So we’re proud to celebrate our 4th anniversary in charge of a company creating the best apps for iPhone, iPad and Android for our 30 million users in over 120 countries.

The tens of thousands of positive emails, reviews and feedback from our users has been our best reward, helping our team of 20 talented app Magicians feel proud to be selecting the best apps every day for you in both http://www.freeappmagic.com/ and for our renowned seasonal calendars.

We’re also glad to have worked with a number of fantastic partners, from the best indie developers looking to get their apps discovered through to the top gaming companies and the best digital advertising agencies.

So thanks again to our 30 million users, the 600 talented apps developers we have selected apps from and all the Magicians on our team who have helped to make this all possible.

Anyone for tennis? With Wimbledon swinging to its conclusion this Sunday, you’re probably in the mood to get a racket out and go rally down the local courts. But, if you don’t want to miss all the great matches, then you may want to settle down with these three tennis apps that we’ve featured in Free App Magic over the past year to get into a virtual sweat with.

Stick Tennis

First up, we’re serving you a game from the makers of legendary Flash powered time waster Stick Cricket. Stick Tennis is a cartoony take on tennis, getting you scampering around a cel shaded court and timing shots perfectly to bamboozle your opponents.

Where Stick Tennis excels is in how simple it is. Every shot is powered by a swipe on the screen meaning that you can backhand, forehand and lob the ball in absolute ease. It makes the game really simple to pick up, meaning you’ll be playing with the grace of Roger Federer about ten minutes into the game.

Packed with real players, a variety of courts and tons of replayability, Stick Tennis is perfect for those of you wanting to get a match going with minimum hassle.

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s time for the June edition of the App Show and we really got our teeth into a wide variety of app industry issues this month.

We chatted with Craig Grannell, games editor for Tap! Magazine and contributor for Macformat, about the changes to iOS 7 and what that means for the future of Apple. We caught up with Iris Campinski from Apps for Good and Ben Howard from ViewRanger to discuss how their work with apps has helped the community. And we discussed how you turn a board game into an app with Rodeo Games’ CTO Richard Brooks and Creative Director Ben Murch.

With Beth reviewing superhero apps and the Free App Magic Chart rounding things off, you can check out this bumper interview special by listening the podcast via http://bit.ly/msappshow.

George

A new infographic out this week has suggested that the burst campaigns we run at MagicSolver are essential for getting visibility on the App Store.

Created by one of our clients Trademob, it shows how services like the one we offer are vital for getting your app enough visibility in the charts to generate organic downloads. With apps needing 80,000 downloads in the course of 72 hours to top the U.S. charts alone, promoting apps to our extensive unincentivised user base is an excellent way to eat into that figure while acquiring high quality users.

Check out some more of the major headlines below and feel free to drop us an email at letschat@magicsolver.com if your app needs a promotional boost.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wine is made all over the world but this week MagicSolver HQ is celebrating closer to home with English Wine Week. Although perhaps not considered a wine making region of renown when compared to France, Spain, Italy, Argentina, etc, England has actually gained a reputation in the wine making world for producing quality vino. So raise a glass to Blighty with these three wine-themed apps.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hi everyone,

It’s time for another edition of the App Show and, yet again, we’ve got some absolutely cracking features coming up for you.

We’re chatting with Andrew Smith from Appy Nation about how indie developers are coming together to help push their apps up the chart; an essential listen for any of you thinking about extending your marketing reach.

On top of that, we’re also talking tax breaks for British game developers with Dr Jo Twist of the UK Interactive Entertainment Association and Andrew Eades, CEO of Relentless Software, to discuss how the moves may benefit app developers. And, of course, we’ve got the news, reviews and Free App Magic chart to enjoy.

Listen live tonight from 9pm on Star Radio here or catch up with our podcast by downloading it here from tomorrow onwards.

Hope you enjoy the show!

George

It’s the Champions League final this weekend and we’ll be glued to our screens at 7.45 on Saturday evening to watch Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund go toe to toe at Wembley! But if you want to get yourself eager for what will likely be an excellent match, here are three football apps to get you in the mood.

Score! World Goals

Read the rest of this entry »

Admit it, we all take our family for granted sometimes; life just gets in the way. But it without getting to serious, ‘The Family’ is the bedrock and fabric of society and on a personal level the most important people in our lives. If you weren’t aware, Wednesday was the International Day of Families, a programme run by the United Nations to acknowledge and appreciate the importance of family and the essential role it plays in our lives. So tonight, instead of immersing yourself in the TV, shutting yourself in the bedroom or acknowledging mum and dad with a grunt, play some of these app we’ve recommended below and have a fun-filled family bonding session.

Read the rest of this entry »

New research by uSwitch has revealed that smartphones users in the UK pay for just 1 in 10 of the apps they download. The survey, which asked 1,700 people, also reported they each owned 29 apps, adding up to a total spend of just £8.94. Although the report clearly hasn’t covered a broad range of users, so may not be indicative of the whole country, it suggest that smartphone users are wary of parting with cash for apps.

Read the rest of this entry »