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Smiles Now Available in Ovi Store

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sykhronics [9]Smiles Zen and Smiles Drop [10], two mobile games by Sykhronics Entertainment [9] have made their debut in the Ovi Store [11] smiles [12]as a dual game pack for $2.99.  The games are also available on iTunes [13] as a pack for $4.99 or you can buy them separately for $2.99 each. There is also a lite version [14] of the two pack on iTunes that lets you experience both games. The Android [15] pack is also priced at $2.99 for the dual game pack. Smiles works on both phones and tablets for iOS and Android.

Smiles Drop is an unconventional action puzzle game of the “match 3+” genre, but unlike other games, you don’t have to wait for the tiles to stop moving before you make your next move. You can also play at your own pace, making matches and using power-ups to work your way through the levels. Also unlike conventional match 3 games, you don’t slide the tiles to make your matches, you use the single tile at the bottom right of the screen, so placement of the tile becomes very strategic as you want to match as many at one time as you can while setting off more matches in succession.

Smile Drop’s companion game Smiles Zen is a relaxing game of strategy that borrowing heavily from the Solitaire and Sudoku style of game play. Instead of clearing the board of pieces, you need to make enough matches to light up the full board.

Smiles features 14 game modes, including Avalanche, where the ice constantly pours out, Hard Mode where the ice is harder to break, Long Play, where multiple matches and combos are easier, and Six, where you can lose in as few as two moves. The games also offer three different themes – blocks, vegetables and weather, along with 140 achievements. You can also keep track of your high scores and game statistics.

VI Technologies [16]Vancouver middleware developer VI Technologies [17] has released a beta version of their SDK [18], which is currently free. VI Technologies has two game development products [19] based on AI and Animation available. The company plans to release programming tutorials on a regular basis, and its first tutorial is a soldier squad evolving on difficult terrain, which is part of this first SDK release. The next tutorial will be about racing.

Canada Post [20]Canada Post [20] announced today the addition of a BlackBerry version of its Mobile Apps suite [21], which broadens its family of mobile applications and provides consumers and small businesses with new ways to access to its Track a Package and Find a Post Office tools.

The new application is available as a free download from BlackBerry App World [22] and follows the release of the app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch [23] a few months ago. These tools provide customers with the ability to track their packages and find nearby post offices, either by typing in an address or by using their device’s GPS feature.

“More and more, our customers are interacting with us on-the-go using their mobile devices,” says Louis O’Brien, Senior vice-president and Chief customer officer at Canada Post. “With this new BlackBerry application we are becoming as mobile as our customers. This is a great example of how we are embracing new technology to become a truly modern post.”

Canada Post is expected to release an Android version of the application this spring, and will also be adding a Find a Postal Code tool to its mobile applications on all three platforms within the next two months.