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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Vancouver, U.S.A. —  Wacom’s digital notebook application, Bamboo Paper, is now available on Google play. Building on the application’s huge success among iPad users, the launch of Bamboo Paper for Android provides a new and exciting way for this group to share ideas and concepts on a smartphone by combining Wacom’s intuitive application and natural-feeling pen.

As of October 25, more than 4 million iPad users already enjoy the digital notebook qualities of Bamboo Paper. Following this success, Wacom has launched Bamboo Paper for Android — a free digital notebook app that allows mobile device users to create and collaborate through handwritten notes, sketches and doodles. Bamboo Paper makes using Wacom’s Bamboo Stylus family or any stylus that come with smartphones much more fun, allowing creativity to take place on the move. The app is initially available for the Samsung Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note II and the Galaxy SIII with more devices to be added at a later date. Note taking, sketching and doodling has never been easier or more intuitive on an Android device.

Bamboo Paper continues to push Wacom’s Bamboo brand mission forward, offering visual thinkers a way to construct and share ideas digitally. It provides an interface that is natural, fun and easy to use. Being one of the first apps by Wacom, Bamboo Paper adds a new element to the existing range of input devices (Bamboo Stylus range and Bamboo pen tablets) and gives users a very natural “pen and paper” experience.

As with all Bamboo products by Wacom, Bamboo Paper takes advantage of Wacom’s experience and expertise in pen-based input by offering a natural writing and sketching tool. Ideas become much more lively when using a Wacom pen, providing realistic inking and a fluid interface to make quick notes, sketches or drawings.

Bamboo Paper for Android is available as a free download in Google play and Samsung Apps.

Download the Bamboo Paper app here.

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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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Cleveland, U.S.A. — 3 Guys Apps may be new to the iPhone game industry, but they intend to zoom into the Apple Market, fast and furious, with their inaugural game, Moon Skater.

Moon Skater features remarkably crisp graphics, precision functionality, lightning-fast pace and unique music that makes your iPhone sound like a rock band climbed inside. Moon Skater features a kid on a futuristic hover board, flipping over asteroids and shooting invading aliens, all while collecting valuable moon rocks, which allow players to “buy” better weapons, invincibility and other upgrades in the Moon Skater Store.

With 10 moon levels, each increasing in length and difficulty, Moon Skater presents the kind of playability that makes it impossible to put this game down. “We wanted something simple, fun and highly addictive,” says Moon Skater project manager, Mark Barnes. “A memorable character that gamers will identify with. A heroic kid, zooming over rough terrain, destroying attacking aliens and saving the Earth is, we hope, the kind of character all game-players dream of being.”

From the moment gamers open the Moon Skater main screen and the music blares, the action is underway. Moon rock collection starts as soon as level-one play begins, and a steady stream of boulders, asteroids and aliens threaten to destroy the Moon Skater. While gamers get a feel for the tilt action and the jump and fire buttons, Moon Skater offers a quick replay button on each level, so the action is never stopped for more than a few seconds, even if the Moon Skater is defeated.

Other features include an interactive tutorial, online leader boards, a variety of store features, easily “purchased” with moon rocks collected during play, sharing scores on Facebook and Twitter and simple muting of sound, if desired.

“We think this game is going to soar to the Top 25,” Barnes adds. “We believe it’s that good and, hopefully, the first of many more games from 3 Guys Apps.

You can download Moon Skater for free in the App Store, as of its scheduled launch date, September, 23, 2012.

Image Courtesy of   Moon Skater

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Potsdam, Germany — Using refund.me, you can check straight away whether you’re eligible for compensation if your fight was problematic: just enter your flight no. and with a few mouse clicks you will find out how much you could be refunded for. The complaint form, which you can complete on the spot and which can be signed online, can be forwarded to the airline directly.

“Until now, many passengers have forfeited their compensation payments because they considered the complaints procedure to be too cumbersome. That’s why we wanted to create a fast method for helping passengers worldwide. You’ll be able to check if you’re eligible for a claim as soon as you leave the airplane. However, if you prefer to take your time with this, you can use http://www.refund.me instead. Flights can be checked and claimed for up to three years retrospectively,” explains Eve Buechner, the CEO of refund.me GmbH.

Easy and hassle-free handling
The passenger only has to enter their flight no. and a few additional details into their smart phone and a few seconds later they will know how much they could expect as a refund. The information is adjusted in accordance with EU regulation 261/2004 and other factors. The complaint form is created in real time; it can be signed by mobile phone or online and is transmitted automatically to the respective airline.

Download in English and German
This app is free for iPhone users: http://itunes.apple.com/en/app/refund.me/id524565639. It will shortly be available for Android, Windows and Blackberry. In the meantime you can now open http://www.refund.me on your mobile in order to check it wherever you are.

The Company
refund.me GmbH is a subsidiary of the venture capital business quantumReality GmbH, which has its headquarters in Potsdam. It was established in 2012 and its intention is to make the rights of passengers more transparent, practicable and easier to enforce. The strategic aim is to use complex logic to convert legal ordinances in the area of passenger rights into automated processes.

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Massachusetts, U.S.A. — After an extensive vetting process, the editors of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, have selected the rulebook app as the exclusive mobile app to publish The Bluebook on mobile devices.

The Bluebook is the authoritative style guide for legal citation in the United States used by lawyers, scholars, judges, law students, paralegals and others involved in the legal profession. A joint venture of the Columbia Law Review, the Harvard Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review and The Yale Law Journal, it is the most widely circulated law-related book in the world.

“The rulebook app helps us keep our promise of making The Bluebook as accessible and useful as possible,” said Conor Tochilin, president of the Harvard Law Review Association. ”We are excited to see The Bluebook available in such an easy-to-use digital format.”

The rulebook app easily allows legal professionals to reference federal and state court rules, codes and style manuals. The app incorporates all the functionality of paper rule books, such as highlighting, bookmarking and note-taking, and adds functionality unique to digital devices, including searching, hyperlinking and multitasking. It also keeps the mobile version of The Bluebook, as well as its other content, current with regular updates that are seamlessly integrated without overwriting the user’s personal highlights and annotations.

“We are honored that the rulebook app has been chosen as the mobile app for The Bluebook,” said Gregory Hoole, president of Ready Reference Apps, the developer of the rulebook app. “There is an unmistakable paradigm shift occurring from paper to paperless publication. The Bluebook editors’ proactive move into this new space will provide a great benefit to law students and legal professionals alike.”

Currently in its nineteenth edition, The Bluebook was first compiled in 1926 by Erwin Griswold, a Harvard Law Review editor and later, dean of Harvard Law School.

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London, U.K. — CSL had announced its unique new iPhone app, which not only allows you to browse their extensive range of sofas but also includes an ‘In Your Room’ feature, which uses the latest augmented reality technology to help you see what your new sofa will look like in your home. This is the first furniture app of its kind. It’s free and gives you access to over 12,000 items in the CSL sofa catalogue while you’re on the move.

Gone are the days when you traipsed around furniture stores on busy bank holidays hoping to find your dream leather sofa. The CSL iPhone app has taken shopping into the 21st Century, giving you the ability to browse online for your new sofa at your leisure. The app has a host of features including a CSL locator function that uses your phone’s GPS to give you directions to the nearest CSL store.

“Our iPhone app gives people the confidence to be able to browse online and then view their chosen sofa in their own living room.” said a spokesman for CSL Sofas, “The app is completely free and has been designed to be exceptionally easy to use. It allows people to instantly see a real picture of their own living room with their potential new furniture already delivered and installed, all within seconds!”

The ‘In Your Room’ technology is a fast and fun way to visualize what your new sofa could look like in your home. Simply take a picture of the room for which the new sofa is intended and then select a desired new item. The software will merge both images to provide a realistic vision of how the new item will appear in your room – all within seconds!

The app also gives you the ability to access a personal ‘My Account’ area, where you can book a delivery, track your order and complete checkout. You’ll also be updated with the latest promotions (including up to 50% off leather sofas, fabric, corner group and recliner sofas) and have the opportunity to earn money by recommending friends and family via the ‘Recommend a Friend’ CSL loyalty scheme.

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Club Med – the world’s leading all-inclusive brand with more than 80 resorts worldwide – proudly launches its innovative application for the iPhone and iPad, allowing consumers to discover, share and book their ideal Club Med vacation from anywhere in the world.

The iPad application features an original 360-degree virtual tour of Club Med resorts by holding your iPad in front of you and moving it left and right as if you were walking through the property. Providing views from the over-water suites at Club Med Kani in the Maldives and the ski school at Club Med Peisey Vallandry in the French Alps to the circus trapeze at Club Med Ixtapa Pacific in Mexico and the international tennis academy at Club Med Sandpiper Bay in Florida, Club Med offers the perfect getaway at your fingertips.

“The team is excited to bring the Club Med application suite to market as it’s the most interactive way to display our resorts and immerses potential guests into the unique Club Med experience,” said Jerome Hiquet, Vice President of Marketing and Digital for Club Med North America. “Our objective was to develop the most user friendly iPad and iPhone applications that appeals to all potential and past guests.

With these apps they can discover the best of Club Med spirit wherever, whenever. As a new structural ecosystem, it’s important for Club Med to launch into the mobile space now, and to integrate mobile as a key and consistent component in our global marketing strategy to better accommodate today’s consumers in the digital space.”

Club Med collaborated with Phonevalley, a leading mobile communication agency and part of Publicis Group, to develop these user-friendly apps. ”We were enthusiastic about this opportunity to work with a brand like Club Med on this application,” said Alexandre Mars, CEO of Phonevalley. ”We were able to create a quality experience for shoppers to discover the Club Med resorts in a unique capacity much different from the standard vacation booking apps.”

Consumers can discover their dream Club Med vacation in just a few scrolls by exploring more than 80 resorts through photos, videos, descriptions and 360-degree virtual tours. The comparison function helps potential guests choose between resorts based on their personal preferences, from luxury to golf and eco-friendly to winter sports. Guests are then able to share what they like with family and friends while also planning and booking a trip.

The “Click to Call” button quickly connects consumers to an experienced Club Med travel advisor for over the phone booking. For those that can’t make up their mind, the “Shake and Escape” function allows you to shake your iPhone for destination ideas complete with sound.

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Fiksu (www.fiksu.com), the industry’s first mobile app user acquisition platform spanning the entire mobile ecosystem, reported that the swell of new iPhone 4S users, combined with iOS 5 app updates, generated escalated app discovery activity and peak download volumes for the top 200 apps.

The Fiksu App Store Competitive Index (which measures the average aggregate daily download volume of the top 200 free U.S. iPhone apps) continued its upward trajectory initiated during October when the iPhone 4S launched. The Index peaked at 5.65 million downloads per day in November; a 15 percent increase over October’s previous record high of 4.91 million daily downloads.

By comparison, app download volumes in November 2010 were 83 percent lower, illustrating the enormous demand for and growth of mobile apps in just twelve months. The Fiksu Cost per Loyal User Index remained steady in November, down just four cents to $1.43 from October’s $1.47.

“Unlike October‘s intermittent spikes in downloads and costs, November saw a steady increase in demand for app downloads without any notable fluctuations in mobile app marketing costs – even overThanksgiving weekend,” said Micah Adler, Fiksu’s CEO. “Signs indicate that app marketers have become savvier about planning and executing their ad spends during seasonal periods to avoid paying premium prices for acquiring users.

In fact, November presented them with a somewhat unique opportunity to add more users at costs that were actually below October’s.” The Fiksu Indexes measure monthly fluctuations in competition for rank in the app stores, and the cost to acquire loyal users(1), helping mobile app marketers benchmark their performance against industry averages.

For Fiksu’s full analysis, visit http://www.fiksu.com/resources/fiksu-indexes#analysis.

Data for the Fiksu Indexes was sourced from more than 7.6 billion mobile app actions – such as app launches, registrations and in-app purchases – and more than 156 million downloads recorded by apps marketed via the Fiksu for Mobile Apps user acquisition platform.

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