Posts tagged Appstore at Switched

Posts with tag appstore

Startup Develops iPhone Apps for Universities

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Nov 30th 2008 at 9:15AM

We'd estimate that 99.9 percent of the programs in the App Store are little more than a waste of time. So we get excited when a developer starts showing off tools for the iPhone and iPod touch that look genuinely useful.

A small startup, called TerriblyClever, is testing out a suite of applications aimed at universities that, if it becomes widespread, might make the Apple handhelds an indisposable tool for college students. The app is being given a trial run at Stanford University and is appropriately (and unoriginally) called iStanford. It consists of five tools that allow students to add and drop classes, plan a schedule, pay bills, look up contact info in the school directory, find locations on a campus map, and get up-to-date scores from school sports teams.

TerriblyClever hopes to expand its list of client schools and its suite of apps over the ensuing months. This could also be a great delivery method for news about class cancellations and campus alerts. Much better than the text message based CUNY (City University of New York) system which sends out useless messages like:

"FRM:NY-Alert Administrator
SUBJ:NY-Alert
MSG:CUNY Alert:College of Staten Island aΔ"

(that is not a typo)

[From: The Industry Standard, Via: Textually.org]

Apple Yanks Porno iPhone Screensaver That Snuck Onto App Store

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Nov 25th 2008 at 6:47PM

Clearly something is wrong at the Apple App Store. Applications keep slipping through the cracks, only to be removed later. Whether there is some bleary-eyed approval monkey arbitrarily clicking "approve" and "reject," or if a certain amount of the process has been automated, we're not sure, but clearly something needs to be fixed.

This past weekend, an application that blatantly peddles porn (a violation of Apple's Terms of Service) made it passed the screening system, only to be yanked down hours later. The app, 'Wallpaper Universe,' allowed you do decorate your home screen with images of scantily (or un) clad women. One glance at the screen-shot provided by the developer should have been able to clue anyone in to the nature of they app, yet somehow it got by.

Apple has a strict screening process in place to keep out inappropriate, illegal, and malicious content. Seeing how often that system has failed of late makes us worry that the next time something slips through, it won't be so harmless. [From: ReadWriteWeb]

Tetris-like Game Pulled From iPhone App Store

by Kaiser Hwang, posted Oct 8th 2008 at 7:02PM

Another day, another independent developer gets shafted on the iTunes App Store. Today's casualty? Developer Phunkware and its Tetris-inspired game, Shaker.

According to TUAW, the Tetris Company and Tetris Holdings LLC found the game to be too inspired by its titular cash cow, despite the somewhat intoxicating visual themes, inclusion of martini recipes, and unique "shaker" feature that rotated the blocks based on the iPhone's accelerometer orientation. We'll admit, the core gameplay is similar to Tetris, but honestly, the same could be said for any number of games and the classics they draw from.

In the current wave of App Store rejections and removals, it's sad to see another application go the way of the Dodo -– particularly one that has genuinely unique features to offer. And with so many apps being virtual clones of each other -– games or not -– the only real question left to ask is, "Who's next on the chopping block?" [From TUAW]

The #1 iPhone App Is... A Fish Pond Simulator?

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Aug 21st 2008 at 3:10PM

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best (or, the most lucrative). Just ask Blimp Pilot, the developers behind 'Koi Pond,' consistently one of the most popular paid for applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

'Koi Pond' is a 99-cent pond simulator for your iPhone. Yes, a pond simulator. Touch the screen and ripples form on the "water," which scare the digital koi fish, who quickly dart away from your finger only to return seconds later. It might sound boring, but those who spend any time with it seem enamored. Blogs have praised the life-like motion and impressive graphics, saying that 'Koi Pond' the perfect app for showing off how cool your iPhone is and how lame your friend's RAZR is.

'Koi Pond' sits pretty comfortably atop the heap in first place, only occasionally dipping to second when a popular free app starts charging. We're sure that others will try to cash in soon with iRocks (imagine: 'Rock Garden for your iPhone'), iZoos and iAquariums. [From: Mac Rumors]

Screenshots for iPhone Nike+ Running App Found to be Fake

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 20th 2008 at 1:50PM

It has taken its sweet, sweet time in arriving, but it seems the iPhone Nike+ running application is just... about... here. A slew of new screenshots of the application have emerged, and while there are no juicy tidbits to accompany 'em (release date, cost, etc.), we all know how many lines of text a single snapshot is worth. Hang tight runners, the app you've been waiting (and waiting) for can't be far from the finish line now. [Via MacRumors]

Update: And to think, we actually believed that Nike and Apple were this close to delivering the long-awaited running application for the iPhone. While it was widely bruited that these shots were indeed the real deal, AppleInsider is pointing out a chink in the armor: Cupertino doesn't offer iPhone developers a programming interface for accessing one's music, yet this mysterious program clearly showed someone listening to Chris Martin and friends while attempting to make it to 0.02km. The take away? It's still pretty likely that the two outfits are working to create a fitness program for the App Store, but those screenshots ain't it. [Thanks, Michael]

New iPhone App Streams iTunes Collections Anywhere

by Evan Shamoon, posted Aug 18th 2008 at 10:12AM

In what may be most promising portable music sharing application to date, Simplify Media -- available now for iPhone and iPod Touch on the App Store -- lets users stream their friends iTunes libraries from any broadband Internet connection, making storage capacity something of a non-issue.

Like its sister apps for Mac, Linux, and Windows, the program lets users stream songs and playlists from both the their own computers and those of up to 30 friends, complete with album art and lyrics attached to each track. And here's what's awesome: The software even works over 2G and 3G networks, meaning you'll always be connected (if at a somewhat slower speed), even when not in range of a Wi-Fi network. While it's not a huge deal, the downside is that DRM-protected iTunes purchases won't stream through the program (it's a copyright thing).

The iPhone app is free to the first 100,000 to download it, $3.99 for everyone else. Get it, go, forth, and be merry. [Source: TUAW]

'Fit 2 Vote' iPhone Game Tests Your Obama and McCain Knowledge

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Aug 17th 2008 at 11:10AM

Test Your Political Accumen with 'Fit 2 Vote'

How do you combine your love of the iPhone, video games, and presidential politics? You could staple an iPhone to Barack Obama while he plays a round of Halo we suppose, but a much easier (and less bloody) way would be to simply pick up 'Fit 2 Vote.'

'Fit 2 Vote,' made especially for the iPhone, tests your political savvy by presenting you with quotes from each of the candidates. If you think it's an Obama quote, tilt the phone left, if you think it was McCain tilt the phone right (get it?). You finish the game when you get 50 questions right, thus proving that you are actually "Fit 2 Vote."

The game is available now in the iPhone AppStore for $0.99 and will be updated every two weeks with new quotes.

60 Million iPhone Apps Downloaded, Says Steve Jobs

by Thomas Ricker, posted Aug 11th 2008 at 9:39AM

Steve Jobs, presumably speaking from a hyperbaric chamber where he's being nourished with an infusion of liquified developers-souls before his next public appearance, had a few interesting tidbits about the AppStore for the Wall Street Journal this morning. Namely, users have downloaded some 60 million programs for the iPhone, representing sales of about $30 million since the launch last month -- a 30/70 revenue split between Apple and developers, respectively.

"The thing's going to crest a half billion soon," Jobs added, "I've never seen anything like this in my career for software." He went on to say that phone differentiation is no longer about radios and antennas (or uh, battery life) but about software.

Steve also confirmed the controversial iPhone application kill switch in the event that Apple inadvertently approves a malicious program for distribution. Jobs said, "hopefully we never have to pull that lever, but we would be irresponsible not to have a lever like that to pull."

As to the $999.99 'I Am Rich' application, the dubious download that displayed nothing but a glowing red gem, pulling that from the store was a "judgment" call. Sure, but that doesn't explain how it made it through the vetting process to begin with.

Hands-On With the New Apple App Store

by Ryan Block, posted Jul 10th 2008 at 12:35PM

The App Store is live, and we're taking a peek around before it implodes from curious users trying to download dozens of apps for their iPhones and iPods touch (or is that iPod touches?).

Already users can start downloading their programs (which are downloaded to their /Users/[user]/Music/iTunes/Mobile Applications/ directory as .ipa files), but you can't do anything with them until you get the 2.0 firmware (or an iPhone 3G).

So far everything is really smooth and easy to use, although it's easy to tell that the enormous amount of applications that will be available in the coming months (and years) will become a difficult thing to trudge through. It's a high-class problem for Apple, but hopefully it won't be too overwhelming to find something good if you don't know exactly what you're looking for.

We'll be keeping tally of some of the more noteworthy launch apps, although many we've already seen:

AIM - duh
Google Mobile - "a great place to start your search"
Twitterrific - Finally, a legit, standalone Twitter client
Bomberman Touch
Epocrates Rx - An app to help identify "mystery pills" you might find. Very helpful.

We'll be updating with more info as we go!

Rumor Mill: What Apple Might Announce on Monday

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jun 8th 2008 at 2:04PM

On Monday Apple will host its World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco, where rumors are circulating that Apple will announce anything from the new 3G iPhone to a Steve-Jobs-manned mission to Mars. But what can you actually expect to come out of those few days in San Francisco? Here are the four announcements we think Mr. Jobs is most likely to make during his keynote Monday morning.

3G iPhone
This one is sort of a no-brainer. We know the release of this faster, upgraded iPhone is right around the corner -- the only question left is how soon can we get our grubby mitts on it. Rumors have circulated that it will be available worldwide on day one, but we wouldn't count on that. The FCC and other regulatory bodies have yet to see the new phone (if they had, we would know about it), so we figure you probably won't be able to purchase one for about a month, but we do think they're coming sooner rather than later.

iTunes App Store
When Apple announced the iPhone SDK, it also announced it would provide a central market place for the purchase of applications for your iPhone (games, instant-messaging software, etc). The App Store icon is in place, developers have started creating products -- all that is missing is the actual store itself. Don't be surprised when it goes live Monday afternoon.

OS X 10.5.4
Didn't Apple just release an update to its OS X operating system? Sure, but the secretive company wouldn't want to let any potential details about its new 3G iPhone slip with something as innocuous as small operating system update. So expect yet another round of bug fixes and drivers for those shiny new iPhones.

.Mac relaunch
This one is a bit more of a long shot. The .Mac service has been floudering for years. Apple has added new funtionality and kept it useful, but for the features the price is simply too high, and the inteface a bit dated. The rumor mill is suggesting that the .Mac will get rebranded and relaunched with the help of the other tech company du jour - Google.

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