That, I’m afraid, is essentially game over. Do they have a case? No. Not really. I am convinced that if it went to court, the “copyright” claim would get thrown out completely. The trademark, perhaps not — but if I changed the name, to e.g. “Trys”, that would be much harder for them to argue.
Following up on the earlier post about OpenClip, the new open-source framework for implementing a shared (i.e. cross-application) clipboard for the iPhone, the video above highlights developer Zac White’s presentation at iPhoneDevCamp2. Not enough for you? Okay, TiPb had another chance to talk with the innovative folks at Proximi (makers of MagicPad, the original proof-of-concept for this functionality), who were kind enough to share a few more details with our readers.
Good news on the Facebook front: their native application is due to get an upgrade in September. The upgrade should actually make the app reach some sort of feature parity with the web-app version of Facebook, which right now is far superior to the native app.
New features include a revamped profiles view, viewing all notifications in the home tab, friend search and approval, the ability to view your full inbox, and more.
Box Office is back. Only it’s been rebranded as Now Playing. Only you can’t find Now Playing in the App Store. But you can find Box Office. In iTunes. But not on the iPhone. Sorta.
Confusing much? We’re right there with you. We figure the name change is messing with the search systems, which will hopefully sort themselves out shortly. In any event…
Rumors have swirled since Apple pulled Box Office a few weeks back, covering everything from the name “Box Office” itself creating trademark issues, to Rotten Tomatoes objecting to their data being scraped, to the “donate” button violating the SDK, to Steve Jobs hating the exact shade of gray used for the inner bevel of the 3rd line down. There doesn’t seem to be any hard info yet on what the real reason was, though developer Cyrus “Metasyntactic” Najmabadi pegs the long (re)turn around time squarely on Apple (via Ars Technica):
I’ve gotten confirmation that they’re working to restore my app on the store, and I got an apology for the length of time it took to respond to me. I’m very happy by this turn of events, and I’m glad that apple will be letting me stay in the store
Najmabadi also promises several more improvements when (and hopefully not if), version 1.3 is released.
Don’t care about the why and what, just want to get it? Hit up the App Store (iTunes link) and let us know how you like it!
Our beloved series of tubes has been going crazy over the “I Am Rich” application from the App store. It’s a $999 application that does nothing but prove you’ve got $999 to blow on an application which displays a red diamond. It’s a little funny, as Kottke points out, as a commentary on the iPhone as status symbol.
The question, though, is whether or not Apple should have let it up in the first place and whether they (or the original developer) should have taken it down. Kottke notes that Apple really shouldn’t be in the business of pulling apps based on bad taste and we’re inclined to agree. Both in our podcast and here and there throughout the aftermath of the 2.0 software announcement, we expressed concern that Apple’s total control of what goes up on the App store has the potential to be abused.
On the other side of things, however, is the concern that Apps — especially useless, thousand-dollar apps — are a little too easy to purchase. Gizmodo reports that there was a review up on the app (pictured at right) that detailed one user’s sorry tale of accidental purchase.
We’re going ot go ahead and express two opinions here. One: buyer beware. We don’t want any added complication in purchasing apps (though we could compromise and say any app over $50 would require another approval step). We’ll also add that, like the consumerist always tells us, we recommend that you attach a credit card to your iTunes account instead of a debit card that’s attached directly to your checking. That way if something goes wrong, it’s not your money that’s missing while you work fixing your purchasing snafu.
The second opinion we’ll express a little more provisionally. Given that we’d rather have Apple include crappy apps than have them censor, it’s not going to be too long before it starts to feel like the iTunes Store is going to need better ways to discover and evaluate apps. We don’t know if trial software is in the cards, so in the meantime keep an eye on our review section and our iPhone Software forum — both are good resources to get other users’ opinions before you buy.
For those of you waiting for another blog editor other than TypePad, WordPress users rejoice! WordPress for iPhone is now available from the iTunes store for free! Word came this morning from TUAW that the native app would be available today. You can read more about the application here.
This app allows you to manage several blogs, create and edit posts and even upload photos to your blog directly from your iPhone. This is a strong competitor to TypePad’s offering, especially since WordPress is free, though they do appear very similar. The one function WordPress for iPhone does this is unique is the ability to preview a post. Check out the gallery below!
Sadly, it’s not all wine and roses blog posts and galleries here at TiPb, something about our server isn’t sitting right with the app, it crashes on configure. Ah, full size computers: we wish we could quit you.
Beginning last Friday, it’s been an exciting time for the iPhone community and for all of us here at TiPB as we’ve witnessed and participated in the launch of the much-anticipated iPhone 3G, iPhone 2.0, the App Store, and MobileMe. Although things didn’t go 100% according to plan for Apple, and even though there are numerous bugs to fix and ghosts in the machine to exorcize, there is quite a bit of “new” to be excited about!
With the release of iPhone 2.0 and the App Store, there are now tons of apps to choose from, with more being added each day. Our readers are getting in on the app action and excitement with the opportunity to earn TiPB Store discounts by reviewing apps via our iPhone App Lightning Reviews promotion.
I am now proud to announce the beginning of the iPhone App Avalanche, a brief overview of iPhone apps from the iTunes App Store that will be brought to you here at TiPB. Stop by often for frequent App Avalanche app overviews over the next couple of weeks, then settle in for a weekly overview. With the introductions out of the way, let’s jump into iPhone App Avalanche 1!
Reason number 4952 (ok, we lost count) we’re excited for the iPhone 2.0 software update: Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D. Yes, it’s pretty much just a MarioKart Klone — but it looks like a quality clone and, let’s be brutally honest here, the chances that Nintendo is going to develop for the iPhone when they have a perfectly good and popular portable out there is precisely nil.
Looks like you steer with the accelerometer, tap the screen to shoot your powerups, and use your voice to giggle with glee. Next step (we hope): networked multiplayer. Pretty Please?
Accidentally fall asleep when developers went over 190832 apps during the keynote? Numb your mind and index finger by maddeningly refreshing your browser? Miss all the apps that were showcased in the iPhone? Fear not, TiPb will give you a quick nitty gritty update on the lot.
eBay - A fairly basic eBay app that didn’t really showcase any advancements from the basic web app. Sure it was nice and integrated but really, isn’t an eBay webapp good enough? Certainly, they could have gotten someone better to demo their app.
Loopt - A location-based social networking application. Now this is kind of cool, it displays your friend’s location on a map and works with other platforms. Basically, I imagine it to be similar to Boost Mobile’s Where You At?
TypePad - A mobile blogging app that is pretty straightforward. The interface looked similar to the iPhone’s E-mail client and well, at least you can add photos via camera or photo roll
Mobile News Network - Basically enables viewing videos and pictures of news stories from various sources. It also allows you to directly report the news if you have a first hand account of something
Band - This is a fun app, basically a collection of virtual instruments: piano, drums, bass, 12-bar blues ‘instrument’. I’ve seen iterations of ‘Band’ in the jailbreaking scene and it makes for good fun
MLB.com - This app is nice! It gives iPhone users direct access to video highlights right after they happen! It also displays a live detailed scoreboard for quick updates on baseball games.
Modality - A medical application used to easily learn names of body parts, etc. Mildly useful for me, incredibly useful for doctors I presume
MIMvista - Another medical application that takes advantage of the iPhone’s screen to zoom in, out, and scroll around. Basically, an interactive way to view medical imagery?
Whew, that was a lot of Apps to go through. It goes to show the versatility of third party applications and how far it can push the iPhone into becoming a true ’smartphone’. Best of all, many of those apps were priced as FREE. Now hopefully we can get to play with these apps ourselves instead of watching them on a 60 foot screen.
Before we hit the sure-to-be-craziness of WWDC, TiPb has some definite house cleaning to do. Meaning lucky for you readers, more roundups! With Rene handling everyrounduppossible forthe iPhone 3Gand beyond I thought it’d be a great time to focus on the device we’ve all been unconsciously neglecting: the iPhone!
Every few weeks, I’ll present you with a quick list of web apps, native apps, and games that should tie up any loose ends that we might have missed. Click on each link to learn more about the program and be sure to mention your experience in the comments or forums. Before we start, with the iPhone 3G just mere days away, make sure you participate in TiPb’s Wait-A-Thon-Tastic and give yourself a chance to win a FREE iPhone 3G!
The iPhone Blog merged with the Phone different site in May of 2008. Both sites were founded on a premise that comes one from one of Apple's old slogans: Think different. The iPhone Blog: for people who dare to phone different.
