Press Release Source: Tapjoy, Inc. On Wednesday February 9, 2011, 9:00 am EST

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Tapjoy, Inc. (http://www.tapjoy.com), today announced the mobile industry’s first Pay-Per-Action™ app distribution service to significantly improve advertising effectiveness, engagement and reach for brand advertisers, mobile game developers and others looking to grow their mobile social app footprint.

The new service allows iOS and Android app developers to reward users for not only installing and downloading their app but also for completing some type of action within it, such as watching the tutorial, getting past a certain level or any other specific activity. Unlike other advertising methods, Tapjoy’s new Pay-Per-Action service delivers a higher return on investment by tracking actions further along the conversion funnel and guaranteeing a much higher level of engagement and value.

Tapjoy also announced that it has partnered with Apsalar (http://apsalar.com), the most comprehensive mobile behavioral analytics platform on the web. The Apsalar analytics platform defines and interprets conversion funnels in one app or across multiple apps and offers cohort-based segmentation to run life-cycle analysis of app users. Apsalar is the clear analytics choice for developers who want to optimize user monetization and retention. Tapjoy will make Apsalar’s analytics available natively within the Tapjoy dashboard.

“The Pay-Per-Install model has proven extremely successful in driving cost-effective user acquisition for mobile developers. The release of our Pay-Per-Action SDK, however, takes that model to the next level,” said Linda Tong, senior product manager at Tapjoy. “Now, instead of simply awarding virtual currency when a user installs your app, we allow you to incentivize users to get past Level 1, for instance, or do whatever it is you feel will truly engage them in your app and get them to keep using it.”

“Tapjoy is a highly trusted partner for our mobile advertising efforts,” said Steve Hartman, VP of Marketing at GameFly. “They have been very effective in driving installs of our GameCenter app, and with the launch of their new PPA model, we expect our ROI to get even better.  We expect to significantly increase conversions that will lead to acquiring GameFly users who are more loyal and engaged than ever.”

The new Pay-Per-Action SDK ties into Apsalar’s user-level analytics platform, which allows developers to track and analyze their conversion funnels and to manage user retention and monetization by grouping users into cohorts or groups of users who downloaded their apps within a specific week. By identifying the point at which most users tend to stick around and incentivizing users to reach that stage, advertisers and developers can optimize retention and conversions in order to deliver a better user experience, conduct more cost-effective user acquisition campaigns, and increase their app’s revenues and profitability.

“We already use Tapjoy for distribution, and have implemented Apsalar for advanced engagement and conversion analytics,” says Rizwan Virk, CEO of Gameview Studios, makers of popular iPhone games Tap Fish, Tap Ranch and Tap Town. “We think that having both of these companies working together will be great for developers like us.”

Developers or advertisers interested in utilizing the Pay-Per-Action SDK should email info@tapjoy.com.

About Apsalar

Apsalar is the most comprehensive mobile analytics platform for iOS and Android developers. The company’s user-level analytics enable mobile developers and publishers to increase conversion rates, optimize retention & monetization, as well as enhance user experience within their apps. Apsalar’s innovative cohort-based engagement analyses and conversion funnels are helping major mobile applications maximize their revenues. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California and was founded by a team of veterans in user-level analytics and conversion optimization. Investors include 500 Startups and Morado Ventures. For more information, visit www.apsalar.com

About Tapjoy, Inc.

Tapjoy is the leader in monetization, distribution and publishing services for social games, mobile applications, virtual worlds, MMOs and other social publishers. The company’s turnkey alternative payment platform enables developers to significantly increase their monetization rates when selling virtual goods or premium digital assets, while its cross-platform distribution services provide massive reach and cost-effective user acquisition on the leading social, mobile and gaming platforms. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Investors include Rho Ventures, Interwest Capital, North Bridge Venture Partners, and D. E. Shaw Ventures. For more information, visit www.tapjoy.com.

If you follow the Google Android operating system scene, you will probably have heard about the new, web-based Android Market store which was launched a few days ago.

The Android Market website allows the user to browse, search and install Android apps using an alternative to the standard device Android Market app that comes on smartphones.

The user is simply required to sign in with their standard Google credentials and the application will retrieve the details of Android devices registered in your name as well as the details of all the Market applications you have already installed.

Once the user signs in to Android Market the application install is available at the click of a button.

Angry Birds, the insanely popular multiplatform game, is introducing a new payment system to some Android customers for purchasing in-game content.

Angry Birds players will be able to use their real cash money to pay for virtual goods existing only within the game’s ecosystem. It’s like buying a shovel for your plot on Farmville with your MasterCard.

The title? “Bad Piggy Bank.”

We’ve got word that the fabulous Samsung TV Remote App that’s been in Samsung Apps for a while now on Galaxy S / Galaxy Tab is now available for all Android devices version 2.1 and higher. We’re having mixed results, however, and wonder if this announcement came just a bit too early. The App is indeed appearing in the Android Marketplace (where it was not appearing at all whatsoever in the past,) but does not appear on several of our non-Galaxy devices.

This app is one you can use by connecting through Wifi to your brand new TV that accepts such a connection. You’ll be able to use your remote app’s on-screen QWERTY keyboard, control settings, and run Samsung Apps on your TV. A four-way directional pad is another control you can use, and televisions included in this neat project are thus, as listed by Samsung: “including the LED C6500 series and higher, the LCD C650 series and higher, and the Plasma C6500 series and higher.  It will also support select 2011 smart TVs.”

The image above is what the app will look like to you in the Android Marketplace if you’re able to see it. Once you download it, or if you’re unable to see the app in the market, let us know below – we’re interested in which phones this app works with.

Samsung Continuum – Yes
LG Optimus U – No
Samsung Nexus S – No

Google wasn’t the first mobile platform provider to introduce an online app catalog, but its Android Market Web store is the first to offer seamless over-the-air installation.

Using the online Android Market is fairly straightforward. Apart from some initial hiccups everyone encountered when the Web store first launched, it takes just a few mouse clicks to wirelessly download both paid and free apps without craning over your smartphone screen or straining your peepers.

For the first time, users of Android-based phones can buy their apps online through the Android Market, and not just through the market app on their phones.

The change, announced Wednesday by Google, which helped create Android, will give users another way to get apps onto their devices. Once an app purchase is made online, it can be sent to the phone.

iOS/Android: The IRS’s official mobile app, IRS2Go, tracks your return once you’ve submitted it to the IRS and offers tax tips to help you out before you’ve filed.