Tag: UK »

In what could be a landmark ruling, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) in the UK has ruled that an email ad for Dungeon Keeper, which stated that the game was free, was misleading to consumers.

The ad read as such:

GET DUNGEON KEEPER ON MOBILE FOR FREE! ... DIG. DEVISE. DOMINATE. Build the most badass dungeon ever! Raise an army of diabolical minions and lay twisted traps to destroy any opponents foolish enough to set foot in your lair. MASTER THE HAND OF EVIL Cast powerful spells, pillage and plunder other players’ dungeons, and slap your imps around to make them work harder. A world of wicked fun is right at your fingertips. What are you waiting for, Keeper? Get it for FREE!

The ad also featured a footnote stating "WIRELESS FEES MAY APPLY" and showed a well-developed dungeon. The complainant challenged that the ad was misleading as it omitted significant information.

EA argued that this was not the case, as the app does not require in-app purchases (IAPs) to be bought and that gameplay without IAPs is 'not severely limited.' EA also provided data on 'spenders' and 'non-spenders,' which they said showed that non-spenders were well represented in players who reached the middle and end of the game, in a time not substantially slower than spenders.

EA went on to state that the "average player would expect a free-to-play title to be monetized with countdown timers and premium currency," that they gave "balanced gameplay and provided players with a sense of progression and enabled resource management," and that timers would be still be present in Dungeon Keeper even without any monetization.

In response to this, the ASA assessed that EA had indeed branched three rules of the Advertising Code. Within the ruling, they commented that the ad could possibly mislead players into thinking that their progression would be "unhindered by unexpected and excessively onerous delays," and that it should "have made clear what consumers could expect from the free elements and that in-app purchases would have a significant impact on gameplay." Finally, they stated that "the game had the potential to restrict gameplay beyond that which would be expected by consumers and the ad did not make this aspect of the role of in-app purchasing clear."

As the ASA upheld the complaint, the ad cannot appear again in its current form. EA has also been warned by the ASA to ensure that the limitations of free gameplay and the role of IAPs are made clear in future ads.

The TripLingo series of apps have done a great job of deciphering popular slang in various foreign languages, as we noticed when reviewing the Spanish version last year. Now, with the London 2012 Olympics upon us, there's a special themed version out in the form of TripLingo UK Edition.

The app uses a "Slang Slider" to enable users to see four different ways to say each phrase, with the options of Posh, Cockney, Scouse and Jafaican. It's worth pointing out that Scouse isn't actually a dialect of London, instead being located in the North West of the country in the city of Liverpool, but it is a enjoyable comparison to make.

As a Brit, I'll say this now, we don't ALL use such slang in our day to day living but it is a fun selection of words and terms that were once much more common within the UK, with a hint of parody about it. And don't worry, visitors to Britain, it's still possible to hear many such terms used if you happen to visit the right area.

Whether you're travelling to Britain soon or just want to have some fun learning a new type of slang, you'd be barmy (crazy) to miss out on TripLingo UK Edition.

It's out now and free to download.

With the 2012 Summer Olympics headed to London starting July 27th, it's night time we took a look at some great apps to use to watch and keep track of the happenings in the UK this year. Today, we'll take a gander at five useful apps that will help you do just that.

2012 Team USA Road To London
Here's the official app of the United States Olympic Committee, providing information about the US olympic team and their experience before and during the games in London. The app will include daily updates of which athletes make the team, daily editorial content on the specific sports and athletes involved in the Olympics, and a "cheer" button to let you send messages to athletes via Facebook and Twitter. You can also donate to Team USA or buy official gear directly from the app.

NBC Olympics
NBC is the official US network of the 2012 Olympic games, and their app will provide pre-game content including news, videos, photos and athlete information. During the games, the app will allow you to follow every event from London, including real-time results & schedules, medal counts and TV & Online listings. Plus, it will function as a second-screen experience during the nightly recap on NBC.

NBC Olympics Live Extra
Want to actually watch the Olympics live while it happens? Use this app from NBC. It will let you watch all the live coverage, as well as on-demand replays and alternate camera views. The app includes archival video of the Beijing Olympic Games, too, so you won't run out of content any time soon. If you have a new iPad, you'll be able to watch the videos in HD resolution as well.

BBC Olympics
Follow the Olympics with a decidedly welcome non-US flavor with direct coverage of the 2012 Games by the BBC, Britain's own boradcast network. There will be daily live text commentary, breaking news, and headlines that reflect your own national team based on your location. You'll also be able to share stories and videos via Facebook and Twitter, and customize the app to just show the sports and teams you are most interested in.

London 2012: Official Results App for the Olympic and Paralympic Games
Just want to follow the results of all 36 sports in the Olympic Games? This may be your go-to app, with just-the-facts-quality coverage of all the results, live updates, calendar schedule, details of sports, medal tables and athlete profiles you can handle, brought to you by The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Limited, the official body for the summer games.

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If you're looking to have a bit of location based fun with your iPhone and happen to be in the great city of London, England, you should check out the new iRule London app. It brings together all the fun of location-based social sharing and includes a game element that will have you buying land, owning property, setting up tolls, and much more - all using your iPhone as the game piece, and the city of London as the game board.

Think of it, if you want, as a real-life Monopoly. The goal is to amass a fortune in 'money' and 'land.' You start with a daily allowance and you use these points in many ways. Or you can claim your turf by setting three place markers; once claimed, this area is under your control and visitors have to pay to pass through your area. All of this is controlled by the app using your GPS location. There are even daily awards for some of the best players based on different criteria, including a special weekly challenge!

Set up your home location and earn extra points for checking in every day! Set up secret 'Jails' to trap others when they accidentally stumble into one, and have to pay you to get out! There's lots of different situations and scenarios that will come about when you use actual geography as the playing field for a massive online game!

Location based and augmented reality apps are quickly becoming some of the most popular new attractions on the App Store, and this will definitely be one to watch out for. As the iRule team builds their series of apps we should all hope that they'll be creating options for the USA or other European cities soon enough!

Until then, if you live in London (or perhaps are just heading for a visit -- how great would it be to spend a day sightseeing with this in your pocket too?), you should check out iRule London, created by Eric McKinley. Find out more about the games on their official site!

Following our report that international iPad App Stores began switching on yesterday, international iBookstores are also now available. Apple initially claimed that iBooks would be a US-only service, likely due to ongoing discussions with international book publishers, but has since announced international launches in countries that begin selling the iPad on May 28th. At present, only free books are available to download on international iBookstores however this is likely to change over the next few days. So far, live iBookstores have been reported in Germany, Italy and the UK with the remaining supported countries likely to follow.

At the time of writing there are 10,023 free books available on the UK iBookstore with new additions apparently stopped for the time being after almost minute-by-minute changes earlier.

We’ll keep you updated as things progress.

UPDATE: Pre-orders are now available for international iPad models and accessories via Apple's online stores.

After a long wait, Apple has announced details of the launch and pricing for iPads outside of the US. On Friday, May 28, iPads will go on sale in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Pre-orders will open on Monday, May 10.

Although the press release is ambiguous, it appears that both the Wi-Fi and 3G models will be available on this date and not staggered as with the US launch.

Only the UK prices have been unveiled so far and, as expected, they are not mere conversions of the US dollar price. Prices start at £429 (inc. VAT) for the 16GB Wi-Fi iPad, £499 for the 32GB model and £599 for the 64GB iPad. Wi-Fi and 3G iPads will be priced at £529, £599 and £699 respectively for the 16, 32 and 64GB models. Prices for iPad accessories are expected to be announced at launch. iPad accessories are also available for pre-order via Apple's online stores.

At £429 for the cheapest iPad compared to $499 in the US, there is a significant markup for the European market which could have expected a price of around £338 for a straight USD to GBP conversion. Apple claims that the higher cost abroad is due to higher taxes and shipping costs with all UK prices including VAT.

Apple has also announced that it plans to sell the iPad in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore in July with prices to follow.

The original international iPad launch was pushed back last month after Apple experienced a "surprisingly strong US demand" that saw the company sell over one million units in just 28 days. This lead many in the UK and other countries to purchase the device via eBay and other services providing a way to ship iPads from the US. While a dedicated iPad App Store doesn't yet exist in the UK, a number of iPad apps are available if searched for.

Should both Wi-Fi and 3G models go on sale at the same time in the UK and other countries it will be interesting to see the demand for each type device with as many as three networks providing data plans for the 3G model in the UK.

Following the announcement from O2 UK that the two-year exclusive contract agreement between both them and Apple over the iPhone handset is indeed about to end, Orange is believed to be gearing to start selling the iPhone 3GS (and iPhone 3G) just one day after Apple and O2's exclusivity agreement ends - November 10th, adding to the 27 countries and territories the company already sells the devices in.

While O2 had originally believed it had the rights to sell the handset until 2012, the agreement originally signed in 2007 actually only secured O2 exclusivity of the handset for a two year period.

I know what you're thinking; Everyone has an iPhone now, so what's the big news here? Right? .. Wrong. According to SlashGear, Orange has already had over 200,000 people register their interest for the new handsets. The really big news here however, is that Orange is about to get feisty with their offerings. With the end of this exclusivity agreement between Apple and O2 UK, this opens the floor to other companies selling the handset. Yes - companies. More than one - and for the first time ever, this means one thing; competition.

As previously reported, Vodaphone UK also recently showed their hand, stating they too will be offering the handset. With the holiday season fast approaching, this launch will see both Orange and Vodaphone fighting to secure iPhone customers. Orange however, has a plan. Still speculation, Orange are said to be re-thinking the way they are going to offer the handset, with one UK columnist saying the telecoms company could offer customers bundled accessories or even pre-installed applications.

With no handset pricing or tariffs announced, we're yet to see if the jump from O2 to Orange for existing customers is a viable or more importantly - affordable - option. What is certain though is it's going to be a fight for customers, and a tough one. At this point, I can't help but think that Orange has the upper hand.

In fact, according to one source, Orange has teamed up with T-Mobile over the summer, and are both allegedly already selling the device in other areas of the world - and, although Vodaphone UK has managed signed a deal with Apple to sell the devices, it now comes to light the company won't get it's hands on the handset(s) until early next year (2010).

It'll certainly be interesting to see how all this plays out, and what the benefits will be for both new (and existing customers) - if any.

iPhone users and future iPhone users rejoiced earlier this week, as O2 announced it has finally (and officially) lost exclusivity of the Apple iPhone handset. In the next breath, Orange UK announced it would be bringing the handset to it's product line, starting this fall. In fact, it reckons it will start selling the iPhone 3G in the UK and Ireland next month.

But just when you thought that two carriers wasn't enough, and not one to miss an opportunity, Vodaphone UK have today also announced that they too have signed a deal with Apple to carry the handset:

From the press release:

Vodafone and Apple today confirmed that they have reached agreement to bring iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS to the UK and Ireland in early 2010.

Beginning today, Vodafone UK and Vodafone Ireland customers can register their interest in iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS at www.vodafone.co.uk/iphone and www.vodafone.ie/iphone respectively. Pricing, tariffs and availability information will be announced locally in the future.

So what does this mean for all of us loyal O2 customers? Well, not much really. It was a fun ride while it lasted, but I'm afraid to say you're no longer "cool" by owning an iPhone. Just think, if Orange and Vodaphone do manage to get the actual handset price down, you could see everyone in your street with an iPhone by January 2010.

There's no doubting this will be good for competition, but don't get your hopes up too high. There's still that little thing called price-fixing, and I think we'll see Apple fix the pricing on these handsets. Period.