Playhaven CEO Andy Yang calls it the ‘ranking roller-coaster,’ a lengthy process of app introduction and updates that can turn a hot download into an also-ran in the span of a few months – the time it takes for game developers to get slightly new versions through the Apple App Store. Yang thinks he’s found a way to shorten the app update process from three months to three minutes.
Adobe has launched a great new app for iOS that carries a similar kind of functionality as its Acrobat application for PCs. Named CreatePDF, the new app allows you to create high quality PDF files from a plethora of different file formats — with just your iOS device.
Facebook’s mobile messaging client, Facebook Messenger, has received its second update since its original release in the App Store at the beginning of the month.
Facebook Messenger 1.0.2 fixes numerous bugs and adds links to phone numbers and addresses. Unfortunately, folks outside of the US still don’t have access to the app.
Things at Apple are going to be a little different without Steve Jobs at the helm. I have no doubt that Tim Cook will step up to do a fantastic job, but there are many reasons why we’ll never forget Steve’s time at Apple. Here we take a look at some of Apple’s greatest achievements while Steve was at the company, and the products that have made it the world’s largest company.
Apple began emailing iOS app developers today to tell them all about a new “auto-ingest” tool for retrieving iTunes connect Sales & Trends data. The new tool is Java-based and will run on any operating system, giving developers quick and easy access to their daily or weekly sales reports.
A new iOS app from Penny Arcade is set to hit the App Store next month with a mission to help you discover your next gaming addiction. Called the Decide-o-tron 8000, the app builds up a library of games based on what you like and what you don’t, then uses its predictive technology to tell you what you should be playing next.
In a surprise move, Skype has released a WiFi app that allows users to access over one million hotspots with Skype’s pay per minute credits. The app is clearly geared towards international travelers, and Skype is offering its new WiFI app for free in the App Store.
Despite Steve Jobs’ crank call to one Seattle-based store for 4,000 lattes during the 2007 MacWorld Expo, Starbucks remains an Apple friend — holding a number of promotions that offer free iTunes downloads. The latest will give you a free iPhone app every time you get your caffeine fix.
Even in the dark years when they were caught off guard by the momentum of the Sony PlayStation, Nintendo has kept their characters in-house, exclusive to Nintendo brand hardware. They learned their lesson from the dark days of the CD-i.
Now, though, investors within Nintendo are pressuring the beleaguered gaming giant to bring their most well-known properties like Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda and Pokemon to other platforms… specifically, the App Store.
Someone must use Facebook’s chat system, because the social networking giant just released Facebook Messenger, a dedicated iOS app that allows you to send and receive messages or chat with friends on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. It even comes with push notifications so you won’t miss any messages.
More interestingly, though, Facebook’s Messenger app contains files that hint at future video calling functionality to come.
Amazon’s not the only company to use the latest change in Apple’s in-app purchase policies forbidding links to outside e-stores as an excuse to cut the umbilical: Vudu has also shifted its streaming movie service over the web for iPad users.
Amazon’s Kindle application was recently at risk of being removed from the App Store because it contained a link to purchase content outside of Apple’s ecosystem — something Apple no longer allows developers to do under its latest App Store terms. In order to secure its place in the App Store, Amazon issued a last-minute update to its app to remove the link, but in a move that subtly tells Apple where to stick its new rules, Amazon has launched a web-based Kindle reader with support for the iPad. And it’s awesome!
This week’s roundup must-have apps features the long-awaited Skype app for the iPad, a beautiful new music app from Rdio, the quickest and easiest way to sell your old gadgets through eBay Instant Sale, and a new digital magazine from AOL that’s tailored just for you.
The incredibly popular Infinity Blade from Epic Games was one of the first titles to be build using the Unreal engine. Famous for its eye-popping visuals, it’s so impressive that in just six months after its launch the game had achieved over $10 million in sales. If you haven’t already bought this game, now’s the best time, because it’s on sale for just $2.99. But you’ll have to be quick!
Although its public release isn’t scheduled until this fall, Apple has already begun approving apps for its upcoming iOS 5 software for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch — suggesting the firmware could launch as early as next month alongside the iPhone 5.
Apple just released two new commercial ads for the iPhone, and they both play off of the “If you don’t have an iPhone…” pitch we’ve been hearing for awhile.
The first add highlights the iPod + iTunes on the iPhone, while the second features the App Store.
After a series of lengthy delays, the re-release of Final Fantasy Tactics: The War Of The Lions from Square Enix is set to hit the App Store this Thursday, August 4. While its release will be a chance the Americans among us to reminisce, for those of us in Europe, it will be the first time we get the opportunity to experience this PlayStation classic.
Too lazy to do your chores or errands? Willing to pay some cash to crowd source it? Meet TaskRabbit, a collaborative service that allows you to post up things you don’t really want to do, along with how much you’re willing to pay for them to get done, and then get a willing stranger to show up at your door to do them.
Qualcomm launched its augmented reality SDK for iOS yesterday, allowing app developers to create impressive augmented reality apps for our devices. While augmented reality is nothing new to iOS, Qualcomm’s SDK should mean more AR apps in the App Store because it makes it easier for developers to create apps for a number of different platforms.
Apple recently announced that they’d sold just over 15 billion apps in just three years, which got ZDNet’s Eric Lai doing some number crunching, and it turns out that the App Store has just passed a big milestone: Apple’s now selling apps faster than McDonald’s can sell hamburgers.
It was revealed yesterday that the long-awaited Facebook app for iPad was already here — not in the App Store, but hidden away inside the Facebook app for iPhone. We published details on how to install the app on your iPad, but soon after the news spread, Facebook decided to block access to those using the app before its public release.
Fortunately, as is often the case with these things, jailbreakers have provided a workaround — a new tweak called FaceForward that reactivates the official Facebook app for iPad.
Amazon’s Kindle app for iOS was updated yesterday in order to comply with Apple’s latest in-app purchase terms and secure its place in the App Store. In addition to removing the link to its external Kindle store, however, did you notice that the update introduced more than 100 magazine and newspaper subscriptions to iOS?
Well, that didn’t last long: just a few hours after being yanked from the iOS App Store for failing to comply with Apple’s revised in-app purchasing rules forbidding direct links to outside, web-based e-stores, Google Books has been re-instated, sans the offending link.
Nicely done, Apple. Looks like no one can afford to play hardball with you on this, not even Google or Amazon.
I’m sure you’re already aware by now that Spotify is finally available in the U.S., with over 13 million songs ready to stream on demand. But did you know that to accompany it there’s an awesome iOS app for listening to those millions of songs on the go? Spotify for iPhone is the first app in this week’s must-have roundup.
Coverjam Pro is another great app for music lovers that provides you with awesome slideshows of your favorite bands and artists while your listen to their music. It searches Instagram and Flickr for photos with the appropriate tags and aims to “enhance your listening pleasure.”
Google+ (yes, it finally hit the App Store!) is the official iPhone app to accompany Google’s latest social network, and “makes sharing the right things with the right people a lot simpler,” with access to your Circles, Stream and Huddle.
How many times a day do you enter your iTunes password to download new apps or updates on your iOS device? If you’re anything like me, your answer will be “too many times!”
Fortunately, an upcoming jailbreak tweak from Filippo Biga will ensure you never need to enter it again.
