Autodesk launched Autodesk SketchBook Ink for iPad paint and drawing app, the latest release from the company’s popular SketchBook family, which has more than 10 million downloads to date. Powered by a brand new engine, Autodesk SketchBook Ink introduces unique technology for artists to create stunning, high-resolution ink-style artwork. The SketchBook Ink addition to the SketchBook family increases the number of choices available to artists to express their creative visions in a digital environment.

Unlike traditional vector drawing apps, SketchBook Ink enables users to produce very fine detail in their artwork, independent of resolution, building on the intuitive freehand-drawing Autodesk SketchBook Pro platform. This new technology also supports the ability to export and print large, high-quality images right from the iPad. Final artwork can be exported at optimal sizes to the photo library on iPad, email, Dropbox, or iTunes file sharing. Images exported to Dropbox or iTunes file sharing can exceed 100 megapixels.

“We are fortunate to collaborate with many talented artists, so we know how important it is for them to have a variety of tools for not only different tasks in their creative process, but also to express their personal styles. SketchBook Ink provides more choices for artists. And with its ability to produce high-resolution output, it makes a huge leap for content creation on the iPad,” said Chris Cheung, product line manager, Autodesk.

Complementing Autodesk’s popular app for the iPad, SketchBook Pro, which offers a variety of sketching and painting tools, SketchBook Ink is dedicated to pen-and-ink drawing. The inking behavior gives it a distinct feel but builds on the intuitive and familiar interface valued by SketchBook users worldwide. SketchBook Ink launches with seven preset ink styles and two types of erasers. The app supports importing images from the photo library on iPad that can be used as references or backgrounds.

The Autodesk SketchBook Ink App is available for $4.99 exclusively from the App Store on iPad or at www.iTunes.com/AppStore. For a limited time at launch, SketchBook Ink will be available for a special introductory price of $1.99.

Shazam is teaming up with Sony Pictures Entertainment to make it easier than ever before for movie fans to get tickets to the most highly anticipated summer movies. Whenever people see a television ad for Men in Black 3 – in theaters this Friday, May 25 – they will be able to use the Shazam App to easily purchase tickets to see the movie. The exclusive partnership between Sony Pictures and Shazam will continue throughout the summer as moviegoers will be able to use Shazam to get tickets from Fandango, unlock additional content such as exclusive footage, and purchase DVDs and soundtracks for films such as The Amazing Spider-Man and Total Recall.

During the week leading up to the release of each film, audiences will see television ads featuring the Shazam prompt. Moviegoers can then use the Shazam App on their smartphones or tablets to tag the commercials for a quick and easy link to purchase tickets for a nearby theater. This marks the first time that TV commercials will be tagged with a “Shazam for tickets” message.

“’Shazam-for-Tickets’ is a great way to help connect Sony Pictures with their most active moviegoers,” said Shazam’s EVP Advertising Sales, Evan Krauss. “In addition to giving movie fans a way to get more information about the movies they really want to see, now it’s easier than ever for them to get show times and tickets to the theaters in their neighborhood without having to stand in long lines.”

Dwight Caines, Sony’s President, Worldwide Digital Marketing, added, “Over the past few years, we’ve seen a huge growth in mobile ticketing, and this initiative creates a bridge with broadcast reach and local transactions. For today’s audiences, there’s a direct connection between television and online as audiences are engaged in two screens at once. Using Shazam to purchase tickets directly from Fandango is a great way to build and expand upon that – it helps moviegoers quickly and easily get the tickets to the movies they most want to see.”

This exclusive partnership will run for throughout the summer and will include many of the Sony Pictures major releases.

For people who don’t yet have the Shazam application on their smartphone, it is available for every major platform and can be found on iTunes App Store, Google play, Amazon App Store, AT&T’s AppCenter, Verizon VCast app store, Nokia Store, Windows Phone Marketplace, BlackBerry App World, and GetJar.

In Men In Black 3, Agents J (played by Will Smith) and K (played by Tommy Lee Jones) are back… in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K’s life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him — secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K (played by Josh Brolin) to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind. Barry Sonnenfeld directs the film. The film’s screenplay is written by Etan Cohen, based on the Malibu Comic by Lowell Cunningham. Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald produce, and Steven Spielberg and G. Mac Brown are the executive producers.

The Playforge is proud to announce its latest iOS title, Zombie Farm 2, is now available worldwide on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. With millions of downloads, Zombie Farm was a number one hit in the App Store and helped define the freemium genre. Building upon its smash hit predecessor, Zombie Farm 2 puts players in the shoes of a countryside farmer making a living by farming crops and zombies. Zombie Farm 2 features enhanced graphics, increased customization and barrels more of the comical and whimsical world of zombie farming.

“Zombie Farm 2 comes with a completely new streamlined interface, new art, revised game mechanics, better zombie management, the list goes on. All the while keeping the charm of the game 100% intact,” said Vince McDonnell, CEO of The Playforge and designer of the game. “And the best part is you can carry over your existing farm over to Zombie Farm 2 which is something I’m sure your zombies will appreciate.”

In Zombie Farm 2, players plow, plant and harvest fresh veggies, fruits and zombies while earning gold by selling their crops or rounding up the zombies to invade evil foes. The game brings a plethora of new features including:

• The New Zombie Pot: In addition to planting mutated zombies, farmers can fuse two mutants using the Zombie Pot to create bizarre zombies. Blend a tomato head zombie with a turnip arm zombie to get a tomato-head-turnip armed zombie!
• Unlimited Storage with Categorization: Players will now start with a basic shed for storage on a fresh game but can easily upgrade the storage capacity directly from the storage menu as many times as needed!
• Ability to carry over your original farm from Zombie Farm into Zombie Farm 2.
• Easy and intuitive user interface lets new players jump into the game quickly.
• Amazing new art for all crops, items, farmers, all UI elements, and even a new background for your farm.
• Increased farm and zombie customization: Carrot eyes, broccoli heads and more!
• Daily bonuses that yield a bunch of Brains and Coins.
• New invasions and tactics including the ability to retreat when the fight turns sour.
• Zombie Stats such as damage, speed, life, and focus.
• An enhanced quest display. Get notified when you’ve made progress or earn a new quest.
• Redesigned Market delivers an expanded and cohesive shopping experience, including ability to buy farmer heads!

The Zombie Farm 2 App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

Questionable today introduced Questionable Friends for iPhone. Questionable Friends lets you send questions to your contacts and provides instant feedback as questions are answered. Answers can be submitted from within the app or from any web browser or smart phone.

Included with Questionable Friends is the Quick Question module that allows an unlimited number of open response questions to be sent. With the in-app purchase of the Starter Pak, you can send Multiple Choice and Rating questions. The additional question types allow greater analysis of incoming responses.

“With the introduction of Questionable Friends, we’ve made polling friends a simple and easy task,” said Russ White, founder of Questionable. “Unlike email threads and text messages, Friends provides a quick and easy summary of question results.”

The friendly, elegant, and sometimes playful user interface makes authoring and answering questions a breeze, whether the question is social or serious in nature. “We expect Friends to catch on quickly as a viral social media application,” added White. “Whether you’re planning a pizza party and use a Multiple Choice question to tally the toppings or to pick a movie, or use Ratings to vote among friends for reality shows, Questionable Friends is a fun and engaging way to connect with your social network.”

Pricing & Availability

Questionable Friends is available today as a free download in the US App Store (www.itunes.com/appstore). The Starter Pak is also available for $0.99 via in-app purchase. For each question posed, the first 50 responses are free. After that, additional answers become visible with the purchase of response credits.

This initial release allows you to send questions to anyone in your iPhone address book. Social media integration with Facebook and Twitter will be included in an upcoming update. “But for now,” White explains, “We just want the users to get out there and have fun with all their Questionable Friends.”

Founded in January 2012, Questionable LLC is a Las Vegas-based technical start-up that develops solutions for the iPhone and iPad platforms.

Apple and Samsung met monday and yesterday for more than 9 hours to find a quick and easy way out of their respective legal mess, Apple’s chief Tim Cook and Samsung G. S. Choi didn’t reach a formal agreement as litigation continues on, Apple is looking for a import ban on certain Samsung mobile phones and tablets while Samsung is desperately searching for a patent that stops Apple’s ambitions.

Both parties hope to get to an end soon, but with Apple filing new suits here and there it seems more than impossible, Samsung has been enjoying the top seller crown for a while, but it’s suffering as Apple moves to another parts supplier, last week rumored point to Samsung losing $10 billion from its market cap as Apple signed a Memory contract with Samsung rival Elpida.

Target announces that it is now the largest retailer to offer its guests the shopkick app via their smart phones. Starting today, Target guests nationwide can earn points for shopping at Target that can be redeemed for a variety of rewards.

“Target is among the most admired retailers in the world. We are honored that Target is expanding the shopkick program nationwide to create deeper connections with their guests” “We’ve learned from our guests that they appreciate being rewarded for doing what they already love to do — shopping at Target,” says Bonnie Gross, Target vice president of marketing and guest engagement. “In our test launch, Target guests in seven cities had the opportunity to experience shopkick at Target and we received rave reviews. Now guests nationwide can start earning valuable points just by shopping our stores.”

Shopkick is free and available on iPhone and Android devices. When guests walk into their Target store, shopkick rewards them with points known as “kicks.” Then, as guests shop the store, they have the opportunity to scan products ranging from everyday items like food and cleaning supplies, to specialty products like electronics and toys, for additional kicks.

Kicks can be redeemed for Target gift cards, Facebook credits, dining gift certificates, iTunes downloads, donations to charities, and more. Guests can also receive special in-store deals including coupons and discounts.

“Target is among the most admired retailers in the world. We are honored that Target is expanding the shopkick program nationwide to create deeper connections with their guests,” says Doug Galen, chief revenue officer of shopkick. “We believe that shopkick provides a strong complement to Target’s existing loyalty programs and have heard loud and clear from our users that they love Target.”

The shopkick app can be downloaded for the iPhone here, and the Android here.

U.S. mobile operators that offer Apple’s iPhone uniformly report hits to their profit margins due to the device, but Yankee Group data reveals a significant silver lining. According to the report “iPhone Conundrum: Profit Drag or Halo Effect?” carrying the iPhone immensely improves customers’ overall impression of the operator brand, especially among Apple users. Other OS or device brands—such as Android or Samsung—fail to show a similar impact.

“iPhone Conundrum: Profit Drag or Halo Effect?”
“From a financial perspective, the device—or, more precisely, the relationship with Apple that goes with it—carries significant challenges,” said Rich Karpinski, Yankee Group senior analyst and author of the report. “But it also brings subscribers in droves as well as significant improvements in how those users view operator brands. With the latest iPad focused strongly on 4G, and an LTE iPhone likely to appear later this year, U.S. operators that find ways to successfully manage the ‘i-challenge’ will win.”

The report reveals:

AT&T boasts the largest iPhone halo effect. Among Apple users, AT&T ranks No. 7 out of 20 top mobile brands. Among all users, it ranks No. 14.
Sprint registers immediate gains. While the impact on AT&T’s brand grew over time, Sprint’s impression scores nearly doubled just in the first quarter selling the device.
Verizon sees little brand impact. Verizon does not see a corresponding boost in its brand among core Apple users. Overall, customers seem to value Verizon’s brand highly, regardless of the device they use.

Nike Golf today announced the introduction of a new app and website that will provide golfers with an innovative digital tool to improve, track and share their golf game. In keeping with the company’s aim to inspire, innovate for and enable golfers to become better, the new Nike Golf 360 (NG360) app is the beginning of Nike Golf’s move into a new era of potential for golfers.

The NG360 App is an easy-to-use tool that will allow golfers to track their rounds to see how they stack up; improve their swing techniques with the help of coaches; and view and implement athletic training workouts that are golf-specific.

Nike Golf abides by the steadfast philosophy that every golfer is an athlete, and no two golfers are the same. With the NG360 App, each individual golfer has the unique opportunity to gain a clearer understanding of their own game, swing and body. As they begin to better understand themselves as golfers, they gain clarity on which areas of their game they need to focus. In other words, to know their game means to better their game – that is what the NG360 App represents.



The key components that make up version one of the app are:

My Game
Golfers can track their game by keeping statistics such as their scoring average, driving accuracy, greens in regulation and average putts per round. “My Game” allows golfers to see how they stack up by monitoring results and beating their personal bests. Within “My Game,” golfers stay motivated by winning “trophies” as a result of improved statistics.

My Swing
Golfers can upload and compare video of their golf swing to their friends and Nike Golf athletes. They can also receive personal coaching from Nike Swoosh Staff members who are PGA Teaching Professional instructors. Swoosh Staff members can provide feedback and swing tips through a video swing analysis tool.

My Body
This will help golfers get into golf shape, thanks to Nike Golf’s partnership with the Gray Institute, the foremost leader in Applied Functional Science. The Gray Institute has developed the NG360 Functional Performance System that is tailored to golf movements that the body makes, a clear distinction from other training systems.

My Gear
Golfers can navigate products on the website that are suitable to their needs, while also receiving product recommendations from the Nike Swoosh Staff. Golfers can also upload the contents of their bags in the “What’s in their Bag” section. “My Gear” will increasingly become more robust as the NG360 App evolves.

The new NG360 App is one piece of a bigger initiative that is a holistic approach to improving golfers’ performance through physical evaluation and training, custom fitting of equipment and digital tracking applications.

The new NG360 App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.iTunes.com/appstore/.

Located at NIKE’s World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, Nike Golf designs and markets golf equipment, apparel, balls, footwear, bags and accessories worldwide. Nike Golf is passionately dedicated to ushering in the future of this great sport by developing ground-breaking innovations that enable and inspire athletes to become better.

Fiserv announced that U.S. Bank’s online banking customers now have access to an iPad banking application (app) built on the Mobiliti Enterprise mobile banking and payments platform from Fiserv. The U.S. Bank app serves consumers’ growing interest in tablet banking. According to the 2011 Fiserv Consumer Trends Survey, 45 percent of current and prospective tablet owners use or would like to use them for banking.

Using the iPad app, U.S. Bank customers can check their account balances and activity, complete account to account transfers, view and pay bills, send and receive person-to-person payments and remotely deposit checks simply by snapping a picture. Customers can download the iPad app from the iTunes app store via a link on the U.S. Bank site.

“Our customers are already using tablets to access their U.S. Bank accounts through the device’s browser, so we know the demand for tablet banking exists and is growing,” said Niti Badarinath, senior vice president and head of mobile banking, U.S. Bank. “Launching an app allows us to deliver a user experience specifically designed for the unique attributes of a tablet, such as the larger touch-screen and a more interactive interface.”

The U.S. Bank iPad application is built on the Mobiliti Enterprise platform, which powers other mobile services for the bank, such as text banking and apps for the iPhone and Android phones. This provides U.S. Bank with integrated channel management and analytics across multiple mobile access modes, giving them a view of how consumers use each mode and how they move between them for different tasks. It also allows the bank to extend its proven mobile risk mitigation and security features to the tablet.

Consumer usability testing was employed during the app development process to ensure that the final product was intuitive and user friendly, and that it included the most sought-after capabilities. The app will continue to be refined based on user feedback.

“With Mobiliti, U.S. Bank is well positioned to meet their customers’ current and future desires for digital financial services through tablet and mobile devices,” said Erich Litch, division president, Digital Channels, Fiserv.

Kroll Ontrack today announced new data recovery techniques to address logical failures, or operating system (OS) failures, on personal Apple devices, including iPhones, iPads and iPod touches. Equipped with proven recovery capabilities and a full range of data recovery tools for both logical and physical failures, Kroll Ontrack offers the most comprehensive data recovery service offering for Apple devices on the market today. With a diagnostic report that shows the quality of recoverable Apple device files, customers know exactly what will be returned to them prior to committing to the cost of the recovery.

“Kroll Ontrack can successfully address any and all Apple data recovery situations, ensuring users have access to the data they want and need.”

Building on its long history of providing the highest recovery success rates and delivering the most robust Mac recovery toolset in the industry, Kroll Ontrack has developed specialized tools and the unique ability to recover data that is logically inaccessible on the Apple device’s permanent storage. Common logical failures leading to data loss are deleted files, corrupt software, misplaced passwords and OS upgrade issues.

According to CNBC’s All-American Economic Survey, over 50 percent of U.S. households own at least one Apple product, such as an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. Consistent with the widespread adoption of Apple devices, are an increasing array of backup options — whether it be the cloud or backup software. However, when individuals go to reach for their backup, it may not be up to date, accessible or good. As a result, Kroll Ontrack has seen a 350 percent increase in personal Apple device recovery requests in the past 12 months. The most requested data to be recovered from these devices are photos/videos and contacts followed by notes and text messages. In addition to the increase in personal device activity, Kroll Ontrack has also recovered over 1.1 petabytes of data from Apple devices in the past 12 months, which is a 16 percent increase over the prior 12 months.

“Apple devices are well known for their ease of use, amazing high quality graphics, high tech innovation and transport mobility, and as a result, we see more critical data being stored on these devices and a greater sense of urgency to recover this data in the event of data loss,” said Troy Hegr, technology manager, Kroll Ontrack. “Kroll Ontrack can successfully address any and all Apple data recovery situations, ensuring users have access to the data they want and need.”