Pokémon GO: 10 points on the latest global rage

The game

You need to first install Pokemon Go on your phone. If you live in Australia, US, and New Zealand; the official version is already out. But if you live elsewhere, here’s how you can download it. You need to be outside to play the game, so you cannot really rely on WiFi. While the game is sure fun, our initial experience reveals that it uses up a lot of battery.

Pokémon GO has been one of the most anticipated mobile games in present times.

Once you are logged in and are outside, Pokemons appear randomly. The app shows in which direction you should move to catch the Pokemon. In our case, it was a Squirtle. With the camera turned on, and we could see Squirtle in the foreground of the floor. With a flick of Pokeball we were able to capture him.

Availability

Pokémon GO has been one of the most anticipated mobile games in present times. While it has only been launched for Australia, US, and New Zealand; people in other countries have start side-loading the app via APK file. In fact, Pokémon GO has ensured that traffic to apkmirror.com crossed 4 million.

Global launch delayed

Millions of users around the world have been side-loading the game, and this has impacted the game servers so much so that that Niantic is now delaying the release of Pokemon GO for other markets.

Niantic CEO John Hanke told Business Insider the company has paused the rollout of the game in UK and Netherlands until they fix the server problem. This clearly means users around the world will have to wait a little longer to download the official Pokemon GO app.

How to install

Installing Pokemon GO for iOS is easy. All you need to do is open the website ios.hipestore.mobi on your device, and just search for Pokemon GO.

After selecting download now, you need to select the 1.0 version under the “Non Jailbreak” sub head – and then just press download. Press “Open in App Store” and then press install when it flashes, and you are done! You now have Pokemon GO downloading on your phone.

Installing Pokemon GO for iOS is easy. All you need to do is open the website ios.hipestore.mobi on your device, and just search for Pokemon GO.

This website doesn’t always work and can show an error message when you try to download. If that is the case, simply try again after a few hours and it will work for you.

Android users can download the APK on their smartphones and then install the same from Settings. The game, however, doesn’t work on Android N just yet.

Android users beware!

According to security firm Proofpoint, downloading APK for Pokemon GO and installing it might not be good idea. Researchers have discovered an infected Android APK version, which is being circulated in the mix.

Researchers claim that a malicious remote access tool (RAT) has been included in the game’s APK package, which allows the attacker to gain full access to the victim’s phone. The infected app is a slight modification from the original, with the addition of DroidJack (a backdoor).

According to security firm Proofpoint, downloading APK for Pokemon GO and installing it might not be good idea.

So, if you haven’t downloaded the game yet, you should wait for the game to be officially launched in your country before downloading it from the Google Play store. Here’s how you can check if your smartphone has been affected.

Users getting injured

Pokemon GO users have been roaming around the streets to catch em all, and even though they have been getting some exercise, it involves a certain amount of risk too. In the case of Pokemon GO, the most well-known mishap involves the Darwin police station in Australia, with gamers walking into the police station, flicking pokeballs at a pokemon on their screen and then leaving, resulting in initial confusion.

There have been reports of  21-year-old boy getting hurt after he hit a crack, as he was on a skateboard. He was allegedly staring at his smartphone screen looking for Pokemons to catch nearby.

Teens robbed

According to an AP report, four teens robbed victims after luring them to a specific location using Pokemon Go in Missouri. Police say the robbers used the game to lure victims by putting a “beacon” at a location to draw in players. The police arrested the four teens after responding to a call for a robbery near a gas station.

Pokemon GO sales boosts Nintendo shares

According to Reuters, shares of Japan’s Nintendo Co soared more than 20 per cent after Friday’s surge, adding $7.5 billion to its market value in just two days, on hopes that strong sales of its new Pokemon GO videogame for smartphones will boost earnings.

The stock jumped 9 per cent on Friday after Pokemon GO shot to the top of free app rankings in Apple Inc’s US iTunes store.

Pokemon GO crosses records

Pokémon GO has crossed all records when it comes to daily engagement and app installs. Pokémon GO might be days old, but the app is already beating established players like Twitter, Tinder, according to data from SimilarWeb.

According to SimilarWeb, this number is higher than what it is for apps like Whatsapp, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook Messenger.

A blogpost by SimilarWeb shows Pokémon GO is already installed on 5.16 per cent of all Android devices in the US, and has crossed Tinder when it comes to install base on Android.

But the real punch with Pokémon GO, according to SimilarWeb, is time spent on the app. The average time spent is: 43 minutes, 23 seconds a day. According to SimilarWeb, this number is higher than what it is for apps like Whatsapp, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook Messenger. Clearly adults in the US are spending way too much time on Pokémon GO.

Health issues

As AR steadily finds a market in new countries where the potential for accidents or casualties could be worse – such as India and its traffic – calls are already arising for the need to ensure a danger-free experience. Overall, the idea of roaming around playing a mobile game is great.

This might help a few chubby children lose some extra weight, but it can also be dangerous. You need to remember the fact that you are on a street when you play this game.

The Pokemon GO story has just started, and promises to get better in the upcoming months.