Review: Apples2Oranges from iPhone

Apples2Oranges solves two pressing problems: price comparisons, and how much of an ingredient is needed in a recipe. Aside from a few quirks, the app works very well and very fast.

Analysis: Looking for a pattern in Apple’s App Store rejections

Apple has given many reasons for rejecting apps from the App Store, but the process is still murky. Is that a problem?

Ten iPhone apps that didn’t make the App Store

PC World rounds up 10 notable iPhone apps that failed to pass muster in Apple’s App Store review process.

Practicality of Multi-Touch and an Early PowerBook Multi-Touch Keyboard Design

Here at MacRumors, we have had a fascination about the possibility of Apple introducing more advanced Multi-Touch technology into their future Macs and keyboards. This conversation, however, always returns to the question of the practicality and use...

Apple Prepping OS X 10.5.7 Update

Apple yesterday seeded Mac OS X 10.5.7, the next maintenance release for Leopard, to developers. Apple is requesting that developers focus their testing on over twenty areas of the new seed, which is termed Build 9J22.

Developers fami...

Cracky Birthday to You! CrackBerry.Com Turns Two!

It’s with the utmost respect and joy that we get to wish our sibling site, and public frenemies number one over at CrackBerry.com, a wonderful, wacky, cracky second birthday. From 7000 word reviews, to net-breaking first looks at the latest/greatest devices, to forums so big they now scare small nations, CrackBerry Kevin and his team have put together something special — a real community.

Congrats everyone. For today and today only, in honor of your turning two, we’ll say it loud — we’re Cracky and Proud!

And since Kevin and CrackBerry.com don’t know from understated, you gotta know they have more birthday contests running than you could shake a Storm at. Go forth and check them out, win some prizes, and party hardy.

Happy birthday!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Cracky Birthday to You! CrackBerry.Com Turns Two!

What if Apple Killed Paid Apps for Unlocked/Developer iPhones? Google Android Did!

Apple decides which apps get approved for the iPhone/iPod touch App Store, provides little to no transparency on the process, prevents certain things like turn-by-turn GPS outright in the SDK agreement, and — though they’ve yet to use them — maintains black lists for GPS and malware that could remove any LocationServices or entire applications from iPhones everywhere. For this, and more, Apple has earned quite a bit of criticism — and rightly so in many cases.

What if Apple went further, however. They sell officially unlocked iPhones in several regions, like Hong Kong. They also have a program that grants developers tethering abilities for testing. What if, one day, people with unlocked or developer iPhones woke up to find the Paid section of the App Store gone. What would the community reaction be? What should it be?

Google, whose “don’t be evil” motto has been downgraded by management in recent years, is lauded for the openness of their Android Market (even though they’re known to have a kill switch of their ownl — to do otherwise would be irresponsible), yet our friends over at Android Central woke to find themselves in just such a situation this week. Paid apps. Gone.

We’re told it’s because of piracy concerns, that Google thinks developer units of the G1 make it easier for people to steal paid apps. Jeffdc5 on Twitter let us know developer G1 handsets could store apps on the SD memory card in addition to the on-device memory of the regular units, which could make them more pirate-able. However, we’ve seen that the iPhone — with no external memory — can have apps pirated as well, so is that readon enough? It smacks of the same “treat your customers as thieves” thinking that created DRM music, Microsoft Genuine Advantage, Sony rootkits, and Adobe invading our boot sectors…

Apple has already removed DRM from iTunes music, and has now removed product keys from boxed versions of iLife 09 and iWork 09 as well. It seems to be working out none too badly for them.

Openness is definitely A Good Thing. Maybe trust in your user base should be as well?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

What if Apple Killed Paid Apps for Unlocked/Developer iPhones? Google Android Did!

Yet Another MobileMe Phishing Scam

Stealing credit card information is big business so perhaps it should come as no surprise that we’re seeing so many phishing attacks targeted at even niche services like MobileMe. We’ve reported on a bunch of them already, and this latest one is just more of the same.

If you get an email warning you about the status of your account, asking you to verify billing info, or basically asking you anything at all, NEVER click on the link. Always launch your web browser and type in the main URL by hand (i.e. don’t click on the email’s “Login” button, go to Firefox or Safari and type in “http://www.me.com/”). (And yes, DNS can be cache poisoned and localhosts can be over-written, but depending how valuable a target you are and how much time you want to invest in proofing yourself, manually entering URLs is a good compromise between convenience and security.

Apple Insider has all the details for those who want them. Surf safe!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Yet Another MobileMe Phishing Scam

iTunes Short Term Pass Debuts with Depeche Mode

Apple has teamed up with EMI, which was the first record label to join the DRM-free iTunes Plus program when it was announced, to provide the new “iTunes Pass” system. Says EMI (via MacRumors):

The first iTunes Pass debuts today in conjunction with Depeche Mode’s forthcoming 12th studio album, Sounds of the Universe, to be released on April 21 in the US. Fans who sign up starting today get the alternative/dance pioneers’ new single, Wrong, as well as the Black Light Odyssey Dub Remix of the new track Oh Well. They will also receive the new album on its street date plus great music and video exclusives before and after the album’s release over the next fifteen weeks. The Depeche Mode iTunes Pass can be purchased starting today for $18.99.

Still all iTunes Plus format, and they promise you’ll get your fair market value out of the service, though you have to get all you fun in before the 90-day deadline expires.

Personally, I like iTunes’ ability to let me pick and choose singles, and almost never buy complete albums (the recording industry nightmare, of course), so this holds very little appeal to me. Am I missing out on something? Anyone here going to give it a try?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iTunes Short Term Pass Debuts with Depeche Mode

Palm Pre “Cards” Deja Viewed in Mobile Safari “Tabs”

We’ve mentioned this in passing before, but the parallels, if any, are worth making more prominent.

Using webOS, which is a localized, almost widget-ized development environment (using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and enhanced local access), the Palm Pre can run many WebApps at the same time. The way it’s visualized is with the “card” metaphor, where a touch of the Home-like button shrinks the current screen down to a thumbnail that’s kept live and updated in real time. The interface also lets users shuffle the apps like cards in a fanned-out deck. You re-arrange the cards and can even terminate an app by “throwing it away”.

While the iPhone doesn’t keep them live or let you re-arrange them, and has an X to close rather than the throw-away gesture, going as far back as two years ago when Steve Jobs introduced it at Macworld 2007, it let you zoom out of the Mobile Safari web browser with an eerily similar thumbnail representation. (Though there doesn’t seem to be any patent contention over that just yet…)

Actually, given Apple’s recent obsession with Cover Flow in iTunes, OS X 10.5 Leopard’s Finder and now Safari 4 Beta, we’re surprised they didn’t just default to that for Mobile Safari tabs from the get go as well…

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Palm Pre “Cards” Deja Viewed in Mobile Safari “Tabs”

Review: iScores for iPhone

If you’re looking for a sports score—particularly one from outside the U.S.—iScores isn’t a bad choice. But you’ll have to look past some interface and navigation issues.

Study: iPhone apps have one-night stands

A recent study found that most free iPhone apps are rarely used after the first day they're downloaded. According to analytics company Pinch Media, which analyzed over 30 million downloads from Apple's App Store, only 20 percent of users go back for more the following day. When it comes to paid ...

Ability to Edit, Sort & Filter Google Spreadsheets Enabled

iPhone users have long had the ability to view their Google Docs online however not edit them. Now seemingly the ability to edit, sort and filter has been added to the Google spreadsheet application.  This is really exciting news and now you'll have even less of a reason to NOT ...

Quick App: QWERTY 5-Row Keyboard for Jailbreak

Tired of hitting the 123 key to toggle on the numeric keyboard? Well, obviously some ingenious iPhone hacker was and whipped up this interesting little Jailbreak app to change the standard 4-row virtual keyboard into a five row with numbers surfaced right on top (or symbols, if you tap the shift key).

Want to grab it? Gizmodo (via iPhone Hacks) says you can find it under “5-Row QWERTY Keyboard” in Cydia”

Should Apple consider changing their own virtual keyboard to be more like this 5-row? Or are the keys on the 4-row already small enough?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Quick App: QWERTY 5-Row Keyboard for Jailbreak

Turn-by-turn iPhone GPS app now in iTunes

A turn-by-Turn GPS application for the iPhone, the G-Map application, already exists in the App Store. There is no monthly fee required and no internet or wi-fi connection needed. Each application (XRoad Co.'s G-Map U.S. West and G-Map U.S. East) will cost you $19.99. MacRumors shared its review: We briefly tested the ...

Sudobility Air Photo Wifi Review

Have you ever wanted to print a picture from your iphone without hooking it up to your computer? Well, Air Photo Wifi is the answer and a very good one at that...With Air Photo, you'll be able to print to your networked printer as long as you have the server ...

AT&T Having Problems in Texas Again?

Bringing this back to the top as the comments were lighting up again with Texas iPhone users not getting service. Some seem to be out, some are coming back, and others are having various degrees of luck turning on/off the 3G radios.

Let us know where you are, if you’re having trouble, and what fixes are/aren’t working for you.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

AT&T Having Problems in Texas Again?

AIM for iPhone gets location awareness, paid version

AIM for iPhone has been updated with location awareness, SMS notifications and a paid version.

Preview Website Reveals More Details of Metal Gear Solid for iPhone; Disappointing?

Review: Monopoly: World Edition for iPhone

The iconic board game comes to the iPhone in a special "World Edition."