All Articles in Apps

Every week a few of us from team TiPb, bloggers and forum crew alike, will bring you our current favorite, funnest, most useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they’re iPhone (or iPod touch) related, they’re fair game.

So who’s on deck this week and what are our picks? Find out after the break!

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PixPo Dogs App Forum Review by llofte. For more Forum Reviews, see the TiPb iPhone App Store Forum Review Index!

Do you like matching games and adorable dogs? If so, then PixPop Dogs [$0.99 - iTunes link] may be the game for you. This is jigsaw puzzle type game that is fun, addicting, competitive, and just plain cute!

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Techcrunch got a hold of a letter sent by the FCC to Apple seeking more information on the rejection of Google’s Google Voice app, and removal of third party Google Voice apps already in the iTunes App Store.

Specifically, the Federal Communications Commission wants to know why Apple rejected the apps, and which apps exactly were rejected, whether Apple alone made the decision or whether AT&T played any part, what role — if any — AT&T plays in the App Store approval process, what makes Google Voice any different than VoIP apps Apple has already approved, what other apps have been rejected and why, whether or not there’s a list of verboten apps and how that list is made available to developers and consumers, and other timing and statistical information concerning the approval process and rejections.

Basically, it reads as a wish list of every question every frustrated developer, consumer, and — yes — even blogger has ever wanted Apple to simply, plainly, and consistently answer. There is, however, a proviso for Apple to request confidentiality, which given Apple’s penchant for secrecy, likely means we may never see those answers.

Similar letters were sent to Google and AT&T.

Opinions always vary about when and how much government should intrude into business. Some will think never, some will hope always, and we like to think there’s a balance in between. App Store rejections currently annoy developers and the more tech-savvy consumers who read blogs and technology columns. Unfortunately, until it breaks the confidence of the average consumer and suffers immediate, painful consequence, Apple likely thinks most users aren’t even aware of the issue and it can take its time and follow it’s own agenda.

If nothing else, the FCC has just thrown a monkey wrench into that strategy.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Warning that its profits may decline, Wii and DS manufacturer Nintendo played the “current economic conditions” card but also laid a new one on the gaming table — increased competition thanks to Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch.

The newly launched Nintendo DSi is seen as a partial response to Apple’s new gaming model, according to Electronista, which includes an on-device digital App Store, rather than the cartridge based physical media traditional gaming companies have thus far preferred.

Still, if the next edition of Mario has an Apple or Steve Jobs looking boss level, we’ll know Nintendo is taking it seriously…

Just downloaded the new Apple MobileMe iDisk app [Free - iTunes link] to your iPhone or iPod touch and eager to know it better? Apple wants to show you how, literally. MobileMe News covers Apple’s latest App Store app, and Apple.com has a video tutorial available to get you started.

For example, it explains that documents get downloaded to your iPhone, and recent documents remain stored for offline viewing. Nice.

If you pick up any other tricks, or have any pro tips for iDisk on iPhone, let us know in the comments!

Apple has released MobileMe iDisk [Free - iTunes link] for iPhone and iPod touch. Announced during WWDC 2009 back in June, with nary a peep — though lots of questions and conjecture — heard since then, MobileMe iDisk showing up in the App Store today should be the kind of surprise that no longer comes as one.

Using the app, similar to how 3rd party solutions worked previously, you can log into MobileMe, see the contents of your iDisk, view any supported file formats (the typical jpg, png, Microsoft Office, iWork, and audio/video files), swipe to delete, and otherwise move through the file system.

When you tap on a file, you can also choose to share it or trash it. Sharing opens up an Email Link window where you can forward on access information via email. Shared files show up with a green Shared label and icon in list view there after. (Expired shared items show up with orange labels and grayed-out icons.)

Like Remote (and unlike Keynote Remote and Texas Hold’em), Apple’s fourth App Store entry is free. If you try it out, let us know how it works for you. If you already use a 3rd party iDisk utility, let us know how it compares.

Screenshots after the break!

[Thanks to AppAdvice for the tip!]

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Apple Insider is reporting that iPhone developers have been contacted by Apple and asked:

enter up to 255 characters worth of keywords, separated by commas, which will be used for search in the App Store on the iPhone and iPod touch.

They’re told this must be completed via iTunes Connect “as soon as possible so your application can continue to be successfully located on the App Store”. What, if any measures are in place to prevent more ethically challenged developers from misappropriating key words (i.e. using names of competing products or unrelated yet popular terms) remains to be revealed.

Additionally, Apple Insider says search results have improved in general, a query for “EA” now returning 18 results for Electronic Arts games rather than previous results that included unrelated games using an abbreviation for “each”.

Baby. Steps.

As Jeremy posted earlier, Apple wiped the iTunes App Store clean of all traces of Google Voice, both the official Google version and third party clients like GV Voice. (Rumor has it at the behest of AT&T)

GV Voice, however, didn’t take their removal lying down. Nope, they (meaning developer Sean Kovacs) picked themselves right up, marched over to Cydia, and promptly made themselves available for Jailbreak.

And, weirdly, it’s getting to the point that we’re wondering if this isn’t “the plan” all along.

Apple provides a closed appliance with strict and nebulously enforced rules for its App Store, placating carriers, and making a device so simple it’s become the first true consumer smartphone success. At the same time, Jailbreak provides a de facto “expert” or “pro” version of the iPhone for those willing (and able) to do the work, at no training or support cost to Apple, and with complete deniability in terms of carrier and media agreements.

Whether we think Apple and/or AT&T are evil, Google is competitive, or whatever, with GV Mobile, Qik, and all the other apps available via Jailbreak, are iPhone users actually getting the best of both worlds…?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Still searching for that perfect online music streaming application for your iPhone? Spotify may be exactly what you are looking for.

Spotify is a online streaming music service that gives you access to over-the-air streaming of their entire music library, as well as playlist access. Where this application has a leg up on the competition is that you’ll be able to cache playlists locally on your iPhone while in WiFi areas so that you’ll be able to play them back at any time without any data connection. Spotify will be available as a free app download but will only be available to premium customers who pay £9.99 a month for the service.

Now comes the disappointing part of the story — Spotify is not available here in the United States or Canada due to licensing restrictions. Sorry folks, we will have to make do with Pandora, Pocket Tunes, etc…

How many of you, our valued readers, think Apple will let this one slip into the App Store? Will it get rejected for “duplicating functionality”? Or will it mysteriously disappear into the abyss like so many applications before it?

[Thanks to icebike & Sam for the tip!]

The Jailbreak and Unlock wizards behind the iPhone DevTeam are off to DEFCON 17, the security/hacking convention that juxtaposes Black Hat 2009, and have provided a set of tips to help those at the conferences (or anywhere really) avoid getting their iPhone hacked into. The tips are really targeted at Jailbroken iPhones, but some cross over to regular iPhone users as well.

Disable all your login cookies in Safari. If you use the hotel or conference wifi, it is 100% guaranteed that your traffic will be sniffed. If you allow a web site (like twitter.com) to store your login info in a cookie, and if you connect to that site through a normal http connection, your login info will be exposed. At the very least, you’ll end up on the Wall of Sheep. But you’ll be giving up your password to anyone else sniffing too.

They also advise avoiding any public Wi-Fi at hotels, conference centers, airports, etc. (and to tether instead), and either uninstalling or disabling SSH access, or at the very least changing the root and mobile password from Apple’s default.

They also provide their suggestions for talks that might interest the iPhone jailbreak community. If anyone attends, let us know how it goes via our iPhone Jailbreak and Unlock Forum. And If you have more pro tips, send them our way!