I already mentioned I’m on my way to GDC 2010 to cover the iPhone panel, and that iPhone gaming is getting big, so it’s interesting to see CNET reenforce just how big it’s getting:

strikingly absent among those 18 [Mobile Gaming] panels are any that deal with game development specifically for the iPhone. And why? Because for the first time, the GDC advisory board decided that Apple’s smartphone is an important enough platform to warrant its own summit. And it filled quickly.

Simon Jeffrey, vice president of social applications for leading iPhone game developer Ngmoco says:

“The iPhone is now recognized as a leading platform that’s independent from the mobile. People are specifically naming the iPhone as a threat to their businesses. Nintendo said the iPhone is taking customers away from [its popular] DS handhelds.”

The cost of entry is lower than Microsoft or Nintendo, and it’s getting more and more popular while still maintaining its cool factor.

While Android and Windows Phone 7 Series will bring the competition (and perhaps Palm as well), right now the iPhone is riding high on its head start.

iPhone No Longer “Mobile”, Big Enough to be Own Gaming Platform Now is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Cameron Daigle’s “is the iPad just a big iPhone” user interface presentation from PodCamp Nashville. Note, the second slide is a gigantic “NO.”

[via Daring Fireball]

Cameron Daigle’s “Is the iPad Just a Big iPhone?” UI Presentation from PodCamp Nashville is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

While I was busy enjoying the subtler UI details, AppleInsider noticed that last night’s iPad commercial debut showed what might be some of the pricing inside the new iBooks Store:

The commercial showed Sen. Edward Kennedy’s “True Compass: A Memoir” for $14.99, the novel “I, Alex Cross” by James Patterson for $12.99, and “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Journey to Change the World… One Child at a Time” by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin for $7.99.

For comparison, “True Compass” currently sells for $19.25 for the Amazon Kindle, “I, Alex Cross” costs $9.99, and “Three Cups of Tea” costs $7.19.

Whether or not that was final, or merely mocked up pricing for the commercial, remains to be seen.

TUAW also notes a New York Times button at the bottom, presumably to access a special New York Times Bestsellers section of the iBooks Store.

Lastly, 9to5Mac notes the My Documents button at the top left of of the Pages iWork touch app (good for PC users?). And — gasp! — another smudge that’s likely still not a camera.

So, did the iPad commercial do it’s job and make anyone more interested in picking up a magical, revolutionary new piece of gear on April 3?

iPad TV Commercial Shows iBooks Pricing, NYT Best Seller Button, My Documents, Smudge/Camera is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Whether you are a fan of the Castle Defender genre or Zombies, you are sure to love the soon to be released ZombieSmash! for iPhone and iPod touch.

In similar fashion to the very popular Plants vs Zombies, ZombieSmash! adds a few new tricks to Castle Defender games with the addition of some fancy ragdoll physics and excessive amounts of cartoon gore. Look for ZombieSmash! to drop in the App Store sometime this month for $1.99.

Check out the official trailer after the break!

[Via Touch Arcade]

Zombie Castle Defender ‘ZombieSmash!’ Coming to iPhone and iPod touch is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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It seems like Palm’s new webOS PDK (plug-in development kit) can be used to port over iPhone games in a matter of days — or even hours. Given how fast some iPhone games have turned up on the Palm Pre we’ve kind of suspect there was a little something something going on behind the screen, and our sibling site PreCentral.net confirmed it by way of Digital Daily’s pre-GDC coverage.

As just mentioned, I’ll be at GDC to have a look at what they’re doing. If it’s really just that easy to get your iPhone games onto webOS, then Palm has once again made their platform as frictionless as possible for developers (on top of the web technology SDK and Classic PalmOS emulation). Smart.

Windows Phone 7 Series looks to be packing Xbox Live gaming muscle, so they likely won’t go the same route as Palm… but could Android and BlackBerry? And if developers can keep making great iPhone games and get webOS (and maybe others) as a bonus, is that ultimately better for iPhone gamers, or does it weaken the uniqueness of the platform? If it does, will there eventually be “exclusives” like there are on Xbox and Playstation, or will Apple do more first-party games like the console makers — especially Nintendo — do?

iPhone Games Can be Ported to Palm webOS PDK in “Days”? — The Competition is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Tuesday and Wednesday TiPb is going to be at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) San Francisco 2010 to find out what’s new and notable in the world of iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad gaming. Scuttlebutt is, if you think gaming is big on the iPhone OS now… get ready for it to explode in 2010.

We’ll do our best to meet with all your favorite game companies, from the huge houses to the best and brightest indies.

If you’re in the area, stop by and say hello. If you’re a developer with a great new iPhone OS game to show off, ping us [news at tipb dot com] so we can meet up. If you’re joining us from a far, keep your browsers locked right here on TiPb for all the video action, and follow along for live updates and behind the scenes banter with @reneritchie on the Twitter.

Game. On.

TiPb at Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2010 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Rene talks to Marc Edwards of Bjango about Consume [$0.99 - iTunes link] for iPhone. Consume lets you track your cell phone and broadband usage, packages (like new Apple Store deliveries!), club cards, and more.

And Bjango’s giving away ten (10) promo codes to TiPb readers! Just drop a comment below and tell us what you’d like to see in an iPad version of Consume. We’ll pick 10 of you at random (so make sure you leave a valid email address so we can contact you).

Note: Promo Codes are only valid in the US App Store (Apple’s rule, not ours), and they expire, so if you get one, use it asap!

YouTube link

TiPb Apps 4.1 (and Give Away!) — Consume for iPhone is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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It looks like the iPad did indeed decide to join Steve Jobs at the 82nd Academy Awards, at least in the for of Apple’s first official commercial. Is the Oscar setting fitting for a media consumption power house, or was it just the huge audience?

It featured a song like iPod touch commercials, rather than music like the iPhone. In this case, There Goes My Love by The Blue Van [iTunes link via TUAW]. Visually, it showed a variety of features, point-of-view on iPad’s held on a variety of laps. You can watch it now via Apple.com [Thanks Swiftman!].

It ended with the US shipping date of April 3rd.

UPDATE: Video after the jump:

YouTube link

UPDATED: Apple Debuts iPad Commercial During Oscars is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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