App Store - page 101

Although they were once Thor-like with the Mjolnir of the ban hammer, Apple has become much more sparing and reluctant to ban apps outright from the App Store in recent months… a sea change that can probably be leveled more at Cupertino’s belated but common sense clarification of the App Store approval guidelines.

Bans still happen, though: an emulator here, a program tapping private APIs there, but these days, Apple’s bans are a lot less sensational than they once were. That’s what makes Apple’s latest ban so puzzling: they decided to ban a small Danish magazine app about Google’s Android OS from the App Store.

Why? According to the CEO of publisher Mediaprovider, his conversation with Apple about the app went something like this:

“So what’s the problem?” Dixon asked, knowing full well what the problem was.

“You know… your magazine,” replied the Apple rep, who identified himself only as Richard. “It’s just about Android…. we can’t have that in our App Store.”

Although this wouldn’t be a surprising ban a year ago, these days, it seems more like Richard was being a little overzealous than official Apple policy against informational Android apps to us: after all, the App Store has several apps dedicated to competing products, such as Windows 7. Granted, the war between iOS and Android these days is a lot more heated than the one between Windows and OS X — largely because Apple recognizes that mobile is the future of computing, and desktop OSes are the past — but Apple already knows that Android will eventually dominate iOS when it comes to total marketshare. Why ban an app about Android, then? Apple’s not concerned with total domination of the market… just the domination of the slice of the market that matters most.

The Black Friday weekend means sales and discounts galore, and iOS developers are offering some crazy reductions on the some of the App Store’s best downloads.

We’ve compiled a list of some of the greatest apps on sale, such as Readdle’s Printer Pro & PDF Expert; the Quickoffice Mobile suites, AutoStitch Panorama, and many, many more.

Check out our extensive list of apps on sale after the break, and grab yourself a bargain for your iPad, iPhone & iPod Touch.

The Black Friday weekend means sales and discounts galore, and iOS developers are offering some crazy reductions on the some of the App Store’s best downloads.

We’ve compiled a list of some of the greatest games on sale, such as EA’s NCAA Football, Need for Speed & Madden NFL; and Gameloft’s Shrek Kart HD, Hero of Sparta 2 & Let’s Golf 2 HD.

Check out our extensive list of games on sale after the break, and grab yourself a bargain for your iPad, iPhone & iPod Touch.

If you happened to switch to the iPhone from your old BlackBerry, you might miss UberTwitter, probably the best native Twitter client available on the BlackBerry OS. Wipe away wistful tears no longer: Ubertwitter is now available for free on the App Store, replete with its excellent UberView feature that allows you to access links within tweets without leaving either the app or the window.

Using the same engine as Unreal Citadel and the upcoming Infinity Blade, Dungeon Defenders: First Wave is a nifty looking iOS game by developer Trendy Entertainment that looks like a combination between Brutal Legend, World of Warcraft and Defense of the Ancients.

Dungeon Defenders: First Wave is due out in the middle of December for $2.99, along with an accompanying lite version, and will support Game Center for achievements and multiplayer between iOS devices, as well as Retina Display support.

Sure, it doesn’t look quite as pretty as other Unreal Enginer 3 games under iOS, but consider me sold anyway: to my tastes, Dungeon Defenders looks twice as fun.

Black Friday’s an exciting time of the year for the gadget hound, but let’s face facts: so many of those big box discounts are purely illusory, and you can already get an equivalent or better price through Amazon.com.

That’s why Amazon has released Price Check, a free iOS app that lets you quickly check Amazon’s price on a product by scanning barcodes, snapping a picture, saying the product’s name aloud or typing it in to search. If the price is better, you can then easily add it to your shopping cart.

You can download Price Check for free here.

Our must-have games list this week is packed with some huge releases that are guaranteed to be a massive hit in the App Store.

At the top of our list is Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, a brand new game from Warner Bros. that lets you experience Harry’s first four years at Hogwarts in a wonderful world made of Lego. Based on the Harry Potter books and movies, you can play as Harry, Ron, and Hermione as you explore Hogwarts and engage in countless hours of enchanting gameplay.

Also among our favorites this week is the graphically impressive first-person rail shooter, Rage HD. This much-anticipated game casts you in the staring role of a post-apocalyptic game show in which you’ll be stalked by hungry mutants as you attempt to survive each level.

UFC Undisputed 2010 is the only mixed martial arts video game that delivers the action, intensity, and prestige of the Ultimate Fighting Championship to your iPhone and iPad. Step in to the virtual Octagon and see if you have what it takes to be the ultimate UFC fighter.

Other games in our must-have list this week include Need for Speed Hot Pursuit, Astronut, and Star Battalion HD – check them out after the break!

When Steve Jobs said that Android was fragmented, here’s exactly what he meant: according to Rovio, who make the popular mobile game Angry Birds, they are struggling to support the game on all of the different Android hardware. In comparison, iOS development is easy as a dream.

I knew I was old the moment I realized that the foundation of my every Sunday’s pleasure was wandering down to the newsstand and picking up the latest issue of the Economist, so I’m both a little sad and a little delighted to note that I’ll no longer have to make that journey: the Economist is coming to the iPhone and iPad.

The best-looking game to ever hit iOS has now arrived on the App Store: id software Mutant Bash TV (based on an engine derived from their forthcoming next-gen shooter Rage, and taking place in the same universe) has just hit the App Store.

Despite the fact that it’s one of the best games the Mac has to offer, we’ve never talked about Minecraft here at Cult of Mac. Let’s remedy that, shall we?

At the top of our favorite iOS apps list this week is Time Flies – a simple but useful application that helps you keep track of how long it’s been since you last completed a chore or task. It’s now even easier to remember when you last called your parents, bought flowers for your wife, or cleaned the house.

Our second must-have app is a quick and powerful to-do app called SpeedTask. It features a simplistic, easy to use user interface, with free ‘cloud’ syncing that allows you to access your tasks from any device, or sync them with iCal on your Mac.

Also featured this week is the redesigned ReBirth, which is now available on the iPad, emulating the classic Roland TB-303 Bass synth and the Roland TR-808 & 909 drum machines. Making music on your iOS device has never been so powerful!

At the top of our favorite games list this week is the second instalment of Amateur Surgeon – the game that lets you attempt surgery with a pizza cutter. With new patients, new surgeries, and a whole slew of medical ethics violations, this sequel sure packs an entertaining punch.

Gobliiins is another of our must-haves this week. Relive the Gobliiins adventures in this blast from the past that redelivers the original screenplay and soundtrack from the classic puzzler.

Also on our list of must-haves is the fantastic LEGO Creationary and Spider-Man Total Mayhem in HD. Check them out after the break!

On the one hand, I love the idea behind Time Flies, a to-do app from Absent Design which allows you to record the things you do, then tells you how long it’s been since you last did them.

It’s a great idea, right? Time Flies keeps you honest. “No, you didn’t go to the gym ‘the other day’… it was three weeks ago. No, you didn’t buy your girlfriend flowers last month… it was three months ago. No, you didn’t move the stash a week ago… it’s been a month.” And so on.

My only problem here is that while I’d love to use this app myself, I definitely don’t want my girlfriend getting wind of it and using it against me. Claiming that it’s her turn to do the dishes or grout the tiles is going to be a lot harder if she’s got an app specifically devoted to catch me in my lies.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is a hands-on kind of guy, but usually, that hands-on approach tends to pop up as dashed-off emails from his iPhone in response to customer queries than telephonic reach-outs.

That’s not to say the latter can’t happen, though: A Seattle-based iPad developer was recently called by His Steveness himself after his app was rejected for using private APIs.