• Mobile Games Lead (PM/Design)

• IOS Developer

• Business Developer
• Business Intelligence Developer
• Game Artist Malm
• Game Artist Mobile
• Game Developer
• Game Programmer
• Graphic Designer – Vanadisplan
• Graphic Designer – Malm
• IT Technical Recruiter
• Java Developer
• Product Manager
• Senior Systems Developer
• Awesome 3D Artist
• System Administrator
• Tools Programmer

• Game Improvement Specialist
• Localization QA Analyst
• Marketing Manager
• Player Experience Manager
• Product Manager – Bubble Island

• Lead Animator
• Technical Marketing Campaign Manager
• UI Lead

• Software Engineer

• Backend Engineer
• C++ Game Engineer

• Senior .NET Developer

•  Social Media and Web Specialist

• Social Community Manager

• Integration Engineer
• Senior Mobile Ad Sales Manager
• Mobile Developer Relations Manager

• Director of Monetization

• Social Interaction Designer

• Business Analyst- Digital Games
• Associate Product Manager, Digital Games

Listings on the Inside Network Job Board are distributed to readers of Inside Social Games, Inside Facebook and Inside Mobile Apps through regular posts and widgets on the sites. Your open positions are being seen by the leading developers, product managers, marketers, designers and executives in the Facebook Platform and social gaming industry today.

Social networking ties with gaming for smartphone usage – Mobile analytics company Flurry is reporting that consumers now spend the same amount of time using social networking apps as they do playing games — 24 minutes a day.

Dev fined for Android scam apps – The BBC is reporting a Latvian developer, which released fake versions of Angry Birds and Cut the Rope that set up users to receive unsolicited premium rate SMS messages, has been fined £50,000. It’s the first time a mobile company has been fined for a scam.

Because We May strikes back for dev pricing rights — Indie developers like 2D Boy, Kittehface Software, Rubicon, Capybara Games and Two Tribes (to name a few) have discounted their games as part of an initiative called Because We May. The idea is a protest against online stores that set prices for games without developer consent.

Activision opening U.K. mobile game studio — Gamasutra is reporting Activision has hired industry veteran Martyn Brown to set up a new mobile gaming studio in the U.K.

Google redesigns iPhone search app — Hot on the heels of its Google+ app redesign, the internet giant overhauled the look of its iPhone search app.

Moshi Monsters coming to GREE’s gaming platform — Mind Candy is the latest developer to sign up for GREE’s new global mobile-social gaming platform. The company will release two Moshi Monsters games on GREE’s platform in Q4 2012.

PayPal grows mobile payment business with ShopKeep, ERPLY partnerships — Merchants using ShopKeep’s iPad point of sale systems can now take payments from shoppers who have synced their PayPal app with the store’s POS. PayPal has also set up a deal with ERPLY that allows users to pay via check-in. Both systems will require merchants to confirm the customer’s face and name with a photo from PayPal’s records.

ShareCompat makes it easier to share content from Android phones to Google+ — Google has introduced a new tool for developers who wish enable content sharing from mobile apps to Google+, the ShareCompat Library. All shared items include attribution to the original app.

Mobile malware grows by 1200 percent in Q1 — According to computer security firm McAfee’s Quarterly Threat Report, the amount of mobile malware continues to grow. The firm reported it had found 1200 percent more malware during Q1, most of which targeted Android smartphones and tablets.

HTML5 runs 8x faster on desktop than on mobile — Spaceport.io’s latest PerfMarks Report show that HTML5 runs six times slower on an iPhone 4S than it does on a laptop. The highest performing Android smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S2 ran HTML5 10 times slower. Overall, smartphones ran HTML5 889 times slower than an average laptop.

Zynga promotes Zombie Swipeout with “real” zombies – Zynga unleashed 80 actors in Zombie costumes on San Francisco and New York to promote its upcoming game, Zombie Swipeout.

Madagascar 3 coming to Draw Something — Draw Something’s about to get an influx of content tied to Dreamworks Animation’s upcoming film Madagascar 3. The movie hits theaters in two weeks, and Draw Something will promote the game with special terms and video clips. This is the third time Dreamworks has advertised in a Zynga game; the previous times Zynga promoted Megamind and Kung Fu Panda 2 in its titles.

Inside the mind of mobile dev Amanda Wixted — Business Insider has posted a feature-length interview with Amanda Wixted, Zynga’s first mobile employee.

[Funding] Firebase grabs $1.1 million in funding — Real-time app infrastructure developer Firebase has raised $1.1 million in funding, according to TechCrunch. The round was lead by Flybridge Capital Partners.

[Funding] Kony Solutions raises $15 million — Enterprise app development platform Kony Solutions has closed a $15 million Series C round. It was lead by Insight Venture Partners.

[Release] Tylted releases latest HTML5 game, CuBugs — Newly-renamed HTML5 gaming platform Tylted has released its newest HTML5-based game, a Tetris-style matching game called CuBugs.

This week’s top grossing Android Apps

Rage of Bahamut - DeNA’s card battle app Rage of Bahamut is still lodged firmly in the No. 1 spot on the Android top grossing app charts, the fifth week in a row we’ve reported it holding this position. The app is also starting to do well on iOS, where its climbed to the No. 62 spot on the top grossing app chart, according to our traffic tracking service AppData.

Crime City – DeNA rival GREE gets an unofficial top 10 finish this week as well. Funzio’s Crime City hits No. 8 on the top grossing Android chart this week. The company was bought by GREE at the beginning of the month for $210 million.

Frontline Commando – Glu Mobile appears to be on an Android winning streak. It’s game Frontline Commando is this week’s No. 21 top grossing Android app. The game was updated on May 24 to add Glu’s brand-new in-game currency subscription service.  Glu’s games Deer Hunter: Reloaded and Stardom: The A List were also in the top 25 of the top grossing Android apps this week.

Tap Dragon Park – Pocket Gem’s latest game, the Android-only Tap Dragon Park hits No. 33 on our top grossing apps list. The game has been installed more than 500,000 times since its release on May 9.

Football Manager Handheld 2012 – Sega slides into the No. 46 spot on the top grossing Android app charts with a paid title, the $9.99 game Football Manager Handheld 2012. An older app, the detailed sim game has already been downloaded more than 10,000 times and was last updated on May 2.

This week’s top free Android apps

Instagram – The now Facebook-owned Instagram continues to be a big hit on Android. Still the No. 12 most downloaded free app, the app was last updated on May 14.

Logo Quiz – Independent developer J-roen slides down to the No. 22 spot this week with its popular free app Logo Quiz. The game challenges users to identify brands based on their logos and has already been installed more than 1 million times.

Google+ – Google’s official Google+ app is this week’s No. 29 free Android app. The social networking utility was updated on May 24 to roll out many of the UI changes that Google introduced to the official iPhone app on May 9.

Gold Miner – Moving down to No. 43 we find Candy Mobile’s game Gold Miner. Players take on the role of a miner, and must position and direct a mechanical claw to haul up gold and diamonds while avoiding hazards.

Jewels Star - Other independent developer, iTreeGamer finds success on the free Android app charts with its title Jewels Star landing at No. 44. The match-3 game bears more than a passing resemblance to EA Popcap’s Bejeweled Blitz.

This week’s top paid Android apps

Draw Something – The paid, ad-free version of Draw Something retains its No. 1 chart position this week. The $1.99 app was updated on May 23 to add a simplified Facebook login, a new Zynga branded loading screen, and a password recovery option.

Angry Birds Space Premium – The other major paid app blockbuster  — Rovio’s Angry Birds Space Premium comes in at No. 4 this week. The $0.99 app has been downloaded more than 100,000 times.

ZombieSmash – Zynga makes our paid app roundup twice this week as ZombieSmash scoops the No. 8 spot on the paid Android app charts. The $0.99 game has seen a major boost in popularity recently, climbing to more than 10,000 installs.

Alarm Clock by doubleTwist – The lone utility on our Android app roundup is the No. 9 paid app, doubleTwist’s Alarm Clock by doubleTwist. In celebration of reaching 2 million daily active users the app is on sale for $0.99.

Gunman Clive – Last but not least independent developer Bertil Hörberg grabs the No. 20 spot with his stylish, platform-action game Gunman Clive. Already downloaded more than 10,000 times, the $0.99 game includes 16 sidescrolling levels with full 3D graphics and a unique sketch-shaded art style.

In its most recent developer survey, the mobile app development platform provider noticed the percentage of developers who classified themselves as “very interested” in developing for Android smartphones had declined for three straight quarters.

In June 2011, 88 percent of developers indicated they were likely to develop an Android app, but since then that number has declined to 79 percent, with interest at its lowest point since March 2010.

“If it was one quarter, it wouldn’t be a big deal,” explains Mike King, Appcelerator’s principle mobile strategist. “The consistency of the drop is what interested us. The feedback that we got was the fragmentation of the platform as you go from device to device and the inconsistency in the monetization models.”

The true scope of the Android fragmentation issue was illustrated last week when Android developer OpenSignalMaps revealed its app runs on almost 4,000 distinct Android devices represented by 599 brands, many of which have unique screen resolutions and run outdated or unique versions of the Android operating system.

As far as monetization goes, the issue also seems to be fragmentation, particularly for international developers, according to King. Unlike Apple’s iOS, which offers one official channel in the the iTunes App Store, worldwide Android developers may have to choose dozens of official and semi-official distribution channels.

“You go to Google Play, carrier app stores, maybe your own personal distribution — you may have three or four or even five different models,” he says. “Most apps probably don’t make a lot of money, but at least you know what you’re getting into if you build a compelling app [on iOS].”

King tells us the problem is particularly evident in the fast growing Chinese Android market, where developers have to pick between dozens of third-party Android app stores, some independent, some run by device manufacturers, and some by carriers. The variability in fees and revenue sharing models, the risk in choosing which stores to work with and general lack of standardization make it difficult for developers to make informed decisions, he explains.

The takeaway message for Google appears to be that even though the company has taken significant steps to improve monetization in its official app store, the lack of standardization and consistency for monetizing Android apps in markets like China could hurt the platform’s strengths in the long term.

With no official Google app store in China and Apple’s Chinese revenues tripling year-over-year at some point Google may have to choose between its ethical concerns for doing business in the country and providing a standardized App Store for developers and consumers.

The new App of the Week feature can be found directly under the New and Noteworthy section. Apple’s first choice for the new promotion is Zeptolab’s popular game Cut the Rope: Experiments, a paid title which has gone free for a limited time as part of the promotion.  At this point it’s not known if Apple requires the App of the Week to be free, and if so, if the makers of paid App of the Week selections will be compensated in any way for the temporary price cut.

Apple has also introduced Editors Choice branding to the existing featured app display at the top of the iTunes App Store. Apple has also rolled out the new designations to the mobile version of the App Store.

The iTunes App Store before and after. 

With the growing influence of promotional services like Free App A Day — which often produce significant download boosts for developers who pay for a daily feature — it’s not surprising to see Apple introduce its own take on app features in order to help it maintain control over the App Store charts. Amazon’s rival Appstore also helps drive discoverability with its Free App of the Day feature.

It also remains to be seen if the subtle redesign is a pre-cursor to the rumored iTunes redesign Apple is expected to roll out this year in order to improve how users find new content.  Apple acquired app search engine Chomp for $50 million in February, likely to help it improve the App Store’s search function.

If your mobile game or social app company is hiring new people or making a notable promotion, please get in touch with us. Email us at: mail (at) insidemobileapps (dot) com, and we’ll get your news into an upcoming post.

If you want to know who else is hiring, the Inside Network Job Board showcases current openings with the industry’s leading companies.

App Annie

• Jessica Stewart, Marketing Strategist Intern — App Annie returns to our hires roundup after a long absence by bringing aboard Stewart for an internship.

Funzio

• Nick Ma, Mobile Developer — Ma was a PHP developer at Compliance Forum Ltd.

Gameloft

• Savas Lampoudis, 2D Artist — Three hires for Gameloft this week. Lampoudis was a freelance illustrator at Protoporia SA.
• Phi Long Phan, Internship Recruitment Assistant — Phan moves up from an intern position at KMS Technology.
• Ankur Suri, Digital Marketing & PR Manager — Suri was previously the client engagement eead at 2020 Social.

Glu Mobile

• Vicky Spachis, Director of Human Resources — Spachis gets a promotion from Sr. human resources manager to director of human resources at Glu.
• Danielle Fleischman, HR Coordinator — Fleischman was formerly an HR intern at McKinstry.
• Kiran Yng, Web Development Engineer — Yng was a software engineer at Scube IT Solutions India Pvt Ltd.

GREE

• Mike Mathog, Sr. Manager, Business Intelligence and Analytics, — One of this week’s highest profile moves, Mathog was formerly the director of analytics at AKQA.
• Timur Rahmanov, Game QA Intern — Rahmanov was previously a QA engineer at PloyglotUz.
• Wonseok Shin, Strategist at GREE Korea — Shin was a team manager at SK Communications before joining GREE.
• Dennis De Bernardi, Game QA Engineer — De Bernardi was previously the assistant lead, standards QA at Sega of America.
• Adam Greenberg, Software Engineer – Android — Greenberg is the co-founder and Sr. developer at zer0day LLC.
• Dadisi Sanyika, Software Engineer – PHP Platform – Sanyika was previously the development director at Kabam
• Long Nguyen, Senior Linux System Administrator — Nguyen was previously the senior linux system administrator at  Adbrite.
• Jeff Nachbaur, Business Operations Manager — Nachbaur was a producer at WB Interactive Entertainment & WB Games.
• James Shattuck, Game QA Lead — Shattuck was in Zynga’s mobile QA division.
• Akiko (Abe) Thayer, Public Relations Manager — Thayer was previously the public relations manager at  Electronic Arts/Playfish.
• Clement Huang, Sr Product Manager — Huang was the president of product and a co-founder at  CopaCast.
• Winnie Ho, Sr. Accountant – Ho was also a Sr. accountant at Bossa Nova Robotics, Inc.

InMobi

• Radhika Venugopalan, Software Engineer — Venugopalan comes to InMobi from the National Institute of Technology in Tiruchirappalli, India.

Rovio

• Joonas Haapala, Web Games Developer Trainee – Haapala was a software developer at Linkotec Oy before joining Rovio.

Storm8

• Brian Kistler, Junior Artist — Kistler was formerly a sign artist at Trader Joe’s.

Tapjoy

• Kyle Chaney, Sales Representative – Chaney was an account manager at United Way of the Inland Valleys.

TinyCo

• Blake Pereira, User Acquisition Data Associate — This is Pereira’s first position in the games industry.

The app, which sounds a lot like Instagram, was developed by Facebook alone since the Instagram acquisition has not yet closed. Camera is now available in the App Store, but there’s no word on a release for Android yet. A recent update to Facebook for Android included a shortcut to the camera within the main app, but it did not have all the features of the new iOS standalone app. [Update 5/24/12 11:57 a.m. PT - Previously this story said that Facebook for Android still included a camera shortcut. We have corrected it since a more recent version of the app removed the shortcut features.]

On first impression, the most useful aspect of Camera could be the bulk upload feature. The main Facebook for iPhone app does let users add photo albums or attach multiple photos to a single post, but most users are unaware that this is possible. The process is also pretty slow. The standalone Camera app seems to have sought to improve this.

The launch of a mobile photo-sharing application is a bit of a surprise considering Facebook’s recent $1-billion purchase of Instagram. Screenshots of a Facebook photo app leaked last summer, but when the app didn’t launch and the social network bought Instagram, we figured the company had moved on. Facebook says that it will continue to let Instagram operate under its own brand and allow sharing to networks like Twitter. If Camera takes off, Facebook could ultimately merge Instagram with the app.

This is third standalone app from Facebook. In addition to the main iOS app, Facebook offers Messenger and Page Manager. We can imagine the company continuing to develop standalone apps to provide additional functionality without bogging down the main app, while also gradually taking over users’ home screens on iOS and Android devices. For example, Facebook could develop an events app that makes it easier for users to organize spontaneous meet-ups and find out what their friends are doing. This could be separate or combined with a location-based app that helps users find their friends and new people around them, similar to Glancee, which Facebook acquired last month.

See screenshots of Camera below:

According to a post on the Android Developer Blog, Google Play subscriptions can be set up for any digital content and will renew automatically, with Google notifying subscribers of price changes and charges at each renewal. Developers can see what device a user has bought a subscription on, and extend the subscription to multiple devices owned by the same user. Subscribers will also be able to access their subscription content across multiple platforms (Android, Chrome, and even a developer’s own website) if a developer sets up a user profile and password system that can be validated by Google’s publisher API. As with Apple, Google keeps a 30 percent share of all subscription revenues.

Today’s announcement brings Google’s payment options more closely in line with those on iOS, which introduced in-app subscriptions in Feb. 2011. However, more importantly the move could put Google ahead of Apple when it comes to monetization for one of the most profitable type of app on either platform — games.

Unlike Apple’s subscription system, which covers content-based apps like digital newspapers and magazines, and subscription-based services like Rdio, Android developers can offer subscriptions for anything. Developers can also offer subscriptions that are accessed across several apps, such as a currency bundle that can be used in all of a developer’s games.

It’s no surprise that one of the first companies that’s taking advantage of Android’s new subscription system is game developer Glu Mobile. In order to support subscriptions, the company has standardized its IAP bundling and introduced a single, universal currency that can be used across all its games.

Glu’s new’s VIP Club offers players the choice to set up a monthly renewing subscription for in-game currency, instead of making one-time purchases. A $9.99 a month Gold Membership rewards players with 520 Glu credits a month, double the amount of credits a user would receive if they made a one-time purchase of a $9.99 in-game currency pack. VIP Club members are also further incentivized by being automatically entered into a monthly sweepstakes where they can win everything from electronics to paid vacations.

“We see that there’s tremendous value in this,” says Adam Flanders, the company’s SVP of sales and marketing. “There’s not a lot of difference between a magazine publisher who goes out and updates on a subscription basis every month and a company like us who is constantly servicing these games to keep people playing and keep them wanting to come back and see new content.”

Although a new option on smartphones, according to Flanders, in-game subscriptions mark a return to a business model Glu used on feature phones. “Carriers always offered subscriptions as a billing option,” he explains. “It was a decent portion [of our earnings] but what it did was reduce some of the volatility.”

Although one of the first developers to come on board, Glu probably won’t end up in the minority. Because game developers ultimately depend on a hit-driven revenue model, the option to establish a steady stream of income based on monthly subscriptions will likely prove to be extremely enticing.

“This is definitely something that could keep [Android] competitive,” says Flanders. “I think it’s going to be big. It’s definitely an exciting move for us and Google. If you look at any other subscription based model or company — companies like Netflix have done quite well with the subscription model.”

Developers who wish to learn more about subscriptions in Google Play can find more information in Google’s in-app billing documentation.

Rocka Bowling allows between one and six local players to compete in a ten-pin bowling match of either three or ten frames. Despite the developer’s assertion in its “name,” the game does not appear to feature online multiplayer of any description, nor indeed does it offer any support for services such as Game Center for leaderboard or achievement tracking — but then, there’s no Sudoku in the game, either.

The game’s control scheme is simple and well-tuned for the touchscreen. Placing a finger on the screen and pulling back lifts the bowling ball up, then sliding the same finger forwards bowls the ball down the lane. It’s possible to curve the ball’s trajectory by curving the forward stroke, allowing for complex shots to be performed using the touchscreen. The controls work well, with the only issue being accidental taps on the ad at the bottom of the screen — though this may be removed with any in-app purchase.

Visuals are good quality, featuring realistic physics on the pins and some attractive reflection effects on the background. Animation is fast and smooth and doesn’t waste time with unnecessary showboating cutscenes, allowing players to get through a full ten-frame game relatively quickly. Sounds, too, are authentic and atmospheric, and the menu screens feature 1950s-style rock and roll music in the background.

The game monetizes through in-app purchase of its “coins” currency, which are also earned in small quantities following each completed game. These may be used to purchase new styles of bowling balls, pins and alleys, new songs for the menu screen and temporary bumpers to prevent the ball falling down the gutter. Players may also purchase a “bumper mode” and gold-colored “straight ballas” pins for $0.99 each — the former is a beginners’ mode with permanent bumpers in the gutters, while the latter provides a 10% chance of gold pins appearing and doubling a player’s coin bonus for the game. Finally, a $19.99 “Deluxe Pack” purchase includes all of the game’s unlockable content except the “straight ballas” pins.

Rocka Bowling is a decent game that will be good for groups of friends to play together, though the lack of online or social play is disappointing. There are a few other issues, too: it is a little frustrating when the advertising gets in the way of the gameplay, though it may be removed with any in-app purchase. The sheer length of the game’s full title (“Rocka Bowling 3D Free Games”) doesn’t fit well on the iOS home screen (appearing as “Rocka…ames” with a fairly nondescript icon on the iPhone). And there’s no link to the developer’s website either within the app itself or on the App Store page — the “support” link simply takes users to AppAdvice.com rather than the developer’s official site.

Rocka Bowling is currently ranked at No. 299 in Top Free Apps, No. 238 in Top Free iPad Apps, No. 97 in Top Free Games and No. 93 in Top Free iPad Games. Follow its progress through the App Store charts with AppData, our tracking service for iOS and social games and developers.

During Q1 2012, impressions on non-phone connected devices — a classification that includes tablets, e-readers and MP3 players like the iPod Touch — grew by 33 percent quarter-over-quarter. Non-phone devices now account for 20 percent of all impressions Millennial serves, up from the 15 percent share the devices held in Q4 2011.

According to the mobile advertising company, tablets made up most of the growth in the non-phone category, with three tablets — the iPad, the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Kindle Fire — ranking in top 20 mobile devices by impressions served. The result is a significant increase year-over-year, particularly for Android tablets. During Q1 2011, the only tablet to make the company’s top 20 device list was the iPad.

Millennial’s top five tablets by impression during Q1 were the iPad, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the Kindle Fire, the Motorola Xoom and the Blackberry Playbook, an interesting result considering a recent ComScore study indicating the Kindle Fire accounts for more than half of all Android tablets in use. While the Samsung Galaxy Tab is still the most common Android tablet according to Millennial, the Kindle Fire could overtake it if the device maintains its growth rate. This would make the Amazon Appstore the main gateway to the Android tablet market.

Aside from tablets, the iPhone and iOS are still at the top of Millennial’s manufacturer and device list. Apple manufactured devices accounted for 28.32 percent of all impressions Millennial served, and the iPhone family was the most popular set of devices overall, accounting for 15.10 percent of all impressions. Apple’s closest competitor among devices during Q1 was RIM’s BlackBerry Curve, which captured 4.44 percent of all impressions served.

Overall, Android was still the most popular operating system, accounting for 49 percent of all impressions and accounting for 15 of the 20 most popular mobile phones. Apple’s iOS accounted for 33 percent of total impressions. RIM’S BlackBerry OS, Windows and Symbian continued to see their share of mobile ad impressions decline, dropping to 14, 3 and 1 percent respectively.