11/20, 4:20pm
Coders must be careful to avoid tripping flags
A new automatic screening technique Apple is using for the App Store appears to be backfiring, claims developer Rogue Sheep. The screening is believed to be aimed at catching unauthorized APIs, blocked under Apple's submission rules. A number of the apps trapped so far are allegedly ones using Three20, an Objective-C library. Rogue Sheep's Postage has in the past relied on some Three20 code, and so private API calls were removed from the software before submitting a recent update.
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11/20, 3:20pm
Gear less expensive than iPhone model
GPS maker TomTom has revealed a new car mount , one designed exclusively for the iPod touch. The accessory reflects a recent update to the company's GPS app , which now includes Touch support. The new kit is little different from its more broadly-compatible iPhone version, mainly being $20 cheaper at a price of $100.
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11/19, 4:15pm
Should aid in common store tasks
Apple Store workers will soon have more apps for their iPod touch-based EasyPay handhelds , a source claims. The devices are currently meant to run Easy Touch, an app which handles roaming checkouts in tandem with an attached card reader and barcode scanner. Apple is gradually retiring an assortment of Windows CE-based checkout units, which have been criticized as slow and unreliable.
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11/19, 11:50am
Also adds lane guidance, text-to-speech
As promised , TomTom has released an updated GPS app for the iPhone. A previously unannounced feature is support for the iPod touch, which normally lacks a GPS receiver. As with the recent Magellan app however, Touch support can only be enabled by docking with a first-party car kit .
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11/19, 11:10am
iPhone remains notably absent
The MacBook and the iPod touch have both taken positions on a Time list of the top 25 travel gadgets for 2009. The updated plastic MacBook is complimented for being tougher than its predecessor, and having LED backlighting, which contributes to a maximum seven-hour battery life. The magazine also remarks on the presence of a glass multi-touch trackpad, and the removal of mercury and arsenic from materials.
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11/18, 3:40pm
Number draws on October NPD figures
Apple is likely to sell between 2.8 and 2.9 million Macs in the December quarter, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. The forecast is based on October sales data from the NPD Group, which indicates that the month's Macs were up 7 percent year-over-year. Should Apple meet expectations, overall growth for the December period should be 14 percent .
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11/17, 5:00pm
Piracy, device limitations hamper potential
The App Store is doing fairly well in China, in spite of obstacles to its adoption, says the Wall Street Journal . Over $1 million in sales are said to have been made so far, a significant amount given the short space of time in which the store has been open. Some popular apps include the instant messaging title QQ, and the real-time strategy game Command & Conquer: Red Alert.
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11/17, 3:10pm
Car kit to support iPod touch
GPS maker Magellan has launched a new iPhone GPS application, RoadMate 2010 . Like most such apps, the software provides turn-by-turn navigation, with features like bookmarks, lane guidance and spoken navigation cues. Aspects separating RoadMate include a pedestrian mode, and an associated "find your car" option, which marks a parking place for later return.
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11/17, 12:35pm
Update also adds interface improvements
Google has released v2.0 of Google Earth for the iPhone , its portable 3D mapping software. Users navigate a graphic representation of the Earth, on which various places, businesses, photos and Wikipedia articles can be located. The second edition is a major update, allowing users to import Google Maps content from the web. After logging into a Maps account, the app can impose route information on terrain.
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11/17, 11:45am
Looking to expand first-party game production?
Apple is looking to hire a new game programmer for its Cupertino headquarters, listings show. The person would specifically hold the title of "game/media software engineer," and work with a small team on various entertainment apps for the iPhone and iPod touch. Requirements include three to four years of game development experience, with knowledge of C, C++, Objective-C and/or iPhone programming. Applicants must also have "at least one AAA title" under their belt, and ideally skills in audio, graphics or network code.
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11/16, 1:40pm
App would tie into Apple Store services
Apple is planning to launch a new iPhone app for visitors to its retail stores, several sources claim. So far dubbed "Concierge," the app is expected to mimic the company's web-based reservations system, which lets users schedule Genius Bar and One to One appointments. Users should also be able to monitor various types of membership subscriptions. No date for the app's release has so far been leaked.
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11/13, 4:10pm
Also enables Genius Mixes for Nike+iPod
Apple has posted a v1.0.2 firmware update for the fifth-generation iPod nano , which was launched this September. The firmware corrects a problem with podcast playback at different speeds. Newly enabled is the ability to use Genius Mixes in tandem with the Nike+iPod fitness add-on.
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11/13, 3:40pm
Store is 'broken,' says company
Software developer Rogue Amoeba has claimed plans to quit iPhone development, citing what it calls the "broken" nature of the App Store approval process. In July the company submitted a bugfix for Airfoil Speakers Touch (AST), an app streaming audio from computers running the Airfoil desktop client. Amoeba complains that the corrected version has only just become available, as a result of three rejections which ultimate forced it to remove existing functionality.
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11/13, 10:25am
No need to download iTunes
Without announcement, Apple this week launched iTunes Preview, a new feature of the iTunes Store. The option solves a problem created through the ability to share URLs pointing to store content. Until recently, anyone who was given a link to music and did not already own iTunes would be directed to a generic webpage, simply asking them to download the client.
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11/11, 10:50am
Currently supports handful of movies
Film studio Universal has released a free iPhone application, pocket BLU . The software communicates via Wi-Fi with network-connected Blu-ray players, allowing more advanced control over menus and playback. Users can for instance take advantage of a virtual keyboard, and tilt an Apple handheld into widescreen mode to access a graphical timeline.
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11/10, 10:55am
Banner replaced without warning
The latest incarnation of a controversial Boston iPod ad has been pulled from the building on which it hung, says the Boston Herald . Measuring some 13,750 square feet, a 2007 banner was larger than normally allowed, and deemed illegal by the state's Outdoor Advertising Board. One or more versions have nevertheless remained in place well through 2009; in June the responsible companies secured a permit after paying a $110,000 penalty.
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11/09, 9:55am
Only affects jailbroken devices
The first known iPhone worm has been observed in the wild, reports say. Called Ikee, the worm is considered relatively inoffensive, as it does not steal information or sabotage hardware or software. Instead the package merely changes a phone's wallpaper to a photo of singer Rick Astley before seeking out more points to infect.
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11/07, 4:00pm
Suggests Apple frowns on iPhone gaming
id Software co-founder John Carmack has described working with Apple as a "rollercoaster ride" in a new interview , arguing that Apple executives are not happy with the increasing popularity of the iPhone and iPod touch as a gaming platform. Carmack -- responsible for Doom , Quake and other titles -- has spent several years working with Apple in order to get games such as Doom Classic onto the App Store.
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11/06, 4:15pm
Designed to cope with holiday rush
Apple has unveiled a new program for its retail stores, Reserve and Pick Up . Via the company's website, shoppers can now opt to have products held for later purchase at a store they select. Only Macs and iPods are eligible however, and pickup must occur between December 15th and the 24th. As the program is meant to cope with potentially long holiday lineups, shoppers can also have some products wrapped.
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11/06, 3:50pm
Highlights discrepancy in standards
A Spanish translation of Mein Kampf has been launched at the App Store, observers note. Written in the 1920s by Adolf Hitler, the book is both an autobiography and a charter of the fascist, anti-Semitic policies that would come to guide the Third Reich. No other version of the book is available as a standalone app, and its icon is the Nazi Party emblem, complete with swastika.
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11/04, 10:45am
Apple aims for exclusives, broader selection
Apple has introduced a new Music Movies section to the iTunes Store, further segregating its video. The page highlights all movies with a music-related theme, running from documentaries like Imagine and Woodstock through to straight concert films, and fiction titles like The Blues Brothers . iTunes now also has a larger amount of such content, with material including The Song Remains the Same and U2: Rattle and Hum .
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11/04, 10:05am
Apple marks psychological milestone
Following some anticipation , Apple has announced that there are now over 100,000 titles available at the iTunes App Store. Over two billion downloads have been made, and the store is currently accessible in 77 countries. The total number of apps which have passed through the store is higher; Apple does not count deleted titles.
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11/02, 1:30pm
Unit docks two iPhones and/or iPods at once
MacNN has reviewed the iP88 , a new alarm clock built by iHome. The unit differs from most by allowing two iPhones and/or iPods to be docked simultaneously, solving an issue created when couples or individuals have multiple devices. Multiple alarms can be set, correspondingly, triggering a buzzer, AM/FM radio or a playlist.
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11/02, 12:05pm
Modifies gameplay for handhelds
EA has launched an iPhone version of Command & Conquer: Red Alert , its real-time strategy game originally developed for Windows. The title is set in an alternate universe where Adolf Hitler has been assassinated by a time-traveling Albert Einstein, paving the way for the Soviet Union to become the world's dominant military threat. Unusual weapons come to the fore as well, such as combat airships.
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11/02, 10:15am
Recreates original gameplay mechanics
id Software has released Doom Classic for the iPhone and iPod touch. A new version of the company's signature first-person shooter, the app recreates all of the original game's episodes, as well as the later fourth episode, Thy Flesh Consumed. Also brought back are the original gameplay mechanics, here controlled through one of three different schemes.
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10/29, 4:05pm
Video streaming carries restrictions
The NBA has released a new app for the iPhone and iPod touch, NBA League Pass Mobile . Users can watch live TV coverage of over 40 basketball games per week, while optionally viewing overlay information such as the current score and live player stats. Games can be replayed up to 48 hours after their original broadcast.
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10/28, 3:50pm
Possibility hinted at in earlier statement
The combination of the TomTom iPhone Car Kit and its corresponding navigation app will not be compatible with the iPod touch or original iPhone, officials from the company now say. The Kit's product page has for a time said that while it can hold all iPhones, the matching app is only compatible with the iPhone 3G and 3GS. Regardless, a spokesman at one point claimed that company had simply not made any "public announcements" regarding the possibility of support through a software update.
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10/28, 1:00pm
Tech made possible through app/router combo
Third-party GPS support for the iPod touch is coming soon, an announcement claims. GeoLife says it has submitted a new version of Navmii to the App Store, which -- in tandem with a PosiMotion G-Fi router -- should allow a Touch to access turn-by-turn car navigation. The Touch lacks both the GPS and 3G receivers found in the iPhone, normally rendering it incapable of handling directions while driving.
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10/28, 10:20am
Company makes gains in iTunes, losses in iPods
Apple has published an official 10-K statement for its 2009 fiscal year, revealing some broader trends. The company for instance sold 54 million iPods, 1 percent less than in 2008; the result was more damaging in financial terms, bringing in 12 percent less revenue at $8.091 billion. Lower selling prices are said to be blame, as each iPod is estimated to have brought in an average of $149, as compared to $167 in 2008.
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10/27, 12:55pm
Statement may disappoint observers
The Apple holiday lineup is "set" for 2009, according to the company's senior VP for worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller. The company recently introduced a unibody MacBook , updated iMacs and a multi-touch mouse . In response to questions about the products however, Schiller is said to have implied that no other major releases can be expected before the end of the year.
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