This is it. We're in the home stretch. Golden goal, all or nothing, and Steve Jobs kicking it high and to the side. In 2 days we find out if Apple gets the world cup, the two-peat for smartphone (even gadget) championship, or if they send it flying over the post with their mostly evolutionary, not so much revolutionary, next generation handset. Saturday we mentioned one big change: the fast 3G data chip . Sunday it was GPS . Monday we tackled the 2.0 Firmware update . Tuesday we detailed the rebirth of .Mac: MobileMe . Today we're looking at the mother load, App Store. Why should you want Apps? Of course you want Apps, read on to find out just how much! One of the biggest complaints about the original iPhone was its lack of 3rd party applications. Some iphoneblog editors who shall not be named went so far as to say that, absent 3rd party apps, "it's not a smartphone!" In fact, people wanted 3rd party apps so badly that even without any sanction or support from Apple, … [Read more...] about iPhone 3G: 2 Days and Counting Down to App Store!
Apples app store
App Store Year Zero: Unsweet web apps and unsigned code drove iPhone to an SDK
Apple introduced the App Store on July 10, 2008. Over the course of the next week we're going to take a look back at the origins and development of App Store, and forward towards its potential future. To do that properly, however, we have to start at the beginning, with the original iPhone in 2007. And with the original iPhone, there was no App Store, and no third party apps. At least not at first... Flashback. Before the iPhone and the App Store there were many different web-based software fiefdoms for PalmOS, BlackBerry, Symbian, and Windows Mobile that collected a hodgepodge of different freeware, shareware, and commercial apps, attached to a variety of check-out systems, employed inconsistent and often annoying licensing schemes, and required a lot of work to install and make work. And they were relatively expensive by today's standards. Bejeweled 2 for PalmOS was $19.95. (Bejeweled for iOS is $0.99.) BugMe! notes for PalmOS was $39.95. (BugMe for iOS is $1.99.) IM+ for … [Read more...] about App Store Year Zero: Unsweet web apps and unsigned code drove iPhone to an SDK
Apple’s magic developer numbers: 100, 100 million, and 1 billion
We've all heard huge numbers thrown around as measures of iPhone and iPad App Store success -- over 200,000 apps and 5 billion downloads being some of the most recent and most impressive. There's a couple of other numbers that are even more interesting when it comes to iPhone and iPad development: 100, 100 million, and 1 billion. Roughly 100 million iOS devices have been sold to data and they are all broadly software compatible. There's some fragmentation to be sure -- older devices are slower, there's no cameras (yet) on the iPod touch and iPad, no GPS in iPod touch, iPad Wi-Fi, and the iPhone 2G. Apple mitigates this somewhat by offering services such as CoreLocation where, if no GPS is found, it gracefully degrades down to cell tower triangulation or Wi-Fi router mapping. Even the iPad with its odd-device-out 1024x768 display will frame iPhone apps or pixel double them, which is awkward but still workable, still compatible. When iPhone 4 ships, it will be precisely double the … [Read more...] about Apple’s magic developer numbers: 100, 100 million, and 1 billion
Will Fortnite Return? Arizona bill could challenge Apple’s App Store payments monopoly
US legislators have passed a bill that could change how the Apple App Store and Google Play Store operate on smartphones. The bill could also have an impact on Epic Games’ ongoing legal battle with Apple, and could see Fortnite allowed back onto iPhones. The Arizona House of Representatives passed bill HB2005 , which would, among other things, prevent digital distribution platforms from requiring Arizona-based developers and consumers to use “a specific in-application payment system as the sole method of accepting payments”. If it’s passed into law the bill would mean Google and Apple can no longer force people to use their Play Store or App Store distribution platform for purchases, and would have to give developers and users the choice of other options. The existing lack of choice is what forced Epic Games to try and circumvent Apple’s policies, leading to Fortnite being booted from iOS devices. Nvidia GeForce Now may let you play Fortnite on iPhones Fortnite’s … [Read more...] about Will Fortnite Return? Arizona bill could challenge Apple’s App Store payments monopoly
Apple updates Pages, Numbers, and Keynote with iCloud support
One of the announced features of iCloud is the ability to keep all your files from Apple's Pages, Numbers, and Keynote apps up to date. The update to those apps that bring this support is now available. I am particularly excited about using Numbers with iCloud. I use Numbers on my iPad to record my students' grades, but sometimes I forget to bring my iPad to class. It never fails that those are the days that a student notices that I made a mistake and needs a grade changed. Before iCloud, I would make a note in my notes app and make the change later. Now, I'll just open the spreadsheet with Numbers on my iPhone, make the change, and it will be reflected on the spreadsheet on my iPad. Win. You can create amazing documents and presentations on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. And now with iCloud, you can keep your work up to date across all your iOS devices. You don’t have to save your work or transfer any files. Your documents — with all your latest edits — automatically appear … [Read more...] about Apple updates Pages, Numbers, and Keynote with iCloud support