Geek News: Latest Technology, Product Reviews, Gadgets and Tech Podcast News for Geeks

Tag: Angry Birds

Angry Birds Friends tournaments begin today, complete with marriage proposal

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 7:31 AM on May 6, 2013

angry birds

Last week Rovio released its Angry Birds Friends tournament -style game to the mobile world, making the popular bird-slinging, pig-killing game available to a wider audience. The Friends version had previously only been available on Facebook, but has now moved to both iOS and Android.

Today, the first full tournament gets underway — new ones will begin each Monday. Today though, something special is involved in the game. According to Rovio “if you play today you’ll see the incredible in-game marriage proposal made by one of our biggest fans”. The Finnish game maker goes on to explain that “a while ago a guy named Ben got in touch with an unusual request. He wanted to pop the big question to his long-term girlfriend Mel through Angry Birds! We jumped at the chance to bring these lovebirds together, and started building a custom-made level that featured Ben’s marriage proposal”.

While there have been no download statistics released for this latest Rovio game, it does appear as a featured app on the Google Play store. Combining the popular mobile game with the Facebook name should bode well for both companies.

Tags: , ,

Posted in Gaming, mobile

Comments 5 Comments

Original Angry Birds comes to Windows Phone, free until May 15

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 4:36 AM on May 2, 2013

It has taken quite a bit of time, but Rovio finally brings its popular Angry Birds game to the Windows Phone platform. The original game — the version that launched the craze — lands in the store today. “Good news for all of our fans who play Angry Birds on Windows Phone, we have a brand new version of the original Angry Birds for you to play” the Finnish game studio announces.

The best news for customers on the Microsoft mobile platform is that the new game is free from now through May 15th. The game will have over 400 levels from the start. The Windows Phone 8 version will also have Xbox Live integration with new achievements and leaderboards.

angry birds

“This will be a completely separate download from the original Angry Birds title that some of you may already own. The reason why we’re re-releasing the game is that it will be technically easier for us to support in the future” Rovio claims. If you are worried that you will lose your current progress, then rest easy. Rovio points out that downloading this new, improved version will not wipe your old game, including your stars and level progress. Both versions are completely separate.

Tags: , ,

Posted in Gaming, Windows Phone 7

Comments 4 Comments

Rovio teases Angry Birds cartoons, announces 1.7 billion downloads

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 11:07 AM on March 11, 2013

We found out a few weeks ago that Rovio would be releasing Angry Birds cartoons. Now, today, the company added some more details to that news. According to a company announcement, “Rovio Entertainment is bringing its weekly Angry Birds Toons animated series to fans around the world, setting an industry first in launching a video distribution channel across all of its Angry Birds game titles on smartphones and tablets”.

The new animated videos will be available beginning the weekend of March 16-17 through a dedicated channel available in Rovio games. The Finnish game-maker will also make the cartoons available on select video-on-demand channel providers, Smart TVs and connected devices. An Angry Birds Toons channel will be available on all of Comcast’s video platforms in the US including Xfinity on Demand, online at Xfinity.com/tv and the Xfinity TV Player app.

The animated shorts will also be available on FOX8 in Australia, JEI TV in Korea, ANTV in Indonesia, Cartoon Network in India, MTV3 Juniori and MTV3 in Finland, the Children’s Channel in Israel, 1+1 networks in Ukraine, Gulli and Canal J in France, SUPER RTL in Germany, TV2 in Norway, Canal 13 in Chile and Gloob in Brazil

Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio stated that “We’ve long wanted to tell our fans the story of the Angry Birds and the Bad Piggies, to introduce their personalities and their world in detail”.

Along with the cartoon announcement, Rovio also let it be known that it has now surpassed 1.7 billion downloads of its games, meaning that more mobile users are likely playing them than not.

Tags: , ,

Posted in Gaming

Comments 6 Comments

Angry Birds celebrates 3rd birthday with new levels

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 8:37 AM on December 11, 2012

Rovio is celebrating the third birthday, or ‘Birdday’, of it’s ground-breaking Angry Birds game today. As part of the celebration the company released an update, bringing the app to version 3.0, and adding thirty new levels of pig-bashing fun. The game from the Finland-based company is certainly not showing it’s age, as it continues to hover near the top of mobile download charts.

There is a lot more to this update that just the new levels of play. Rovio also added the pink bird, which was introduced in the Angry Birds Seasons “Back to School” update, as well as full support for iPhone 5 handsets. The thirty new levels include 15 “Birdday Party” and 15 “Bad Piggies” themed levels.

Angry Birds was of course the first game in the now famous franchise, which has gone on to include Seasons, Rio, Space and, most recently, Star Wars.

Tags: , ,

Posted in Gaming

Comments Comments Off

Angry Birds Star Wars Lands on Android, iOS, Windows Phone

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 2:18 PM on November 8, 2012

Angry Birds Star Wars

Depending on what time zone you live in you may or may not have been ready to grab a copy of Angry Birds Star Wars when it blasted onto mobile platforms and computers at 11pm PST last night, complete with an online launch event.  Rovio even held a live-streaming event for those who were awake at that hour, which I suppose was morning in Finland where Rovio is based.

From that Scandinavian country the company has reached out and dominated the mobile markets on Android and iOS devices and even is available now on Windows Phone and OSX and Windows computers.

The last big release from the Finnish game studio, Bad Piggies rocketed to number one on the download charts in under three hours, making it the most successful release in history, surpassing Angry Birds Space.  At the same time, the original Angry Birds game remains in the most popular download list in the Google Play Store.

You can grab a copy now.  There are both free and paid versions.  You will find some very different birds here thanks to the Star Wars branding. The game play, while similar to Angry Birds Space, is also a bit different thanks to the George Lucas (recently purchased by Disney) influence.

Tags: , , ,

Posted in Android, Gaming, iOS, osx, Windows

Comments 3 Comments

Are You Game? Rovio and Kaiku to Release Angry Birds Visa Cards

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 5:34 AM on November 6, 2012

Rovio, the popular game-maker based in Finland, has produced some of the most popular mobile titles, including record-setting releases like the recent Bad Piggies, which shot to the number one position on the download charts at breakneck speed.  As if the mobile and PC games, as well as the merchandising available in retail stores across the U.S., weren’t enough, the company has now announced a partnership with KAIKU to bring Angry Birds to your wallet.

KAIKU, while not being a big name in the financial industry, has scored exclusive rights to issue pre-paid Visa cards with Angry Birds images on the card front. The company describes themselves as “A provider in the global prepaid industry, KAIKU offers smart products that combine a unique blend of style and innovation, while providing a convenient and affordable alternative to traditional money management solutions.”

“Rovio and KAIKU share a common philosophy in that we love to delight our fans with products that are affordable and packed with great features that fit today’s lifestyle,” stated Andrew Stalbow, Rovio’s EVP of Strategic Partnerships and General Manager of North America.

For fans of the game this may be just one more collectible you will want to grab but, with the power of the Visa name, the card will also be useful at millions of locations across the globe. The only catch here may be the “pre-paid” part. Many people are probably reluctant to send their hard-earned money to cover a bill for something they haven’t yet purchased.

If you are game, however, KAIKU is showing off four versions of the card, featuring Bad Piggies and several different designs of the famous birds themselves. They promise the cards will be available in early 2013. In the meantime, you can grab any of the four Angry Birds games already on the market and also look forward to the brand new Angry Birds Star Wars edition that is coming later this week. Also, a word of warning if you haven’t yet installed Bad Piggies — there are a lot of malware apps posing as the record setting game so be careful out there.

Tags: , , ,

Posted in Gaming

Comments Comments Off

Rovio Releases Most In-Depth Angry Birds Space Trailer Yet

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 7:53 PM on November 5, 2012

In just a few days, on November 8th, Rovio will launch what will perhaps be their most ambitious game so far – a mashup of Angry Birds and Star Wars, the Lucas Films franchise recently purchased by Disney.  They have been relentlessly teasing the new game over the past month, starting with simple video clips of the original 1977 movie and then moving on to reveal bits and pieces of the gameplay and characters.

Today, the Finnish game maker revealed the most detailed trailer yet, showing more of the actual characters and gameplay.  The company also announced a live launch event scheduled for 11pm PST on November 7th, which will be broadcast live at http://rov.io/abswlive.  A few lucky fans will even get to join Rovio live on camera  for the big launch.  The game will be available on iOS and Android, with Windows Phone coming shortly.

“Join Rovio and Lucasfilm executives, game developers and artists for a special Angry Birds Star Wars game-launch Hangout live this Wednesday, November 7, at 11pm PST. Rovio and Lucasfilm teams will take you behind-the-scenes of the new collaboration, including an inside look on how the game was developed.”

Tags: , , ,

Posted in Gaming

Comments Comments Off

Rovio Releases “Green Day” Levels for Angry Birds Facebook

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 5:23 PM on August 21, 2012

Yesterday Rovio rolled out the new Angry Birds Seasons levels, titled “Back to School”, but many people missed the fact that they quietly released a new set of levels for Angry Birds Facebook, called “Green Day”.  Yes, in case you’re wondering, the new levels are named after the popular alternative band.

There was no announcement of the release, so we’re left to wonder why the the rock band association, but Green Day is due to release three new albums before the end of the year, so there is likely some publicity tie-in between the two brands.  There are ten new levels included in the update, but no new features or birds included.  The levels each feature a background image depicting the three members of Green Day as pigs.

Angry Birds for Facebook is free to play and includes a “weekly tournament” that features four new levels released each week.  Green Day is the fifth level of the popular game that has been released for the social network version of Angry Birds.

Tags: , , ,

Posted in Facebook, Gaming

Comments 1 Comment

Angry Birds Christmas Goodies

Posted by Andrew at 1:38 AM on December 2, 2011

If you can’t get enough of Rovio‘s Angry Birds (or Angly Birds as my daughter says), then you can satisfy your avian needs over at the Angry Birds on-line store. I’ve seen Angry Birds toys gradually appearing in shops, but I’d no idea there was such a wide range of things, from the expected soft toys to children’s costumes.

Angry Birds Fancy Dress Costume

Anyway, as we’re now officially in the run-up to Christmas, the Angry Birds store has a festive selection from Christmas stockings to tree decorations.

Blue Bird Christmas StockingChristmas Tree Decorations

The Bad Piggies Egg Recipes looks like an eggscellent (sorry) stocking-filler with around 40 egg-based recipes from the classics to the more interesting – the table of contents is shown on the website.

Bad Piggies Egg Recipes

There’s plenty of other merchandise to choose from too, including iPhone cases and flip-flops! Prices feel a little high at times for what are novelty items but the shop does appear to ship worldwide.

Tags: , , ,

Posted in Geek Culture, Toys

Comments Comments Off

Roku Coming to UK and Canada

Posted by J Powers at 10:35 AM on November 17, 2011
Roku LT

Roku LT

Today, Roku announced it will be going International: starting in the United Kingdom and Canada. The Set Top Box plans to launch in these countries early 2012. Currently, they are making a call to Canadian and European developers to start creating content for this popular medium.

Roku was founded in 2002 by Replay TV founder Anthony Wood. The privately held company started with the SoundBridge – a network music player. Since then, the company created the PhotoBridge before developing the Roku in 2008. Four generations later, the Roku LT, Roku 2 HD, XD and XS (with Angry Birds) are current models you can purchase starting at $49.

“This year has been one of many accomplishments for Roku in the U.S. In July, we introduced Roku 2 which brings casual games to the TV and last month we unveiled the $49.99 Roku LT. We’ve added casual games including Angry Birds and PAC-MAN as well as premiere channels including HBO GO,” said Roku Founder and CEO Anthony Wood. “And now we’re looking forward to kicking off 2012 by expanding to Europe and Canada and providing consumers abroad with the best in streaming entertainment – a natural evolution for Roku.”

Recently Roku launched games like Pac-Man and Galaga, along with services like CNBC 24 hour and HBO Go (with cable subscription). Of course, Roku was the first STB to offer Netflix, and also has premium channels like Amazon and HuluPlus. Not to mention the TechPodcasts and Blubrry networks.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted in OTT

Comments Comments Off

« Older Entries