Microsoft licenses 'Age of Empires' for iOS and Android, but downplays further releases

Microsoft is bringing its games to iOS and Android, beginning with Age of Empires sometime in 2013, reports Japan’s Nikkei business daily. The ports are coming courtesy of mobile developer KLab, which is licensing the games from Microsoft for global distribution. Nikkei calls it a possible indication of a turning point in the gaming market, speculating that the move could even affect the mobile strategies of competitors Sony and Nintendo.

However, Age of Empires won't be the first time Microsoft has brought one of its games to the iPhone. That honor belongs to Kinecti mals, which came out back in 2011. Microsoft hasn’t abandoned the platform either, releasing Twisted Pixel’s Ms. ’Splosion Man just three months ago. And while fans might be clamoring for iOS and Android ports of Halo,KLab isn’t exactly a top-tier mobile developer. It lists a dozen native titles for iOS and Android on its website, none of which inspire much confidence in its ability to tackle a big project.

What’s more likely to be happening is that Microsoft is making a little money on the side by licensing one of its under-utilized franchises to a third-party developer. And while Nikkei reports that more collaborations between KLab and Microsoft will be forthcoming, Redmond doesn't sound quite so enthusiastic. A Microsoft representative tells us that "some reports included incorrect information about additional Xbox Live-based games on iOS and Android but there are no further announcements beyond Age of Empires at this time.
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Apple releases second iOS 7 developer beta, now with iPad support

Apple has just rolled out the second beta preview of iOS 7 to developers. Unlike the first release distributed shortly after WWDC, beta 2 has been optimized for the iPad in addition to iPhone and iPod touch. Aside from a few screenshots from Apple and unofficial simulator hacks, we've yet to get a good glimpse at how Apple's revamped mobile operating system will look on the larger device — until now. 9to5Mac has posted screenshots of the new beta running on Apple's tablet. An all-new Voice Memos app is also revealed in the images.

With the help of a transition guide outlining the design philosophy behind iOS 7, app makers will now be able to see how their iPad software looks before the public update reaches consumers this fall. Despite welcome additions like Control Center and the removal of skeuomorphic UI elements, Apple has faced some criticism for design and iconography choices seen in the first beta, though its work on iOS 7 is by no means complete.

Twitter Releases Vine For Android Smartphones As It Tops 13M Users

Twitter has released Vine for Android, bringing the 6-second video sharing service to Google’s mobile OS for the first time. The Vine app is available for Android smartphones right now, and is afree download for anyone running Android 4.0 or higher.

The Vine app for Android arrives just about five months after it arrived on iPhone, when Twitter launched the app back in late January after acquiring the startup behind Vine. In that time, it has managed to amass an impressive 13 million users on iOS alone.

The version that arrives today for Android isn’t necessarily feature complete; the official Vine site says that it will be delivering a host of new features in future updates, including access to the front-facing camera, push notifications, the introduction of hashtag and mention features, and searching for both people and tags. These will arrive in “frequent” updates according to the company. Already, the Vine app for Android has a unique Android feature, as it supports zooming on both the Galaxy S4 and the HTC One.

Vine previously updated the iPhone app to add some of these features, including use of the front-facing camera, people mentions in posts and comments and improved people search in a big update that arrived at the end of April. Twitter’s Vine team appears to have taken the approach of launching a basic product and refining it on iOS, and now looks primed to do the same on Android.

The tech world will be watching the next few weeks closely to see what effect Vine’s arrival on Android has on its user base, and there’s a pretty obvious opportunity for comparison ready at hand: Instagram. Instagram launched on Android back in April of 2012, after managing to build a user base 30 million strong on iOS. The photo-sharing app then added a million new users in just 12 hours thanks to Android users flooding the service.

Twitter had said that Vine would be coming to Android “soon” back at the end of April, though they didn’t offer a more specific date when it confirmed that impending release. Its launch today should certainly prompt a spike in new users, though just how many remains to be seen.