Category:Astraware

Astraware creates software for Microsoft Pocket PCs and Smartphones, as well as Palm OS PDAs and the Apple iPod. It is based in Keele.

Astraware was founded in the United Kingdom by current CEO, Howard Tomlinson and CTO, David Oakley in 1993. At that time they wrote software for the Atari ST. Their first successful software released was the DeskTracker tracker. This was followed by their first commercial success, their StormTracker music editor.

In 1995 Astraware released their first PC game called "Bzzz!" -- A game where you play a frog with insects buzzing around you and have to click on the insects to activate the frog's tongue to catch them for points and bonus combos.

1998 saw Astraware move to developing games for the Palm OS platform and saw the critically acclaimed "Zap!2000" Shoot 'em up game. It was one of the first colour games released on the Palm OS platform on the Palm IIIc.

In the Spring of 2000, Astraware was incorporated as Astraware Limited and Howard and David both left their jobs to concentrate on their new company.

They released the first two-player Bluetooth game, "Biplane Ace" after demoing it at the PalmSource developer conference in 2001.

Astraware's first licensed title was Bejeweled, a PopCap Games title. It was also their first Pocket PC title though it was initially called Diamond Mine on the platform. Bejeweled was a huge success, topping all PDA game charts for a long time. It has only been surpassed by "Bejeweled 2" and "Astraware Sudoku".

In December 2001 Astraware launched their own online store and in 2002 moved into their own premises, hiring full-time support staff. Their offices reside in the Keele University Science Park in the Midlands, UK.