preview recoverable items and select items for recovery and re-synced to the device. Dr. Fone can also directly scan certain iOS devices at the hardware level and recover content from them in the case the iTunes backup file does not contain the desired content.  When disaster strikes, Dr. Fone is often the best chance to get deleted items back.

Dr. Fone’s Key Features:

• Recover Pictures & videos in Camera Roll, Photo Stream, and as message attachments; Recovery audio from Voice Memos, Text Messages, Call History, Contacts, Calendar, Notes, Reminders, even Safari Bookmarks;
• Scan and preview recoverable information from the iTunes backup file or directly from iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch (certain models);
• Can recover lost information after factory re-set, failed iOS update, even from a password protected phone if you forgot the password;
• Simple to use and very effective if the information was very recently deleted;
• Works with iPhone 1/3G/3GS/4/4S/5, iPad 1, 2, New iPad, and 4th Gen iPod Touch
• Dr. Fone compatible with Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP

Price & Availability

Wondershare Dr. Phone is currently available for $99.95 from the Wondershare online store.  There is a free trial version available which can scan an iOS device and preview recoverable content but not restore the recoverable files.

Learn more about Wondershare’s entire lineup of award winning multi-media, business productivity, PDF, and system utility software products at Wondershare.com.

About Wondershare

Wondershare Software, an IDG invested company, is an innovative software developer dedicated to delivering the very best in software products and services to the worldwide consumer and business market segments. Wondershare has branch offices in the United States, Germany and Japan. Wondershare has been honored as Deloitte Tech Fast 500 Asia Pacific and China 50 for three consecutive years, and Forbes Business Potential of China for two consecutive years. For more information about Wondershare and its products, please visit http://www.wondershare.com.

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Toronto, Canada — Digital Emmy Award-winning game developer, Secret Location, in conjunction with Fresh TV and FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME), the commercial and brand extension arm of FremantleMedia, are taking a bite out of vampire-genre apps with the release of Humans VS Vampires, the official app for the hit show, My Babysitter’s a Vampire.

The series, developed and produced by Fresh TV in association with TELETOON Canada is a fun, family-friendly tween program that reminds kids everywhere that, no matter what kind of supernatural villains the world has in store, the scariest thing of all is still: High School. My Babysitter’s a Vampire is currently in its second season on the Disney Channel in the US and premiered this past summer to record high ratings.

The Humans VS Vampires app builds on the success of the award-winning 3D online game of the same name, which at more than 6.5 million views and counting, is the number one most-played web game on TELETOON’s TV network website.

As a result of this high demand, the game was quickly rebuilt for mobile using the same in-depth game design and mechanics. As a result, the app is a rich experience, featuring addictive level progressions, challenging game play modes and high-poly 3D characters modeled and animated to look and move the way the show’s stars do.

“Humans VS Vampires goes far beyond the typical properties,” says Secret Location Executive Producer James Milward. “It provides a rich gaming experience scaled down to a mobile format that works.”

Nicholas Dale, Senior Manager of Mobile & Interactive for brand licensor FME, added, “We are very excited to partner with The Secret Location to bring the Humans VS Vampires game to devoted My Babysitter’s a Vampire fans. Viewers are craving additional interactive content on mobile devices so we are continuously dedicated to offering more immersive experiences to keep them engaged.”

The new Humans VS Vampires app is jam-packed with photorealistic, high-end graphics, fear-inducing opponents and five levels to beat. Humans VS Vampires is a sophisticated gaming experience, breaking from the usual “vamp yourself” apps in this genre.

Inspired by retro arcade games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, Humans VS Vampires delivers a classic hand-to-hand combat experience, without deferring to the 8-bit look. With slick graphics, and added features such as cryptic clues and badges, the game feels modern and challenges the user to keep playing. Missions take on increasing difficulty as players fight the easiest opponent to the strongest – human or vampire – depending on which side is chosen.

Humans VS Vampires is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod Touch. A one-time 99-cent in-app upgrade allows players to unlock 10 characters – five good guys and five undead characters.

The game was developed for TELETOON and Fresh TV by Secret Location with support from the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund. Fans can download the app today and unlock the first of two special characters – Boltz: a Frankenstein jock made-up of star hockey player body parts.

In this badge system game, the user can play as either a human or a vampire, using over 30 battle moves to defy their opponent, including three special moves unique to each character. Players battle their way through five levels and five different opponents, with rivals getting increasingly more difficult to beat as the game progresses. The user’s main goals are to beat Arcade Mode in Easy, Medium and finally Difficult, and win for their side, while racking up badges that get pasted up onto their virtual school locker.

Game Features:

• Over 30 battle moves, including three flashy special moves, like the Principal’s Zombie Breath – very nasty – Erica’s Bats and Benny’s baffling Teleport.
• Five different backgrounds; day and night in the ‘burbs, at school, outside the cinema, and a creepy graveyard.
• Five levels; they get increasingly difficult as players fight the easiest opponent, right down to the strongest Human (Ethan) or Vampire (Jesse), depending on which side you choose.
• Unlock all five good guys and five undead characters with a one-time ULTRA in-app purchase.
• Unlock all badges with Ultra, too; like the Fang-Tastic Badge, scored by playing a perfect round without getting hit once.
• Decode cryptic clues to get tipped off on how to earn badges, Fang-Tastic’s clue = Scars might look cool in the movies, but let’s face it, it’s better not to get scratched at all.

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Toronto, Canada – On September 6, 2012, EPX Games announced Night Whisper Lane is coming out to the iOS platform October 2012. Night Whisper Lane is a Survival Horror point & click adventure turn-based RPG game for iOS.

You wake up in front of an old creepy house without any knowledge of how you got there. The objective of the game is to uncover the mystery of the house and surrounding Sofia Julie Baptist. Can you live long enough to uncover the truth and ultimately escapes alive from the House on Night Whisper Lane?

To fulfill the game’s objective, the player uncovers various key items that give the player access to other items or new areas. The player can arm their character with weapons to defend themselves during the boss battles. Although the ammunition available for each firearm is limited and the player must learn to conserve the ammunition they have for situations where they will really need it. To restore the character’s health, the player uses Bandages and First-Aid kits.

Night Whisper Lane is scheduled for release in October of 2012. The game will come with Scenario 1; A New Scenario will be released every 2-3 months. All Scenarios will be free.

For more information on Night Whisper Lane visit www.epxgames.com

View the Indie GoGo campaign at http://www.indiegogo.com/nightwhisperlane

View the Rocket Hub campaign at http://www.rockethub.com/projects/10223-night-whisper-lane

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Want to go behind the scenes of the videogame and entertainment industry? Now you can be an insider with the [a]list daily app for iOS and Android.

Published by Ayzenberg Group and produced by GamesIndustry.biz, the [a]list daily is a daily dose of industry news, exclusive feature articles, and coverage of marketing, social media and advertising campaigns that are defining the entertainment business.

Now, the free [a]list daily app developed in-house by Ayzenberg delivers the same great content published every weekday morning at www.alistdaily.com to iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Users get access to the site’s content in an elegant app, with bite-size articles and embedded videos that are perfect for viewing on the go, and with everything categorized for easy browsing.

Every issue of [a]list daily delivers new content for these sections:

• Watch – Must-See Trailers, Viral Videos, TV Spots and Interviews
• Read – Insightful Pieces on Business and Marketing
• Browse – The Latest Industry News
• Interact and Socialize – The Best in Digital Creative and Social Media
• Feature – Exclusive Interviews and Feature Articles

Key features include:

• The only news and information app catered for videogame and entertainment professionals and senior marketers
• Elegant design with easy, simply scrolling
• Categorized table of content for efficient browsing
• Read articles and watch embedded videos in full screen
• Connected to [a]list daily Twitter and Facebook to share, shout and schmooze with industry pros

See the app in action in our video trailer below:

Download the free iOS version or Android version.

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IDG World Expo recently announced special events taking place at Macworld | iWorld celebrating the impact of Apple technology on literature and the visual arts.

These include a feature presentation and on-site exhibit by acclaimed digital photo-realist artist, author and lecturer Bert Monroy and conversation with author and self-proclaimed geek Susan Orlean, as well as the Digital Art Gallery, iPad Sketch Station, an exhibition of art inspired by ‘South Park,’ ‘Super Art Fight’ tournament and a host of art-focused Tech Talks.

These art and literature events complement a full slate of new show elements debuting in 2012, including the Music Experience and Film Event as well as attendee-favorite Macworld | iWorld programs such as a dynamic product-exhibit floor featuring hundreds of companies showcasing the latest in software, hardware, peripherals, accessories and applications for the Apple products platform, networking events and meet-ups, unique shopping opportunities, workshops and more than 75 Tech Talks that take attendees inside OS X Lion, iOS 5 and key third-party products.

Macworld | iWorld will take place January 26 – January 28, 2012, at the Moscone Center – West Hall in San Francisco. This year, Macworld | iWorld presents Featured Artist Bert Monroy, whose on-site exhibit and presentation will offer attendees a historical look at art on the Mac.

After a long career in advertising, Bert discovered computers with the introduction of the Macintosh 128 in 1984 and embarked on a new digital career. He embraced the computer as an artistic medium and today is considered one of the pioneers of digital art.

An accomplished teacher and lecturer, Bert has served on the faculty of a list of institutions that include The School of Visual Arts in New York and currently teaches at San Francisco State University. Bert was a monthly regular on Tech TV for more than three years and recently hosted Pixel Perfect with Bert Monroy, a weekly Photoshop podcast for Revision3.com.

Bert’s gallery presentation will be a history lesson featuring his early work from 1984 done in MacPaint and moving through time with the evolution of graphics software to his present work using Photoshop. His session will show the present power of the technology to create whatever your imagination can conjure up.

“I’m a hyper-realist artist with a passion for making things happen on the screen,” said Bert Monroy. “Because my paintings look like photographs, I’m often asked why I don’t just take a photograph. For me, it’s all about finding a new way of doing something and uncovering a new room in my imagination.

Apple technologies have given me the tools to unleash my creative spirit and re-create reality in ways I never could have imagined just five years ago. I am excited to share my art, my journey and my passion at Macworld | iWorld.”

A Conversation with Susan Orlean, Author and Geek brings together influential New Yorker magazine staff writer, best-selling author and technophobe turned technophile Susan Orlean for a discussion with Glenn Fleishman, technology writer for the Seattle Times, The Economist and Macworld.

A writer for magazines as varied as Vogue, Esquire, Rolling Stone, and Smithsonian, Susan has been on staff for the New Yorker since 1992 and is the bestselling author of eight books, including ‘The Orchid Thief,’ which was made into the Oscar-winning movie ‘Adaptation.’

The owner of a plethora of Macs and iOS devices, Susan uses Apple technology daily for research, communication and writing. She also has mastered being a long-form, non-fiction writer in the era of Twitter, amassing nearly 200,000 followers while writing a blog on the New Yorker’s Web site.

In her session, Susan will provide insight into her creative process and the tools she uses in her work, including how the iPad helped her write her latest book, ‘Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend,’ a New York Times bestseller and a Notable book of 2011.

“A long-time Mac user and fan—I am proud to call myself a geek—I’m passionate about how new Apple tools, including my coveted iPad, have helped my writing move to new heights. They’ve made me more productive and, most importantly, more creative,” said Susan Orlean. “My talk will be a chance for me to share my experience and offer some insights and lessons for budding writers and other creative people looking to use today’s technological innovations to take their craft, whatever it may be, to the next level.”

Additional art-inspired events will take place in Macworld | iWorld’s Midway, where a collection of attractions give attendees an opportunity to experience iOS and OS X products and technologies across the arts and education in unique and engaging ways. Highlights include:

• The Digital Art Gallery —Macworld | iWorld is bringing back one of its most stunning and vibrant event features: a showcase of original digital art from around the world. The Digital Art Gallery will feature different genres of art including landscape, portrait, animation, photography and sci/fi, all created using Apple technologies.
• i Pad Sketch Stations —A showcase of talented and experienced iPad artists who will create art live on their devices and have it displayed via large plasma screens for attendees to view during the course of the artist’s execution and throughout the event. The iPad Sketch Stations give artists a unique opportunity to demonstrate their skills and creativity while providing attendees with a first-hand glimpse into the innovation possible on iPads.
• South Park Art Gallery —A museum of ‘South Park’-inspired art work—including work submitted by fans and ‘South Park’ staff, as well as famous ‘South Park’ memorabilia, such as the gown Matt Stone wore to the Oscars in 2000 and the original cut-outs and story boards from early seasons of the show—will be on display for attendees to enjoy.

  The ‘South Park’ Gallery complements several other ‘South Park’ events taking place at Macworld | iWorld, including an exclusive screening of the full-length, unaired South Park Pilot episode followed by a mind-blowing, myth-dispelling Q&A with South Park Studios show-staff and a special session on the Making of South Park — Inside South Park’s Animation Studio, which takes attendees behind the scenes of the Mac-centric South Park Studios.

• Super Art Fight —This next-generation live art experience is a live tournament unlike any other. Add a punk rock sensibility and some of the most entertaining live commentary to hit the stage, ‘Super Art Fight’ is taking the nation by storm, one event at a time, and will make its inaugural appearance at Macworld | iWorld this year.
• A wide variety of art-focused Tech Talks will provide attendees of all skill levels opportunities for interactive education on topics including: InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator: A Creative Sweet! with David Blatner, co-owner of InDesignSecrets; The Mobile Artists Lounge  with Russell Brown, senior creative director for Adobe Systems; Appalooza: Creative iApps with David Biedny, digital effects, graphics & multimedia expert; Enhanced Virtual Reality with HTML5 with Bill Wiecking, energy lab director at the Hawaii Prep Academy; The World’s Biggest Art Museum with Alan Oppenheimer, president of Open Door Networks; Visual Note-Taking with the iPad with Rachel Smith, director of Digital Facilitation Services with The Grove Consultants; and Nomad Compose SpeedSketch with Don Lee, founder & CEO of NomadBrush LLC.

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