It was a very different time back in 2012 as far as online gambling and social media were concerned. In an age in which online gambling had not even yet been legalised in New Jersey, (the practice is legal in just three North American states today – Nevada, Delaware, and, since November 2013, New Jersey) the prospect of playing games for real money on Facebook seemed nothing short of ludicrous.

Indeed, Facebook’s in-app games were becoming far more prolific, such as the enduringly popular Candy Crush, but it was another big step for the social network to allow its players to use their own money. It was down to London-based operator Gamesys to step up to the mark, and in 2012 it launched the Bingo Friendzy app, dubbed “the world’s first real cash game on Facebook.” The app was restricted to users aged over 18 and was extremely well-received by Facebook’s gaming communities.

Fast forward three years, and another of Gamesys’ brands, Jackpotjoy, has re-launched its bingo app for Facebook, using a £25 starter bonus for new players. Version 2.0.0 will feature the Aztec-themed Fortune Temple slots game, as well as a 20 line slot, Double Bubble, which promises players bonuses of up to £80,000.

While game variety has increased, the technical aspects have also improved, with far fewer bugs and general better app stability, making it far more accessible to the ever-increasing smartphone market.

The update comes in line with one of the biggest acquisitions in iGaming history, which was officially finalised in April after discussions in February. On February 5, it was announced that Canadian iGaming giant Intertain would be acquiring Gamesys’ assets in a deal worth £425.8 million. Among the assets were Jackpotjoy, which has risen to the status of the most popular online bingo operator in the UK, largely thanks to the hiring of Barbara Windsor as its very own ‘bingo queen.’

Gamesys operates its gambling activities by having them regulated and licensed by the government of Gibraltar. Its new deal with Intertain will doubtless guarantee even more innovation as far as online games are concerned, and with the ongoing partnership with Facebook, we could in for even more exciting games in the future.

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Essentially, the Galaxy S5 will offer users a head start on downloading some of the most popular apps and subscription services on the mobile market, which will no doubt appeal to an enormous range of potential customers. But what specific services will the S5 include? Here’s an overview of the most exciting offerings across various app genres, with a bit of help from BGR.

News

There are innumerable news sources out there for smartphone users, and truthfully many of them are free anyway. But many also prefer high-end news sources that require subscription fees for full content access—the S5 can help you there. Specifically, the Wall Street Journal app comes pre-loaded on the S5 with six months’ worth of subscription fees for a hefty value of $160. Additionally, users will be able to take advantage of a one-year subscription to Bloomberg Businessweek +, which typically costs $30.

Fitness

The S5 was seen as a phone focusing largely on fitness before news of included apps was even released. In the initial announcement of the phone and some of its basic features at Verizon Wireless, it was revealed that a new feature called “S Health” would essentially provide S5 users with a built-in fitness tracking tool that counts steps and even measures heart rate. But now it seems that Samsung went above and beyond with its fitness concern. The S5 will also include one year of premium access to the Run Keeper app (a $20 value), one year of premium access to the personal health assistant app Lark (a $36 value), six months of premium access to the Skimble app (a $42 value), which provides coached workout demonstrations, and even six months of premium access to Map My Fitness (a $36 value), which frankly does much of the same stuff S Health is supposed to do. Most users won’t wind up sticking with all of these programs, but they provide a great opportunity to find a fitness assistant app they truly use and enjoy.

Networking

The S5 will come with its share of networking services as well, the most exciting of which is a $75 package that amounts to three months’ worth of LinkedIn premium. This is a pricey service to stick with if you get hooked after three months, but on the other hand those who make this decision will clearly have gotten a lot out of the premium account. For a smaller networking perk, the phone will also have a free $2 download of the popular Flick Dat app, which allows for the quick “flick” transfer of simple data like short text messages, business cards, and photos.

Organization

Organization is another major aspect of the S5’s pre-loaded apps and services package, and really there’s quite a bit to be excited about in this category. Three months’ worth of the Evernote premium app ($15), six months of 50GB cloud storage space from Box ($60), and a three-month premium subscription with 1 TB of cloud storage space from Bitcasa ($30). For additional organizational needs, the $5 EasilyDo Pro app, which PC Mag calls “a stellar helper,” is available for free download.

For the most part, these apps and services make up the bulk of the S5 offerings. There are other miscellaneous inclusions at smaller values, such as $10 worth of credit for in-app purchases for the gaming app Cut The Rope 2, but for the most part these services make up the $576 worth of pre-loaded value on the S5. Not every app and service will appeal to every user, of course, but the bundle, as a whole is a very nice perk for this exciting new smartphone.

The post The Galaxy S5’s Included Apps & Services appeared first on AppTrawler.