By fixing problems with earlier versions of Android, Google has a chance to win over loyal iPhone developers to its mobile operating system, which can now support tablet computers.
One former Apple loyalist is Bart Decrem, former head of Tapulous, which was purchased by Disney last year. Tapulous has had more than 50 million downloads of its Tap Tap Revenge music rhythm games on the iPhone alone.
Today, Decrem, now an executive in charge of Disney Mobile, announced that Disney is doing three mobile apps for the tablet-focused Honeycomb version of Android, which Google showed off today. Disney will release the Jelly Car game, Radio Disney music app, and Tap Tap Revenge 4 for Honeycomb. The apps will debut whenever Honeycomb-based devices, such as the Motorola Xoom, are released into the market. That&'s going to be a matter of days or weeks.
Decrem said that Disney waited for Google to make much-needed changes for Android, including a new Android Market that supports in-app purchases, or the ability for users to buy a virtual good or premium content from within an application, while the app is running. That is the entire business model for Tap Tap Revenge, which has seen more than 25 million downloads of songs for use in the game, where you tap on the screen to the beat of a song.
Check out our video interview with Decrem, who was showing off the new apps at Google&'s Honeycomb event today.
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Companies: Disney, Disney Mobile, Google, Tapulous
People: Bart Decrem
Companies: Disney, Disney Mobile, Google, Tapulous
People: Bart Decrem
Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.
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