Publishers might see revenue boost from iPhone 3.0

Lincoln Spector of The Industry Standard muses on what in-app purchases in the iPhone 3.0 SDK might mean for app developers.

GDC: EA’s Scrabble for iPhone integrates with Facebook

Electronic Arts has updated Scrabble for the iPhone to add social networking features through Facebook.

Apps for Less: Mafia Live! and UNDEAD Live

Things have been pretty slow this week in terms of noteworthy apps to bring to your attention. Nevertheless , we did find you two gems on sale in a sea of apps. To learn more about these discounted apps, read on after the break!

First up we have a deal for a wildly popular game in the App Store, Mafia Live!. [iTunes Link] You can now score this game for the low price of $.99 for a limited time! For all of you who like pretending you are Tony Soprano, this is your game.

You begin your quest to create the most powerful crime family as a rookie on the streets of The City. To do this, you need to buy guns and cars to battle other Mafia Families (other real players around the globe!). To progress in the game, you need to beat other Mafia Families (while gaining experience and taking their cash) and perform other missions to gain respect and hone your skills. As your power and wealth grows, more options become available to you. People will offer you properties to buy in The City; bankers will want to help you launder your cash; and other families will be both jealous and resentful of your success.

Next up we have another game that has just been released by the creators of Mafia Live!, UNDEAD Live. [iTunes Link] Fans of Vampire and Werewolf movies rejoice, this is the game you’ve been looking for. It works the same way as Mafia Live!, just in a whole other world. And at the price of FREE for a limited introductory price can you really go wrong? We didn’t think so either but act fast as this game will go back to it’s regular price of $4.99 on March 29th.

If you do grab these two games feel free to add me to your Mafia family (743883128) or you Coven (173107970). If you have a app in the App Store that you’d like to see mentioned in Apps for Less send us an email and let us know!

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

Apps for Less: Mafia Live! and UNDEAD Live

GDC: Ngmoco exec explains “Why the iPhone has changed everything”

Ngmoco CEO Neil Young explained at his GDC keynote how the iPhone has changed the game market forever.

China Unicom Web Site Posts iPhone Information, Launching Soon? [Updated]

Macworld reports that a regional branch of China Unicom has posted information [Google translation] related to the iPhone on their web site.

The information, which listed smartphones supported by the 3G network China Unicom is buildin...

China Unicom Web Site Posts iPhone Information, Launching Soon?

Macworld reports that a regional branch of China Unicom has posted information [Google translation] related to the iPhone on their web site.

The information, which listed smartphones supported by the 3G network China Unicom is buildin...

Review: Talking Email Keyboard for iPhone

The makers of this app—which sounds out letters after you’ve typed them in an e-mail—say that you can use the program to compose messages while driving. That’s not a good idea, though Talking Email Keyboard has some value for users with impaired vision.

O2’s free iPhone offer fuels new Apple phone speculation

Is O2 is clearing stock ahead of a new model of the iPhone?

TiPb Give Away: Barista for iPhone

Want to take your coffee to the next level? Turn your iPhone into your own gourmet coffee coach with Barista [iTunes link]. With an awesome interface, step-by-step instructions, pro-level tips and tricks, an easy to understand explinations, Barista is currently on 66% off sale in the App Store [iTunes link] but what’s better than cheap? FREE!

The kind folks at BaristaApp have given us a couple (2) promo codes to give on to you. Just drop a comment below telling them — and us — your favorite coffee beverage!

(Drawing will be random and you’ll need access to the US App Store to redeem your promo code. Be sure to leave a valid email address, we won’t make it public but we’ll need it to contact you with your code).

Good luck, and more importantly… good coffee making!

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

TiPb Give Away: Barista for iPhone

iPhone 3G in Canada: Rogers Wrecking 6GB Accounts, Fido Ditching iPhone 16GB?

Prior to the iPhone 3G launch in Canada last year, there was a massive internet and public protest surrounding Rogers exorbitant data plans (not too long ago cresting $100 for 200MB!). To try and turn things around, Rogers offered a limited time $30/6GB plan (which should never have been limited in time) on 3 year(!) contract, and many were quick to sign up for it when they got their new iPhone 3Gs. Fast forward 9 months later, however, and seems some shenanigans are going on again around Rogers way. According to MacNN, people are losing those $30/6GB accounts, way before the 3 years are up:

The problem is allegedly widespread amongst Rogers iPhone customers, and believed to be connected to alterations of a person’s account, such as a change in address or phone number. Because the promotional code for the $30/6GB plan no longer exists, discounts may simply be evaporating as accounts are recreated. People who signed up for the $30 price were originally promised that it would persist throughout their three-year contract.

Customer service staff seem to vary greatly in their willingness and ability to solve this problem. NOT. GOOD. ROGERS. Being a GSM monopoly doesn’t let you abuse it, remember?

Meanwhile, according to Engadget Mobile, Rogers’ wholly owned, discount branded Fido subsidiary seems to be gearing up to ditch the iPhone 3G’s 16GB SKU entirely, leaving only the 8GB version on the product list. Fists with the low-end brand, we guess…

So, anyone hosed by Rogers on data, or going to be missing out that 16GB iPhone 3G on Fido? Let us know!

[Thanks Chris for the tip]

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

iPhone 3G in Canada: Rogers Wrecking 6GB Accounts, Fido Ditching iPhone 16GB?

Cha-Ching Touch now available

Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Last month, we got a sneak peek at Cha-Ching Touch, the finance app for the iPhone and iPod touch from Midnight Apps. Now, it's ready to go. We haven't played with it yet (a full review is coming), but I definitely see the appeal of a quick and easy mobile finance tracker (which is a long-winded way to say "money app").

Years ago, I had a great check register application on my Palm and I loved it. It simply monitored money in and out with some basic categorization. That's what we're after, and Cha-Ching sounds like it's going in the right direction.

You can monitor your budget and enter location-aware transactions. There's good news for owners of the desktop version, too. Namely, transaction histories will sync to the iPhone client via WiFi. Neat.

There's a demo video here. It's a nice looking app, that's for sure. You can currently pick it up from The App Store for an introductory price of $2.99US. Again, we'll let you know what we think after we've put it through its paces.

Cha-Ching Touch now available originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Cha-Ching Touch now available originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Next Gen iPhone to Sport “Entry-Level-Laptop” Class CPU?

Hot on the heels of yesterday’s possible AT&T leak on the next gen iPhone, MacRumors is laying out more specific, if still un-confirmed, details:

Another interesting possibility is that Apple may have settled on the Marvell PXA168 ARM chip as the heart of a future device. Some unconfirmed claims point to Apple buying up supplies of this chip which is reportedly also due in the July timeframe. The Marvell PXA168 CPU was announced in January of this year and aims to provide “entry-level laptop” capabilities to consumer electronic devices.

We’re noticing the theme of speed and power is staying pretty consistent across these rumors. And if Apple is packing the boom! of a baby-laptop in the iPhone, where does that leave iNetbook rumors?

But what’s with all the leaks? Steve Jobs is still on leave of absence, so are folks inside Apple a little less afraid of the flame thrower than they were last year? Or is this a calculated way to keep people’s interest (and the internet’s attention) away from the upcoming release of competitive products like the Palm Pre and BlackBerry Niagra?

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

Next Gen iPhone to Sport “Entry-Level-Laptop” Class CPU?

iPhone external keyboard without jailbreaking

Filed under: Accessories, Hacks, iPhone

Check this out, folks. Some enterprising young hackers have got an IR keyboard working with a non-jailbroken iPhone. With nothing more than $20US worth of parts and the iPhone 2.0 SDK, they built an adapter for the headphone port that talks with a modified version of the audio port modem microcontroller firmware.

Of course, this isn't a rig that my Aunt Ethel is going to run out and buy for her own iPhone, but it's the first time we've seen an external keyboard working with an intact iPhone. Back in the day, my Stowaway keyboard brought my Palm ///e to unknown heights of usefulness. I'd like to experience the same glee with my iPhone.

iPhone external keyboard without jailbreaking originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iPhone external keyboard without jailbreaking originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: Topple 2 for iPhone

With great art, new modes, multiplayer options, and genuinely fun gameplay, Topple 2 is a worthy sequel to the first version and an easy game to recommend.