All Articles Tagged app store

According to developers, Apple has sent them out the following note:

We are pleased to introduce the App Store Resource Center, a single destination designed to make it easier for you to find details on everything you need to know about distributing your app on the App Store — from how to prepare for app submission to managing your app once it’s been posted.

Make sure you also check out the News and Announcements section of the iPhone Dev Center for tips on submitting your apps to the App Store, turnaround time for app review, new program features, and guidance on everything from development and testing to distribution and marketing.

Is this one more sign of Apple making tangible improvements to the App Store review process? Developers, let us know!

[Thanks anonymous tipster!]

On tap for today’s TiPb Top 5, we thought we’d cater to all of our iPhone and iPod touch wielding readers who enjoy action games. Just like our TiPb’s top 5 must-have board games, all of these games are available in the App Store, this time under categories – games – action. And even better, all of them are very reasonably priced. For the full run down, follow us after the break!

Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, the Canadian App Store Categories tab really is all-Skype, all the time and has been for me since just after iPhone 3.1 launched last Wednesday (and no, the irony isn’t lost on us). Since App Store is fed by the web, I figured Apple would realize it and fix whatever feed needed fixing, but so far no such luck.

I tried TUAW’s workaround — switching to the US App Store an back, but iTunes intercepted me saying I couldn’t change stores until I’d spent whatever iTunes credit I had left in my account, and my rentals expired (I don’t currently have any rentals — the only one expired last weekend).

So I’m back to hoping Apple realizes it and fixes it, but if anyone does come up with a repeatable user-end fix, do let all of us Canadians know in the comments.

Dexter fans can now visit the App Store and purchase their favorite serial killers very own iPhone game for $5.99. [iTunes Link] It was almost a year ago since we first mentioned that this game was in development. Hopefully the extra time it took to arrive has paid off. Judging from the above video and what I’ve seen in the brief time I’ve spent with the final version, it does seem a bit more polished.

In the game, help Dexter choose his next victims while always protecting his identity. Analyze crime scenes, uncover evidence and use stealth tactics to stalk your prey. Is the case best served by the courts or the Dark Passenger? The outcome of every choice and action revolves around the Code of Harry: only kill the guilty, maintain the mask, and above all, don’t get caught!

This game should hold you over until the new season begins on September 27th.

[Via Touch Arcade]

Palm rejected NaNplayer from their App Catalog. That’s the first time that’s happened for their new webOS platform, but it’s something those who follow the iTunes App Store have seen happen with much more frequency.

Now, to be fair, the iTunes App Store currently sports 75,000 apps, and according to Apple’s response to the FCC, handles 8,500 submissions a week. We’re not sure the App Catalog has cracked 100 yet, so the comparison is apples to orchards at this point. We’d expect Apple to have flagged 1000x the apps Palm had. What makes for a clean break in the two case models, however, is how Palm handled the situation.

Chuq Von Rospach, developer community manager at Palm, jumped on the PreCentral.net forums and… communicated. Quickly, cleanly, and with an admirable degree of transparency.

Now, on the iPhone side we’ve seen Senior Marketing VP Phil Schiller fire off an email or two to high-profile blogs addressing their concerns about the App Store, and the aforementioned FCC response, but an actual, engaged individual whose sole focus is to work with the developer community, provide support, assuage concerns, and be a pseudo-public symbol of this intent to do better? And who says Palm is okay — nay, happy — for the app to continue life as homebrew (their version of jailbreak)

Can we have one?

Chuq, like Palm CEO Jon Rubinstien (slated to be the first guest on the new Engadget Show) and many Palm engineers and PR folks, used to work for Apple. Perhaps Palm is giving them a break from Apple’s culture of secrecy and they’re taking a liking too it. Perhaps Apple can give some current employees a break from that secrecy as well.

Right now disenchanted iPhone users are trying out Palm, Android, and even Nokia devices and not finding them up to Apple’s usability and polish snuff, but that won’t last long. Apple needs to get their App Store community perception problems fixed as fast or faster even. Better still, get developer satisfaction levels up to customer satisfaction levels.

Sure these aren’t on the general consumer radar at all. Indeed, the amount of people given Apple’s 50 million install base is almost statistically irrelevant. But as we’ve said before, these are the people who tend to influence others, and while the actual App Store problems are likely still going to take a while to crack, the perception problem is one far more easily — if uncomfortably for Apple — handled.

And it likely doesn’t even need an open letter from Steve Jobs to do it.

It’s no secret that the Apple App Store is just flooded with games and entertainment titles – 21,178 to be exact.

As impressive as that number may sound, however, there is an old saying that says quality over quantity. Now don’t get us wrong, there are very impressive games that have hit the App Store but we think developers are just beginning to scratch the surface of the power of Apple devices. When the App Store was first introduced many developers just rushed to put apps together in a effort to simply cash in with some subpar apps. As time goes on we are seeing more and more impressively polished games arrive in the store.

Games such as EA’s Madden 2010, Assassins Creed 2 from Ubisoft (available November 11th), and a FPS called Nova from Gameloft are just a taste of what’s to come.

So we ask the big question to you, does Apple raise a serious threat to the likes of Sony and Nintendo? What are you using these days to get your game on?

Rhapsody [free - iTunes Link] is now available in the iTunes App Store. It was less than a month ago that we told you about the submission of RealNetwork’s Rhapsody iPhone app, well Apple may have been scared straight by the FCC because it’s been approved and is now available as a free download.

Now don’t don’t forget there is a $15/month subscription fee you must dish out if you want all of that music streaming goodness over AT&T’s data network or Wi-Fi. Sorry folks, no off-line access like Spotify here.

In a strange twist of fate, PreCentral.net tells us Palm has rejected their first App Catalog app, NaNPlayer, a (superior according to PC) replacement for the built-in Pre music player. Why did they do this? The developer used an undocumented API and that violates the SDK agreement. Sound familiar, iPhone users? Will Palm now get the same grief Apple does?

Sound off in the comments!

Lars Ulrich rejoice, Napster will NOT be heading into Apple’s coveted App Store any time soon. Strange considering they once toyed with our emotions by mentioning an iPhone app was in the works? Sadly, unlike Spotify, it is just not going to happen anytime in the near future. Did Apple reject it? No, so do not go ditching your iPhone for a Android or RIM device just yet — Napster have scrapped apps for those devices as well.

One of the most common questions Napster receives is, “When will you offer an iPhone app?” Well, Napster has created an iPhone application that allows subscribers to stream music on-demand to their iPhone—including personal playlists, albums and radio stations. You can imagine the company is also looking at streaming applications for several other mobile platforms as well (Blackberry, Android). However, due to the high licensing fees for streaming to a mobile phone, Napster has not yet submitted the iPhone app to Apple for approval or attempted to bring the application to market.

Now let’s think about this for a moment, they put their iPhone application on hold due to “high licensing fees”. If Spotify and Rhapsody can pull it off why can’t Napster? Maybe it’s due to the fact those companies charge $10.00 more a month for their service perhaps.

Whatever the case may be, would you be willing for fork over some extra cash to get Napster on your iPhone?

[Via MediaMemo]

Apple has gone and shocked the world again as, according to the company’s Twitter feed, popular VoIP service Vonage has been approved for the iTunes App Store.

Vonage has announced that Apple approved its mobile application for iPhone and iPod Touch. Vonage is currently conducting a beta test and general availability will be announced at a later date. This new service, along with the recent launch of the Vonage World unlimited calling plan, continues Vonage’s heritage of using innovative technology to create significant value for its current and future customers.

While it remains to be seen if Vonage will be granted 3G access, or made WiFi only like Skype, if you follow them on Twitter, you may have noticed Vonage was searching for a few lucky volunteers to become official beta testers of their iPhone app. Were any of our readers lucky enough to be selected as the chosen few?

If so, let us know how the testing is going in the comments!

Last week we linked to an AdMob estimate that the iPhone and iPod touch App Store could represent a $2.5 billion a year economy, which based the estimate off usage stats for their mobile ad network, and a survey of 1000 iPhone, iPod touch, and Google Android users. But not so fast, says Cult of Mac along with developers from Polar Bear Farms, App Cubby, and the Yankee Group.

$2.4 billion divided by the 65,000 apps in the App Store is $37,000 per app, per year. And while some developers earn that, many do not.

They figure it’s closer to $250 million to $500 million, or roughly one fifth to one tenth the size.

AdMob is sticking to their original numbers, however, according to the methodology shared again with GigaOm.

To us, it just seems like they’re all guestimating how big that really, really big pie is — just stupid, or goram ridiculous.

[Thanks Icebike for the tip!]