1）据venturebeat报道，初创企业Striiv日前宣布在首轮融资中筹得600万美元。

Striiv最近推出了一款旨在以游戏化方式促进用户健康生活的移动设备，例如为用户步行一定距离的行为提供奖励。该公司融资支持者包括iD Ventures的Ronald Chwang，iRobot创始人Colin Angle、Tallwood Ventures的Dado Banatao以及其他天使投资者。

Striiv(from venturebeat)

该公司将利用这笔资金支持将于10月中旬发布的Striiv移动设备，以及公司的户外游戏活动项目。Striiv公司成立于2010年，现有22名员工，Striiv设备预计售价99美元。

2）Tapjoy日前宣布聘请Peter Dille任公司首席营销官（游戏邦注：Dille原是索尼电脑娱乐公司美国分部的PlayStation Network和市场营销副总裁），希望借助后者行业经验，加强与传统品牌广告商之间的合作。

Peter Dille(from adweek.com)

该公司最近还任命Al Wood（他曾帮助多家科技公司处理IPO流程）为首席财务官，据称Tapjoy未来也有可能上市。

3）据Techcrunch报道，亚马逊计划利用其Android应用商店Appstore优势，推出一款功能齐全，以Kindle为品牌的LCD平板电脑。

亚马逊Appstore于今年5月上线，目前聚集游戏超过3000款，其中免费游戏超过1400款。预计售价205美元的亚马逊平板电脑将于11月底问世，另一款更为强大的10英寸平板电脑也将于明年初上市。

Amazon-Tablet(from toptechreviews.net)

报道称亚马逊准备以Amazon Prime免费订阅服务推广其平板电脑，Amazon Prime主要提供亚马逊产品免运费服务，以及访问亚马逊视频流服务。

4）Piper Jaffray分析师Gene Munster最近预测，苹果2013财年总营收将达1640亿美元，其iOS移动设备销量将超过2亿部。

apple-logo(from zj.pcgames.com.cn)

他的数据比业内其他公司对苹果销量预测高8个百分点，比EPS公司的预测高10个百分点。

如果Munster预测成真，那就意味着苹果在2012年的营收需增长19%，在2013年将再增长17%（游戏邦注：苹果在2010财年的营业额为652亿美元）。

据Munster的数据所示，苹果将有49%的收益来自iPhone，这部分收益在2012年将增长30%，在2013年增长29%。iPhone售价将从2012年的603美元，下降至2013年的565美元。

iPad将占苹果21%的营收，在2013年销量约6800万部，预计iPad销量在2012年将增长39%，在2013年增长35%。iPad售价将从575美元下降至555美元。

5）据pocketgamer报道，Alawar推出的《Farm Frenzy 3》将于9月15日登陆iPhone/iad平台。

farm-frenzy-3(from awem.com)

这款结合了时间和经济管理元素的游戏与之前的版本没有太大差别，但添加了更强大的画面和游戏活动，玩家可以在游戏中饲养骆驼，建设各种复杂的生产线以推出更多成型的产品。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请注明来源：游戏邦）

1）Striiv raises $6M to make fitness fun

Dean Takahashi

Striiv, a startup focused on making walking more fun, has raised $6 million in a first round of funding.

The Redwood City, Calif.-based company makes a gadget that hangs on your keychain and keeps track of every step you take. The more you walk or run, the more you are rewarded with points on the device’s small display. It’s another example of gamification, or taking an activity that is not so fun, like exercise, and making it more fun via game mechanics, such as rewarding someone for walking 1,000 steps.

Ronald Chwang of iD Ventures led the round. Also participating were Colin Angle, founder of iRobot; Dado Banatao of Tallwood Ventures (a private investment); along with other angel investors.

The money will be used to support the mid-October launch of the new Striiv device and to further the company’s mission of taking active gaming outside the living room. The idea is to turn everyday activities into fitness opportunities, David Wang, chief executive of the firm, told me last week in an interview.

Chwang and Angle have joined Striiv’s board.The Striiv device will be available for $99. The company was founded in 2010 and has 22 employees.（source:venturebeat）

2）Tapjoy Hires Former Sony Marketing SVP as New Chief Marketing Officer

By Kim-Mai Cutler

Tapjoy, which has been beefing up its executive ranks as of late, just hired a new chief marketing officer who was credited with having launched the original PlayStation console back in the 1990s.

The new chief marketing officer, Peter Dille, most recently was senior vice president of marketing and the PlayStation Network for the Sony Computer Entertainment’s Americas unit. His hiring comes at a time when Tapjoy is juggling serving both game developers and trying to build out a healthy business working with more traditional brand advertisers. Hiring a seasoned executive from the console world is yet another sign of the disruptive impact mobile and free-to-play gaming is having on the industry.

Tapjoy faces a number of challenges in supporting multiple platforms. It’s pushing heavily onto Android after facing a setback on the iOS platform earlier this spring, when Apple cracked down on offer walls where users can download apps in exchange for virtual currency. That practice was a robust revenue source for Tapjoy, which was then abruptly cut off. Tapjoy is finding replacement revenue sources through the Android platform and in incentivized video advertising, which Apple still allows.

The company also has much higher expectations than it did a year ago, considering the $51 million in new venture funding it has announced this year. One round was in July with $30 million from JPMorgan Chase & Co. while the other one was announced in January with a $21 million round led by Rho Ventures. Both rounds may price Tapjoy out of acquisition range, meaning it may have to pursue an offering in public markets at some point.

The company recently hired a new chief financial officer as well when it picked up Al Wood, who has experience with leading other technology companies through the initial public offering process. The problem is the market timing has changed given a global equities rout on concerns about the solvency of European banks and health of the U.S. economy. Many other companies like Groupon and Zynga are said to be reconsidering their timing now.（source:insidemobileapps）

3）Report: Amazon Planning Android-Based, Kindle-Branded Tablet

by Kyle Orland

Amazon is planning to leverage its recently launched Android Appstore into a full-fledged, Kindle-branded LCD tablet capable of surfing the web, running apps and playing games, according to media reports.

Though rumors of an Amazon tablet have persisted since the e-ink-based Kindle book reader was first launched, a TechCrunch reporter has claimed hands-on time with a test version of the device, which reportedly sports a 7-inch multitouch screen and runs a customized version of Android 2.2 with a redesigned visual interface.

The tablet reportedly eschews Google’s Android Marketplace in favor of Amazon’s own curated Android Appstore, which launched in May with a selection of over 900 games. The store now lists over 3,000 games, including over 1,400 free titles, and also boasts timed exclusive distribution for Popcap’s Android game catalog.

Amazon’s Appstore has also drawn controversy, though, with the IGDA registering complaints over what it calls overly restrictive terms of use and Apple suing over the rights to the ‘Appstore’ name.

The $250 device will be released by the end of November, according to the TechCrunch report, and a potential version with a 10-inch screen and more powerful processor could follow early next year.

The report also suggests Amazon is planning on promoting the device with free subscriptions to Amazon Prime, which provides free shipping on Amazon products and access to Amazon’s streaming video service. （source:gamasutra）

4）Piper Jaffray blows the roof off Apple’s earning predictions with FY13 sales estimate of $164 billion

by Matt Sakuraoka-Gilman

When it comes to estimates of Apple’s future success, it seems no number is now high enough.

At least, that’s the take-home from the latest crunching of figures by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.

He’s predicting in FY 2013, Apple will have revenues of around $164 billion, selling well over 200 million iOS devices. Earning per share are estimated at $140 compared to $81 for the current quarter.

His estimate is 8 percent higher than current consensus about Apple’s sales expectations, and 10 percent higher with respect to EPS.

For it to happen, Apple’s annual revenues would have to increase 19 percent in 2012 and a further 17 percent in 2013.

Apple’s turnover in FY 2010 was $65.2 billion.

Up, up and away

Digging into Munster’s model, it assumes 49 percent of Apple’s revenue will come from iPhone, with 30 percent growth in revenue in 2012, and 29 percent growth in 2013.

The average selling price of the iPhone will lower from $603 in 2012 to $565 in 2013.

“One key topic on which we are different than consensus thinking is our belief that the iPhone unit growth can continue in the 30% range while ASPs will be more than double the smartphone industry average,” Munster wrote.

“In other words, we do not believe Apple needs an ultra low end offering to grow iPhone units at 30%. If Apple was to announce an unsubsidised, sub-$200 iPhone, our unit estimates would be too low and ASPs would be too high.”

Padding up

It’s assumed iPad will represent 21 percent of revenue, selling around 68 million units in 2013. Munster anticipates iPad sales to rise 39 percent in 2012, and 35 percent in 2013.

The average selling price will purportedly drop from $575 to $555.

Piper Jaffray’s 12-month price target for the stock is now $607. It’s currently trading at around $380.（source:pocketgamer）

5）Farm Frenzy 3 out on iPhone and iPad on September 15th

by Will Wilson

Alawar’s Farm Frenzy series is a bit of a mysterious beast.

Sitting somewhere between the time management genre and an economics class, this apparently casual series has been the downfall of many an innocent games reviewer.

Previous versions have managed to trade away their livestock for a Pocket Gamer silver award, so the announcement that the third title in the series is due next week is as good a time as any to get yourself up to scratch with this strangely addictive game.

Details of the third entry are a little scarce right now, but we do know that Farm Frenzy 3 features revamped graphics, a world-spanning campaign, and a rather attractive trophy room. Yes, we watched the trailer linked below – so what?

In terms of gameplay, little seems to have changed since the last entry. You’ll still be raising cattle (and, er, penguins in this case), and constructing a variety of complex production lines in order to ship finished goods out.

No doubt this will all be performed under a fairly strict timer wrapped up in a deceptively simple touch interface. That’s just how things go in the cut-throat world of agriculture.

We’ll find out if the old girl still has that frenzied charm about her when Farm Frenzy 3 launches on iPhone and iPad on the 15th of September.（source:pocketgamer）