'Breaking Bad' App Turns Your Name Into Chemical Element

LISA LACY for ClickZ 12 hours ago

For five seasons, each episode of AMC's Emmy Award-winning series Breaking Bad has begun with a title sequence that includes the symbols for bromine and barium, Br and Ba.

And now, thanks to AMC's Breaking Bad Name Lab app, the show's fans can generate images with symbols from the periodic table in their own names.

Since its launch on June 26, more than 1.4 million people have used the Facebook app — 20,000 of whom accessed it in the first four minutes it was available, according to an AMC rep.

What's more, Breaking Bad has gained 80,000 Facebook fans since the app launched, bringing its likes to a total of 4.7 million. (The show also has 338,000 Twitter followers.)

Calling the end result a "personalized periodic table name," the Name Lab app is accessible viaBreaking Bad's Facebook page and www.breakingbadnamelab.com. Users click "Get Started" and the app automatically generates a "personalized periodic table name" with element symbols replacing various letters in the fan's name.

Fans are then given the option to download a cover photo or profile picture and can share these images on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Tumblr. The images also include the hashtag #allbadthingsmustcometoanend — a nod to the critically acclaimed series' eight final episodes, which will begin airing in August.

The app is not the only promotional element to feature names; AMC has also released a promotional poster featuring actor Bryan Cranston, who plays central character Walter White, and the words "Remember My Name."

"We launched the app to complement the tease campaign that is out in the marketplace now, 'All Bad Things Must Come to An End,'" says Gina Hughes, AMC's senior vice president of marketing, in a written statement. "We wanted to give the fans a unique and organic way to engage with the series and build excitement for the final eight episodes, which premiere this summer."

The season finale for the first half of season five, which aired in September 2012, had 2.8 million viewers. AMC says that was up 47% over the season four finale.

Created by writer, producer and director Vince Gilligan and produced by Sony Pictures Television, Breaking Bad follows what AMC describes as "the story of a desperate man who turns to a life of crime to secure his family's financial future."

The series has received seven Emmy Awards and a Peabody. Breaking Bad has also been named to the American Film Institute's list of the Top 10 Programs of the Year in 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Image courtesy of AMC Name Lap App

This article originally published at ClickZ here

Time Warner Cable Eyes Apple TV App

JOE WHITE for AppAdvice   Jun 05, 2013

Following the launch of a Time Warner Cable app for Roku in March, the cable telecommunications company is looking to launch its application on other platforms, including Apple TV, according to FierceCable.

At Time Warner Cable’s investor conference on Tuesday, CEO Glenn Britt told his audience that the company’s interests extend beyond Roku, according to FierceCable's report. Concerning the potential of new platforms, Britt said:

“You should assume we’re talking to everyone who makes devices like this, whether it’s Samsung smart TVs, Apple, Microsoft.”

Time Warner Cable’s Roku app allows subscribers to stream about 300 cable channels on the digital receiver. Yet it remains to be seen if Apple and Time Warner Cable have come to an agreement.

Image via Mario Tama/Getty Images

This article originally published at AppAdvice here

How Microsoft Can Take Over the Living Room

As all eyes look toward Microsoft's announcement of the next generation Xbox and its bid to take on the PlayStation 4 in the gaming space, the company also has an opportunity to broadly take over the burgeoning connected device space. How? By continuing to sell the Xbox 360 — but for a flat $99.99.

Yes, Microsoft has toyed with $99.99 Xbox 360 bundles in the past — but those bundles include a monthly Xbox Live Gold subscription that adds another $120 to the purchase. Instead, Microsoft should lower the price of its Xbox 360 starter pack to $99.99.

Think about it: At $199.99, the Xbox 360 is already one of the better deals out there. Yes, the console is seven — almost eight — years old, but it still plays great games. More importantly, Microsoft has access to some of the most compelling set of services for the living room. Netflix, Amazon Instant, Hulu Plus, Vudu, Comcast, HBO Go, Verizon, The CW, YouTube, Slacker, iHeartRadio, Vevo, Rhapsody and Crackle are just some of the services available for the Xbox 360 — not to mention the official Xbox Music and Xbox Movies & TV apps for buying or streaming content.

That puts the Xbox 360 in Roku territory as having the most broad cross-device support and slightly ahead of the PlayStation 3 (to be fair, the PS3 also has a Blu-ray player but apparently I'm the only person who still likes to buy optical media for the picture, sound and extra features). At $99.99, the Xbox 360 could compete head-to-head with other connected devices for the living room, with the added benefit that it can play games.

When Sony released the PlayStation 2 in 2000, it became an instant hit, thanks in part to its backwards-compatibility with the PSX and the fact that it included a DVD player in an age when standalone DVD players cost as much as a PS2. Almost immediately, the PS2 became the best-selling DVD player of all time.

That kind of flexibility kept the PS2 selling millions of units a year. The Xbox 360 has that same kind of cross-user appeal, only this time in the age of digital and over-the-top services. Already more than 70% of current Xbox 360 buyers buy the unit primarily for its content offerings — not its games.

By selling the Xbox 360 for $99.99, Microsoft could cement its lead in the living room and help push the broader service idea around Xbox Live Gold — as well as any potential broader ecosystem plays with Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 and Xbox SmartGlass.

A few years ago, I hypothesized that the Xbox could become your cable box. That's increasingly becoming a possibility — not only because of agreements from MVPDs to bring their services to the platform, but because of the bigger shift towards OTT delivery. At $99.99, Microsoft could capitalize on the part of the market that hasn't migrated to a connected device for the living room.

The best part, from Microsoft's perspective, is that using most of these services would still require an Xbox Live Gold account. Those accounts aren't very expensive — you can get a 12-month Gold subscription for under $50 from Amazon and it gives Microsoft additional services revenue.

There will still be room in the market for the Roku and Apple TV devices of the world — but a $99.99 Xbox 360 makes the value proposition of those devices a lot less clear.

If Microsoft is serious about taking over the living room, it has the brand loyalty, the service and the legacy product to do just that.

Photo via iStockphoto, RyanJLane, Xbox screenshot courtesy of Microsoft, composite by Mashable