by Amar Toor on September 21, 2010 at 05:55 PM

iPhone geeks can now indulge their inner air-traffic controller, thanks to a new app that takes all of the guesswork out of the classic 'Bird-Plane-Superman' trinary. The app, called 'Plane Finder AR,' combines augmented reality with data from virtual radar maps to track commercial planes passing overhead. All you have to do is point your iPhone at an aircraft, snap a photo, and the app will ...
by Terrence O'Brien on September 20, 2010 at 11:25 AM

Earlier this month, Apple relaxed the restrictions it places on developers who want to get their products in the App Store. Almost immediately, two of the more controversial apps to have been rejected, 'GV Connect' and 'GV Mobile +,' found their way back into the iPhone marketplace. Each Google Voice app is available now for $2.99. ...
by Terrence O'Brien on September 15, 2010 at 05:10 PM

It's probably not news to you that apps are the hottest trend in the mobile world right now. In the few short years since the iPhone ushered in the era of the consumer-oriented smartphone, the number of cell phone owners with applications installed on their handsets has risen to 43-percent, according to a recent Pew poll. That means that roughly 35-percent of the U.S. adult population downloads ...
by Amar Toor on September 9, 2010 at 12:30 PM

Apple turned a lot of heads this morning when it unexpectedly opened the App Store to apps created with third-party development programs -- including, apparently, those using Adobe Flash. In a news release posted on its site, Apple declared that it would be "relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps, as long as the resulting apps do not download any code." The ...
by Warren Riddle on August 19, 2010 at 09:20 AM

Apple famously adheres to a strict policy concerning the content in its App Store. The app censors frequently nix racy and suggestive apps and, sometimes too, offerings that appear completely innocuous. While cartoon breasts and hints of homosexuality seemingly compromise Apple's purity, the App Store houses hundreds of sophomoric -- yet apparently unoffensive -- selections that simulate bodily ...
by Caleb Johnson on August 18, 2010 at 06:30 AM

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With the fall semester around the corner, eBay has launched a mobile app for its discount site Half.com, which scans barcodes to locate the best deals on textbooks and other back-to-school products. According to CNET News, users snap a picture of a barcode (say, that expensive Biology 101 textbook), and the free iPhone app scans it using RedLaser technology, then trolling Half.com's ...
by Caleb Johnson on August 17, 2010 at 06:16 PM

Earlier this summer, Barnes & Noble slashed the price of its e-reader, and last month announced a Nook desktop app geared toward students. Now the big-box bookseller is re-branding and revamping the iPhone, iPad and PC versions of its Nook apps as part of the continuing e-reader war. According to Engadget, the formerly titled Barnes & Noble e-reader products now sport the 'Nook' brand ...
by Warren Riddle on August 17, 2010 at 11:50 AM

Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines....
Based on Goldman Sachs' assessment of "underwhelming" initial sales, the new BlackBerry Torch probably won't help RIM reverse the recent, astronomical ascent of Android. [From: Business Insider]
A licensing dispute with Universal Music Group UK has forced the removal of Grooveshark from Apple's App Store, although previously ...
by Terrence O'Brien on August 6, 2010 at 04:35 PM

When we opened the iPhone App Store on Thursday we got a little excited. It seemed like Apple had finally answered the wishes of many in the iPhone owning crowd -- a chance to give apps a whirl before plunking down your hard-earned cash. Sadly, things are not always as they seem, and, when we opened the new "Try Before You Buy" section of the App Store, we were seriously disappointed. Rather than ...
by Amar Toor on July 29, 2010 at 10:55 AM

Michael Jackson is dead. And his family, apparently, wants to keep it that way -- even in the world of iPhone games. According to MTV, Jackson estate lawyers recently forced gaming company PopCap to change a character in one of its iPhone apps, 'Plants vs. Zombies,' because said character bore a striking resemblance to the King of Pop. From now on, the Dancing Zombie character will no longer be ...
by Lee Bains on July 27, 2010 at 06:30 AM

When we were wee-little bloggers, nothing piqued our interest in books more than the Choose Your Own Adventure series. In retrospect, the series (which was launched in 1979) and its interactive storylines presaged the role-playing video games that would later engross millions. Having changed publishers' hands over the years, Choose Your Own Adventure has found a still newer venue -- albeit under ...
by Amar Toor on July 26, 2010 at 02:36 PM

If you jailbreak your iPhone in a country where jailbreaking is legal, can it really be called jailbreaking? That's what American iPhone users will soon have to ask themselves, thanks to a new set of governmental rules approved by the Library of Congress. As the AP reports, the Library has just legalized code-breaking on Apple's smartphone, meaning users can now download non-Apple approved apps ...
by Lee Bains on July 25, 2010 at 05:00 PM

As mobile technology grows, it seems, so do the dangers of driving. First, we got talking while driving, which, though irritating, rarely results in more than an exceptionally slow driver. Then, we started seeing the evidence of texting while driving -- the swerving, the stoplight-running, etc. Well, now, with the smartphone, we have to deal with those bewildering types who have the gall to ...
by Warren Riddle on July 24, 2010 at 05:00 PM

The scientists with Raytheon Company consistently engineer intimidating and inspiring defense technology. During a recent exercise, the military contractors demonstrated the awesome capabilities of an anti-aircraft laser system, and now Raytheon plans to upgrade another of its aerial defense programs.
The firm, which previously made its foray into iPhone territory with the One Force Tracker ...
by Amar Toor on July 13, 2010 at 11:10 AM

A cat fight akin to something seen on '90210' or 'The Hills' has erupted at the App Store, between two companies that offer VoIP Web chatting services. It seems to have started last week, when Israel-based Fring announced a new service that would allow users to video-chat over an iPhone 4's 3G connection instead of Wi-Fi. Fring also decided to temporarily pull Skype from its new iPhone app, citing ...