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At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, we showcased a live demo of the hi5 site and Millionaire City social gaming experience in Windows® Internet Explorer® 9 from the Microsoft booth. Check out a brief video demo recorded from the Microsoft booth:
You can also see a video demo of the Millionaire City IE9 integration here. A recent post from the Microsoft team on their official IE9 blog provides a deeper look at the hi5 and Millionaire City IE9 experience: "...the hi5 branded Pinned Site experience is the launch portal for staying connected socially. A notification flashes when an important event happens (e.g. new friend request, invitation to join a game, or new gift from someone). The Jump List dynamically updates so users can see what they're missing and dive right in.....the scenario extends beyond the social networking and into the games themselves. Now a user can pin their favorite game to their taskbar. The popular Millionaire City is all about becoming the richest real estate tycoon on the web, but you lose cash fast if you don't return to the game frequently to maintain your investments. The pinned site experience notifies you when you need to collect rent, if your tenants are moving away, or if you have a new business partnership. It pulls you back into the action and helps you maximize your gaming time." Read more...
The Microsoft booth at CES was packed with a variety of interactive products, including Windows Phone 7 mobile devices and a variety of Windows 7-powered tablets featuring touchscreens, slide-out keyboards, dual-screen machines, stylus-friendly tablets and more. Visitors could test out websites such as Flickr, which showcased seamless integration into the devices. 
This year has been dubbed the "year of the tablet PC," so it was no surprise that new tablets could be seen at many of the booths, including Motorola's Xoom tablet, which was named the best new gadget at CES by Cnet. At the Intel booth, new notebooks were on display, including a very sleek new computer from Dell called the Dell Inspiration Duo and Sound Station, which converts between a netbook to a tablet.
While 3D continued to be a hot trend at CES (see our photos from the Panasonic, LG, and Sharp booths), connected experiences was the primary theme at the convention this year. Smart TVs showcased Google TV, Vudu, LG Apps, Meebo and other web platforms designed to bring the online experience into the living room and through the television set. Access your favorite online videos and movies via YouTube and Netflix, play online games, connect to your social graph via sites like Facebook and Twitter, and discover new apps as you surf the web with your remote control.
Among the new gadgets and devices, some big names in entertainment also stopped by the show to add their marketing muscle to new product launches. Olivia Wilde endorsed Blackberry in an interview at their booth, Lady Gaga unveiled new GL20 Camera Sunglasses for Polaroid, and 50 Cent launched his new headphones line called "Sleek by 50 Cent" and also engaged in some interviews on behalf of a performance 3D eye-wear company he invested in called Gunnar Optiks.
Although the show was largely focused on showcasing the performance of devices across a wide variety of applications, gaming appeared in many booths for demonstrations of cross platform capabilities and 3D technology. Graphic-intensive video games were primarily displayed to showcase the high resolution quality of certain devices, so it will be interesting to see if the introduction of connected web experiences from TVs will bring social gaming to CES next year.
Click here to see more of our photos from the 2011 International CES and stay tuned for updates about new features and results driven by hi5 support of IE9.
You can also see a video demo of the Millionaire City IE9 integration here. A recent post from the Microsoft team on their official IE9 blog provides a deeper look at the hi5 and Millionaire City IE9 experience: "...the hi5 branded Pinned Site experience is the launch portal for staying connected socially. A notification flashes when an important event happens (e.g. new friend request, invitation to join a game, or new gift from someone). The Jump List dynamically updates so users can see what they're missing and dive right in.....the scenario extends beyond the social networking and into the games themselves. Now a user can pin their favorite game to their taskbar. The popular Millionaire City is all about becoming the richest real estate tycoon on the web, but you lose cash fast if you don't return to the game frequently to maintain your investments. The pinned site experience notifies you when you need to collect rent, if your tenants are moving away, or if you have a new business partnership. It pulls you back into the action and helps you maximize your gaming time." Read more...
The Microsoft booth at CES was packed with a variety of interactive products, including Windows Phone 7 mobile devices and a variety of Windows 7-powered tablets featuring touchscreens, slide-out keyboards, dual-screen machines, stylus-friendly tablets and more. Visitors could test out websites such as Flickr, which showcased seamless integration into the devices. This year has been dubbed the "year of the tablet PC," so it was no surprise that new tablets could be seen at many of the booths, including Motorola's Xoom tablet, which was named the best new gadget at CES by Cnet. At the Intel booth, new notebooks were on display, including a very sleek new computer from Dell called the Dell Inspiration Duo and Sound Station, which converts between a netbook to a tablet.While 3D continued to be a hot trend at CES (see our photos from the Panasonic, LG, and Sharp booths), connected experiences was the primary theme at the convention this year. Smart TVs showcased Google TV, Vudu, LG Apps, Meebo and other web platforms designed to bring the online experience into the living room and through the television set. Access your favorite online videos and movies via YouTube and Netflix, play online games, connect to your social graph via sites like Facebook and Twitter, and discover new apps as you surf the web with your remote control.Among the new gadgets and devices, some big names in entertainment also stopped by the show to add their marketing muscle to new product launches. Olivia Wilde endorsed Blackberry in an interview at their booth, Lady Gaga unveiled new GL20 Camera Sunglasses for Polaroid, and 50 Cent launched his new headphones line called "Sleek by 50 Cent" and also engaged in some interviews on behalf of a performance 3D eye-wear company he invested in called Gunnar Optiks.Although the show was largely focused on showcasing the performance of devices across a wide variety of applications, gaming appeared in many booths for demonstrations of cross platform capabilities and 3D technology. Graphic-intensive video games were primarily displayed to showcase the high resolution quality of certain devices, so it will be interesting to see if the introduction of connected web experiences from TVs will bring social gaming to CES next year.Click here to see more of our photos from the 2011 International CES and stay tuned for updates about new features and results driven by hi5 support of IE9.
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If you're headed to the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week in Las Vegas, we invite you to visit the Microsoft booth and check out the hi5 experience in Windows® Internet Explorer® 9.
Currently in beta, Internet Explorer 9 enables audiences to interact and engage with the entertainment content they enjoy on hi5 in new, immersive ways. Here's a sneak preview of some of the hi5 IE9 features that you'll see and hear about at the show:
Starting Friday, January 7, you can check out the hi5 experience in IE9 from the Microsoft Booth located in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), No. 7144. In addition to the hi5 experience, a variety of interactive scenarios showcasing products that highlight Microsoft platforms and technologies with be available at the booth.
To learn more about upcoming Microsoft events at this year's CES visit http://www.microsoft.com/ces.
Currently in beta, Internet Explorer 9 enables audiences to interact and engage with the entertainment content they enjoy on hi5 in new, immersive ways. Here's a sneak preview of some of the hi5 IE9 features that you'll see and hear about at the show:
- Pinned Site: Audiences can quickly and easily access hi5 content directly from the Windows Taskbar.
- Jumplists and Notifications: From the hi5 Jumplist, audiences can check their inbox messages, accept a friend request, view game invitations, access gifts sent from friends and more.
- Social Gaming Capabilities: From the Windows Taskbar, audiences will have the ability to perform specific in-game actions within games published on hi5.
Starting Friday, January 7, you can check out the hi5 experience in IE9 from the Microsoft Booth located in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), No. 7144. In addition to the hi5 experience, a variety of interactive scenarios showcasing products that highlight Microsoft platforms and technologies with be available at the booth.
To learn more about upcoming Microsoft events at this year's CES visit http://www.microsoft.com/ces.
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First, as a special holiday addition to our gift store, hi5 is offering a variety of Valentines-themed Super Gifts™. Available in 10 different designs, Super Gifts go beyond the animation of hi5's standard virtual gifts to include a special skinning of the recipient's home page in Valentines colors. Valentines Super Gifts are priced between 320 and 400 hi5 Coins and are accessible through a "Happy Valentine's Day" banner on the home page.
Second, hi5 this week is introducing BlastCards™, a customizable e-card that users can send to their Valentines sweethearts. Users can upload their favorite photo into a variety of custom frames and send them to their hi5 friends. The BlastCards appear in the recipient's Comments section on their Profile page. As part of the launch, many of the frames feature Valentines themes, but BlastCards are also available for other holidays, birthdays, and flirting as well. BlastCards are priced at either 37 or 75 hi5 Coins, depending on the design, with an introductory free card.
Check out these new premium features today!
BlastCards
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As part of hi5's new brand identity, we have created a completely redesigned corporate web site. The new site, located at http://www.hi5networks.com/, emphasizes hi5's focus on friends, games, and fun -- while providing essential information to advertisers, partners, developers, and press. Initially launched in mid-October, the site also reflects the new look and feel of hi5, including our cool new corporate logo. If you haven't been to the site in a while, be sure to come check it out.NOTE: For all partners, press, and others that use the hi5 logo on your sites, please replace old versions of the logo with the new version. The new logo is available in various formats and sizes on our media kit page.
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Dave Maestri is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the social gaming genre. He developed one of the original titles, Mob Wars, which went on to be one of the most successful games on Facebook and has now brought that title to hi5 Games. Like other premium hi5 titles, Mob Wars is integrated to hi5 Coins, hi5's global virtual currency, for micro-payments - enabling players to acquire in-game powers and achieve new levels faster.
Start out as a petty thief and work your way up the ranks to become boss of your criminal empire. Check out Mob Wars on hi5 Games now.
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New 3D engine serves as the basis for new revenue streams and a more game-like user experience
SAN FRANCISCO -- Oct. 14, 2009 -- Global social entertainment site, hi5, today unveiled an entirely re-designed user interface, focused on games, virtual goods, direct user payments and high-fidelity interactivity. Featuring a streamlined, high-energy look, the new hi5 is the first major social site to introduce animated, 3-dimensional avatars, called hi5 Stars™, on every user's profile page - providing a compelling medium for interactivity and self-expression.The new hi5.com is available in public beta at http://new.hi5.com and begins going live globally to hi5's millions of users worldwide this week. Highlights of the new hi5 user experience include:
- Re-designed, high-fidelity user profile page, featuring hi5 Stars 3D avatars
- hi5 Stars designer tool for customizing avatars as a fun, supplemental representation of users on the site
- Simplified top-level navigation, highlighting the hi5 Games channel and hi5 Coins virtual currency, with mouse-over secondary navigation to other popular pages
- New corporate identity, emphasizing hi5's social entertainment value proposition around gaming, friends, and fun.
"hi5 Stars provide a new level of self-expression and interactivity to the hi5 user experience," said Andrew Sheppard, executive producer, hi5. "We designed our avatars to be an integral part of the hi5 user's online experience and a natural extension of their real-world persona - complete with moods, motions, and status updates. Stars serve as the basis for extending game-like mechanics into the online social experience."With the launch of Stars, hi5 is pioneering a new level of fidelity for social sites. The customizable, fully-animated characters are powered by a breakthrough 3D rendering engine, developed by hi5. This framework is built on top of the Adobe® Flash® Player from Adobe Systems, which enables engaging, interactive animations directly in a web browser with no additional download or plug-in required. hi5's 3D engine will form the basis for future development of even more immersive animated features on the site.
"hi5 Stars are a compelling example of an interactive, 3D user experience that is delivered entirely within a standard Web browser running Adobe Flash Player 10, with no additional download," said Tom Barclay, senior product marketing manager for Flash Player at Adobe. "The 3D engine hi5 has built to run on Flash Player is a great example of the type of next-generation, immersive online experiences that the Adobe Flash Platform enables across the Web."
In addition to forming a foundation for a more interactive and immersive user experience, hi5 Stars represent a new monetization opportunity for hi5. In Q4, hi5 will extend the current virtual goods store on the site to include premium merchandise for hi5 Stars. Payments will be made using hi5 Coins, the site-wide virtual currency. Avatar merchandise also presents a new promotional opportunity for hi5's advertising partners.
"Our new user experience featuring hi5 Stars further delivers on our distinct social entertainment value proposition," said Bill Gossman, CEO, hi5. "In addition to games and virtual gifts, avatars are a third key pillar in our strategy of driving revenue from direct user payments. Micro-transactions using our virtual currency, hi5 Coins, already account for over 15 percent of our overall revenue, and we expect premium items for hi5 Stars to further spur that growth."The new hi5.com site has been in private beta since August. Adoption and enthusiasm around the look of the new site, and hi5 Stars in particularly, has been significant during the beta program. Average page views per session in the new version is nearly double previous levels, and average minutes per session has also increased. The new site began deploying worldwide this week.
About Adobe Flash Platform
The Adobe Flash Platform is the leading Web design and development platform for creating expressive applications, content, and video that run consistently across operating systems and devices and reach over 98 percent of Internet-enabled desktops. Flash Player 10 was installed on more than 93 percent of computers in just the first ten months since its release. For more information about the Adobe Flash Platform visit http://www.adobe.com/flashplatform/.
About hi5
Founded in 2003, hi5 today is among the top 20 largest web sites in the world and the leading destination site focused on social gaming and entertainment. Combining a robust social platform with premium content and game mechanics, hi5 delivers a fun, expressive, and interactive entertainment experience to millions of users around the world. Available in over 50 languages, the site features localized games, virtual goods and other content that is monetized through hi5 Coins, a global virtual currency supporting over 60 payment methods and 30 currencies worldwide. For more information on hi5, visit http://www.hi5.com.
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Barn Buddy, one of the most popular farm-based social games, is now available through hi5 Games. Developed by TheBroth, Inc., the game launched on hi5 this week with integration to hi5 Coins, our universal currency for in-game transactions.Players cultivate their crops through an interactive, drag-and-drop interface. As they progress through the game, they expand their fields and increase their earnings. And they can even sow a little mischief, by releasing bugs, planting weeds or stealing crops from their neighbors' farms. Players can earn credits in the game through the sale of their crops, or purchase Barn Buddy credits using hi5 Coins.
Check out Barn Buddy today.
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myFarm, a compelling new farm-based game developed by take(5)social, launched on hi5 this week. The game puts players in charge of their own interactive farm, where they plant seeds, raise crops, harvest their bounty, and earn myFarm Cash selling their produce at market. Users can visit their friends' farms and give them gifts to help them prosper. myFarm is the latest game to integrate to hi5's virtual currency, hi5 Coins, for in-game purchases. Players can use hi5 Coins to purchase everything from chickens to chicken coops to increase their earning potential and accelerate their advancement through the game.Unlock your inner farmer today on hi5 Games.
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Another popular social game from Playdom, Sorority Life, has gone live
on hi5 integrated with hi5 Coins for virtual goods purchases. Sorority
Life gives players the chance to live like a sorority sister, from
great fashion and friends to non-stop shopping and socializing. The
game went live on hi5 Games last week, with integration to hi5 Coins -
hi5's global virtual currency, for in-game micro-payments. Sorority
Life is the third title from social gaming leader Playdom available on
hi5, which already features Mobsters and Poker Palace. The partnership
between hi5 and Playdom was initially announced in May. Play Sorority Life today at http://games.hi5.com
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We introduced a new feature last week to help users navigate the increasing number of games on hi5. A new hi5 Games toolbar, which appears at the bottom of your browser page when logged into the site, provides quick links to your favorite games. In addition to one-click access, the toolbar also notifies you (with a little green light) when your friends are playing a game. It even shows you who is playing what with a simple mouse-over, so you can jump in on the fun. Check it out today.
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