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apps posts

Palm demos web-based Ares SDK for webOS

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 5th 2009 @ 6:50PM

Currently, mobile entrepreneurs wishing to hawk their wares on the Pre (or Pixi, or unnamed webOS device of the future) use a software development kit from Palm called Mojo, a stack of Java-based tools that must be installed, studied, understood, loved, and respected before serious development can get underway. Palm sees that as a barrier of entry for web-oriented developers who want to make the leap to mobile apps, though, which is why they've crafted a new SDK called Ares that's based entirely on web technologies -- in fact, there's no install at all, apparently. Much of the interface is said to be drag-and-drop with enough JavaScript exposed to make your local .com designer feel right at home, potentially opening the app landscape to a whole new set of folks -- and considering that the App Catalog is tens of thousands of goodies behind the App Store and Android Market, they can use every loyal dev they get.

Apple's App Store breaks 100,000 apps

by Paul Miller posted Nov 4th 2009 @ 9:47AM

Look, App Store, we just wanted to take this opportunity to say we're sorry about all the fart app jokes. We know it's not easy being a new App Store, making your way in the world, and when juxtaposed against the struggles your competition has had with putting together a compelling app gathering, we know now that our words in those early days were hurtful and lacking in understanding. With 100,000 apps in your store and over two billion downloads, we hope you can be the bigger man here and forgive us. Also, if you have any tips for improving our Canabalt score that would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Apple rejects Macworld iPhone Superguide from App Store... for using the word 'iPhone'

by Nilay Patel posted Nov 3rd 2009 @ 2:56PM

The iPhone App Store's arbitrary and inconsistent approval process continues to baffle and annoy on every level, as Macworld Editor-in-Chief Jason Snell just had his iPhone book rejected... for using the word "iPhone" in the title. Apparently Apple doesn't like app names or icons to include the word iPhone or images of the iPhone -- which arguably makes sense on some level -- but you'd think a freaking iPhone reference manual would warrant an exception, wouldn't you? Making matters worse, it appears that one Mr. David Pogue didn't have this problem, as his iPhone: The Missing Manual was approved with title and icon intact. Sigh. Phil Schiller -- deploy!

Continue reading Apple rejects Macworld iPhone Superguide from App Store... for using the word 'iPhone'

Jibbigo iPhone app translates from English to Spanish and back again

by Laura June posted Oct 30th 2009 @ 10:37AM

Jibbigo is a recently released iPhone app which promises to help you out the next time you're desperately trying to make yourself understood by your Spanish-speaking compadres. The app is capable of recording a sentence and translating it -- essentially in real time -- back to you. As you can see in the screencap above, you can speak either Spanish or English, and the translator will do its work, displaying both your original and a translation into the other language. The dictionary contains about 40,000 words, and the app is aimed at travelers. Jibbigo also requires the iPhone 3GS to make use of the bi-directional translation tools, and the app also reportedly functions a heck of a lot slower on anything other than the 3G. The app is available now for $24.99.

[Via, iPodnn]

Google developing free navigation app?

by Nilay Patel posted Oct 27th 2009 @ 4:24PM

We already know plenty of people who've eschewed traditional turn-by-turn GPS systems in favor of plotting it out for free on Google Maps, and now there's whispers that Mountain View is coming after the rest of the market with a free nav app. That's at least what nav services providers are saying to Forbes, who think El Goog is gearing up to release a free ad-supported navigation app after making moves to use its own US maps instead licensing data from Tele Atlas and putting ads on the iPhone Maps app. Obviously that would shake things up a ton -- and make Android devices a huge bargain -- but we'll see where this all leads over the next few months.

[Via Fierce Mobile Content; thanks Elad]

Free iPhone apps can now include in-app purchases

by Ross Miller posted Oct 15th 2009 @ 6:11PM

One of Apple's many curious restrictions on iPhone apps has now been lifted. It used to be that, in order for developers to have microtransactions / in-app purchases, they had to charge something upfront for the software, essentially requiring consumers to pay at least twice, or not at all. Well, all that's changed, as the company has sent word to its developer community that the restriction has been lifted, meaning those annoying "Lite" and "Full" versions cluttering the app store can now be one and the same, with folks downloading the demo and paying to upgrade from within the app itself, a model that's worked to success in other software ecosystems like Xbox Live. Sure, there's gonna be developers out there that abuse the newly-minted business model, but it's not like anything was stopping them before when they charged $2 upfront only to get you again later. The mass email announcement is reprinted after the break. [Warning: read link requires iPhone developer account]

[Via Daring Fireball]

Continue reading Free iPhone apps can now include in-app purchases

First GSM Palm Pre now on sale in Germany, with new Euro-specific apps in tow

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 13th 2009 @ 5:15AM

We knew it was coming, and here it is -- the glorious first showing of the Palm Pre in its GSM garb. From today, our Deutsch comrades can grab a Pre and do whatever they want to do to it, courtesy of O2, its exclusive German supplier. The device will set you back €481 without contract, with the O2 My Handy option letting you finance it via 24 monthly payments of €20. Check out the online store link below for full details and available calling plans. Pre Thinking have also noted the arrival of two new free apps in the Pre catalog -- ran and VZ-Netzwerke, both in German -- and the likely prospect of even more coming along as the Pre starts its long-awaited rollout across Europe over the next few days.

[Via Engadget German]

Read - O2 Germany Palm Pre launch announcement
Read - O2 Germany online store
Read - Pre Thinking

David Hockney paints with his iPhone, results not typical

by Laura June posted Oct 11th 2009 @ 9:36AM

Artist David Hockney isn't afraid of picking up new media -- over the years, he's used Polaroids, photocollages, and even fax machines to create his art -- in addition to regular, old-fashioned painting. Now, he's taken to using his iPhone to create new works of art. The resultant "paintings" have been exhibited at the Tate Gallery and Royal Academy in London, as well as galleries in Los Angeles and Germany. Like artist Jorge Colombo (whose iPhone fingerpainting was featured on the cover of The New Yorker), Hockney uses the iPhone app Brushes to create his works. In an interview with the New York Review of Books, Hockney notes that he prefers and still uses the original version of the app, not the more recent updates. Hmm... maybe the reason our own Brushes paintings stink is because we're using the update!

[Via All Things D]

Palm pulls paid apps due to major bug allowing free app downloads

by Paul Miller posted Oct 6th 2009 @ 12:02AM

After mere hours of App Catalog-stravaganza, the paid apps have been removed for the time being by Palm due to a major flaw in purchase verification. From what we've gathered from the seedy underbelly of the internet, an exploit involving building your own dummy application with the same name as a paid application allowed folks to download a free "update" to these falsified shells and score for-purchase apps galore without dropping a cent. Whether or not this was the only exploit afoot we're not sure, but it sounds like plenty of folks found ways to nab apps for free because Palm has clamped down hard on distribution for the time being. Optimistically, the company claims it should have the Catalog back up by tomorrow morning, but if the failure is really as severe as it sounds, we won't be holding our breath.

Update: And... they're back.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in; picture courtesy of glamajamma]

Palm throws the doors open: review-free app distribution over the web, open source developers can hop in for free

by Paul Miller posted Oct 5th 2009 @ 11:47PM

Well, things just got interesting. The very evening of the App Catalog's launch of paid apps, Palm has made a very different kind of announcement: it's going to let developers skip out on the App Catalog if they so choose. Devs will be able to submit an app to Palm, who will turn around and give them a URL for open distribution of the app over the web -- without a review process getting in the way! The App Catalog will still exist for those who want to use it of course, with a $50 entrance fee to get an app inside -- and we're guessing it'll remain the only way to distribute paid apps -- but the new URL distribution should decentralize things just a little bit. In other good news, Palm will be dropping the $99 annual developer fee for folks building open source apps, and hopefully that free ride applies to App Catalog entry as well, though now there's web distribution to make it less of a sticking point. Palm's also going to open up its analytic data to developers, and even is giving away Pres and Touchstones to the audience members of the little shindig privy to this announcement -- clearly the company is making a strong play for developers, and who doesn't like to be loved?

[Thanks, Lawrence]

Paid apps hitting the Pre tomorrow?

by Chris Ziegler posted Oct 1st 2009 @ 6:01PM

The release of webOS 1.2 got all of the stars aligned for a barrage (or, at the very least, a trickle) of paid applications to start hitting the Pre, and the word on the street is that the first of those will be dropping tomorrow, October 2 -- for users in the US, anyhow (Canadians apparently need to wait a while longer, a problem that Android users up there are all too acquainted with). The company will smartly be tying purchases to users' Palm Profiles, meaning you'll be able to redownload previously bought apps on any device you choose as long as your account is currently tied to it. Of course, the big question is what apps will be available to blow some cash on in the first round of Catalog approvals -- what's everyone hoping for?

TomTom car kit for iPhone will run $120

by Laura June posted Sep 28th 2009 @ 3:35PM

We've been waiting quite a while to hear pricing info for the much-anticipated TomTom car kit for the iPhone. The kit, which will be sold separately from the navigational iPhone app, will be available in October (that's almost now!!). While we still don't have full details on what the whole package will include, it's officially going to run you $119.95 (or 99.99 if you pay in Euros). Check out the teaser video after the break to tide you over until the awesome, GPS-infused release date is upon us.

[Via GPSTracklog]

Vodafone debuts 360 online platform, H1 and M1 LiMo-based handsets

by Vladislav Savov posted Sep 24th 2009 @ 6:30AM

This time last year, you might have thought that LiMo was waning in the shadow of Android's eminence, but we're witnessing the vanguard of a new resurgence in the form of the Vodafone 360 H1 and M1 handsets by Samsung. Being the first LiMo Release 2 devices, they'll come with a bagful of fancy 3D UI visualizations to splash atop 3.5- and 3.2-inch touchscreen displays, with the bigger H1 (pictured) getting the AMOLED treatment, WiFi, HSDPA and 16GB of internal memory, and the M1 receiving HSDPA and 1GB of expandable memory, but no WiFi. They are making their debut alongside Vodafone's new 360 online platform, which takes over from the former Live service. You can expect it to bring Facebook, Twitter, Windows Live Messenger and Google Talk integration, as well as an app store to compete with the other heavy hitters. The M1's three color options are pictured after the break.

Read - Vodafone 360 press release
Read - Vodafone 360 H1 product page
Read - Vodafone 360 H1 hands-on
Read - Vodafone 360 M1 product page

Gallery: Vodafone H1

Continue reading Vodafone debuts 360 online platform, H1 and M1 LiMo-based handsets

First Palm App Catalog rejection: NaNplayer

by Nilay Patel posted Sep 10th 2009 @ 11:06AM

Palm's App Catalog isn't exactly bursting with titles yet, but that isn't stopping the company from rejecting apps -- and the dubious honor of First App Rejected goes to NaNplayer, a music player app. Apparently NaNPlayer made use of an undocumented webOS API call, so it makes sense that Palm wouldn't approve it, but there's a somewhat less-sensible flipside: it was using the same API the built-in music player uses to index files so it could make playlists. That's pretty basic functionality, so we're hoping this all gets resolved with a future webOS update -- and in the meantime, NaNplayer will be released to the burgeoning Pre homebrew community when it's complete.

Android 1.6 makes Market refresh official, apps get screenshots at last

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 3rd 2009 @ 8:11PM

Evidence suggests that the Android Market has a long way to go to be a profitable enterprise for would-be developers, but the good news is that Google seems to understand -- and they're doing something about it. Those in-the-wild shots of a totally rethought interface have turned out to be legit, being made official today by Android's official dev site; the beautified UI itself isn't really anything to write home about, but what makes it all worthwhile is the addition of screenshots and improvements to descriptions that should do a much better job of letting users know what they're getting for their hard-earned cash. Otherwise, there are a few new app categories and Italian support, all of which should bow with the release of Android 1.6 Donut. Sholes, Morrison, you fellas can't come soon enough. Follow the break for official video of the new Market in action.

[Via Phandroid]

Continue reading Android 1.6 makes Market refresh official, apps get screenshots at last