The collective groans of supervisors all over the world was heard this week as the phenomenally successful Angry Birds game was released for the Android platform. Angry Birds is the addictive game that’s been setting the iPhone (and iPad) world on fire. The Android release is an early beta, available in the Android Market as a free download. Rovio Mobile, producer of the game, had intended to conduct a closed Android beta, but pleas from prospective players convinced Rovio to release it publicly. Angry Birds has been wildly successful for a mobile platform game, with 7 million paid players and 11 million unpaid. Don’t miss Om Malik’s interview with the game’s creators to see where Angry Birds is headed.
The giant IFA electronics show is underway in Germany, and as expected, Android tablets are on display. Korean electronics maker Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Tab, and it appears to be a serious competitor for the iPad. The 7-inch tablet is stuffed with the same electronics found inside Samsung’s popular Galaxy S phone line, and has software optimized for the larger Tab screen. Pricing hasn’t been announced by the company, but it will be available in Europe shortly and the U.S. later this year.
Android phone owners wishing there was a seamless way to work with desktop music files similar to the iPhone/ iTunes method should take a look at doubleTwist. We took it for a spin and found it to be a full-featured way to sync Android phones to iTunes music, photos and movies. The program has integration with the Amazon MP3 store for music and the Android Market for working with Android apps. Perhaps best of all, doubleTwist is free.
Related GigaOM Pro content (sub req’d): Forget, Syncing, Let’s Put Music in the Cloud!
