ZeptoLab posts teaser trailer for Cut the Rope 2

In September, Russia-based developer ZeptoLab confirmed that they were working on Cut the Rope 2—a sequel to their popular physics-based puzzler, and the fourth title in the Cut the Rope series.

It looks like the new game is going to be officially called ‘Cut the Rope 2: Om Nom’s Unexpected Adventure.’ And yesterday, the folks at ZeptoLab posted its first teaser: a 20-second clip starring Om Nom…

Here’s the video posted to ZeptoLab’s YouTube:

The brief clip doesn’t really tell us much—it’s just Om Nom sailing through a blue sky, dangling from his iconic rope as pieces of candy float by. The hashtag ‘OmNomIsMissing’ at the end may be a clue though.

Here’s the accompanying text from the above clip:

Oh my candy! Om Nom is missing! Om Nom, everyone’s favorite candy-eating monster and hero of the Cut the Rope series of mobile games, has disappeared. Based on this footage, detectives say that it appears that Om Nom was swept away by either a very large bird, or, more likely, a hot air balloon. Can you help us bring him home? We need to find Om Nom in time for the launch of Cut the Rope 2. Please let us know if you see him! #omnomismissinghttp://cuttherope.net/cuttherope2

First introduced in October of 2010, the Cut the Rope games have been downloaded more than 400 million times, and enjoy 60 million monthly users. All together, players have cut more than 60 billion ropes.

The developers say that Cut the Rope 2 is a massive step forward for the game, featuring amazing graphics, new characters, new levels and more. And it’s expected to hit App Stores this holiday season.

Nike launches new ‘SB’ app with interactive trick guides and more

Nike has launched a new iOS app this week called ‘Nike SB.’ The SB stands for skateboard, and the app offers up a number of features for those who love the sport including an interactive trick guide, the ability to share tips and tricks, and more.

The app also allows users to play one another in S.K.A.T.E., an offshoot of H-O-R-S-E, which pits two players against each other in a trick shootout. When a player fails to replicate a trick, they’re given a letter. And the first to spell “SKATE” loses…

From the release notes:

Learn tricks, play games of S.K.A.T.E., take part in challenges with skaters around the planet, and chart your personal skate progress with the Nike SB App.

- Game of S.K.A.T.E.: Connect with skaters anywhere around the globe to play a game of S.K.A.T.E. through the app.
- Challenges: Step up to new challenges issued by Nike SB and our pro team to help you keep progressing. Share your footage and have the chance to get noticed by a worldwide audience.
- Trick Tree: Lose yourself in skateboarding’s endless creative process with our extensive Trick Tree, further inspiring you to learn and expand your skills. Learn straight from the pros with never-been-done filming and playback techniques before helping expand the Trick Tree with your own footage.
- Badges: Earn special and limited badges for skating hard, meeting challenges, progressing and taking part in special events.
- My Progress: Use the Nike SB App to track your own evolution as you build your personal profile.
- Need help? Get support at nikesbapp.com/support

I’m not a skateboarder myself—I tried when I was younger and could barely go forward, let alone do tricks—but I can imagine this being a lot of fun for those who are. The Trick Tree in particular looks cool, as you can use it to expand on your skills.

And the best part is, it doesn’t appear to be a gimmick. The app currently has a 4.5 rating on over 100 App Store reviews, and launching the app shows over 30,000 S.K.A.T.E. games being played. To download Nike SB for your iPhone, click here. It’s free.

BBM sees 5 million downloads in first 8 hours of availability

Less than eight hours after officially hitting Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play store, the BlackBerry Messenger app (free download) has seen more than five million active downloads on iOS and Android combined, BlackBerry announced in a tweet.

The messaging application is a staggered rollout which employs a reservation system to prevent the kind of a server strain seen after the Android build had leaked out prematurely. According to some repots, there’s a workaround that could let you use the app without waiting…

Here’s BlackBerry’s tweet.

Next 5 million in line – your turn! Open up BBM and click “I got the email” to get started on #BBM right away!

— BBM (@BBM) October 22, 2013

For the sake of completeness, the five million metric excludes downloads as the figure applies to those that have downloaded and activated the app on their devices.

For more on BBM, check out Yahoo’s nice hands-on article.

BBM lets you chat with friends on iPhone and other smartphones that run the app and comes with a host of features such as multi-party chat and sharing, always-on connectivity, profile editing, emoticons, typing and availability indicators, animated GIFs in profile images, status updates and more.

CNET yesterday posted a nice workaround which lets you bypass the wait list and sign up for BBM immediately, in three easy steps.

Here’s how:

1. Fire up the app and enter your e-mail address
2. Tap Next and then force-close BBM (double-click the Home button and swipe the app away)
3. Relaunch the app and you should be able to get past the wait list

At this point, you’ll either have to provide your existing BBM credentials (provided you signed up at BBM.com beforehand) or create a brand new account.